Alexandra Munroe
is participant at
Where is Art Contemporary? The Global Challenge of Art Museums II
Abstract
Collecting Contemporary Asian Art at the Guggenheim Museum: The Dynamics of Canon Formation and Integrative Strategies
In 2006, The Guggenheim Museum became the first modern and contemporary art museum in the west to create a dedicated curatorial program for the research, exhibition and collection of modern and contemporary Asian art. This initiative galvanizes the Guggenheim’s long-term interest in Asia, and comes at a transformational moment for the emerging field of modern and contemporary Asian art as it rapidly gains international recognition. The Guggenheim is uniquely positioned now to play a critical role in defining the relevance for Asian art within today’s curatorial Establishment. Central to the Guggenheim’s challenge is the question of how Asian art can be most effectively integrated into the dominant Euro-American discourse of international modern and contemporary art, and practically, within the exhibition, collection and education programs of mainstream international art museums like the Guggenheim. This paper will offer a review of the various models, from expanding the western paradigm to theoretically displacing it with alternative canons.
