Research the background of "Cities on the Move" curated by O
brist and Hou Hanrou (1997-1999) and analyze its impacts on
curating
Course Number:VI503
Course Name:Approaches to Curating
your full name:Li Dantong ( Cabi )
Student Number:5331296
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Word Count:2590
Cities on the move
"Cities on the Move" (1997-2000) has earned widespread acclaim as an influential
and groundbreaking exhibition that helped establish contemporary Asian art on an
international stage. Considered one of the landmark exhibitions marking cultural
convergence across East and Southeast Asian cities at the close of the 20th century as
well as urbanization throughout this region, it stands as testament to cultural
integration within its framework. From November 1997 through January 2000, this
exhibition visited various institutions and locations worldwide including Vienna
Secession, CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art Bordeaux (MOCA Bordeaux), PS1
New York City (PS1), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Denmark, Hayward Gallery
London Hayward Gallery Bangkok various spaces institutions Bangkok Kiasma
Helsinki Helsinki. Over 150 architects artists filmmakers designers participated.
In the context of the exhibit, Asia saw huge changes in the 1990s. It changed more
than any other place globally, both culturally and economically. During that decade,
Asia experienced freedom of trade, faced financial ups and downs, made tech
advancements, and welcomed cultural interactions. These factors played a huge role
in shaping Asia's identity on the world stage. The 1990s brought notable cultural
alterations within and outside Asia. Earlier, Western dominance had a clear impact on
Asian arts. Back in colonial times, when European countries governed many Asian
nations, Asian art was often shipped to Western countries.During the colonial period,
when many Asian countries were controlled by European powers, Asian arts and
crafts were exported to the West. At the turn of the 20th century, this had an
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enormous effect on Western cultures' perception and appreciation of Asian art. But by
its end, an appreciation was emerging of its significance while appreciating regional
traditions; artists like Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami and Ai Weiwei emerged to
increase global awareness and appreciation of Asian art within an ever more
globalizing environment.
At the same time, the 1990s witnessed a seismic shift in the curatorial landscape as a
new breed of curators, led by Hou Hanru and Hans Ulrich Obrist, started to consider
alternative curatorial approaches in place of the conventional Western exhibition
paradigm. In reaction to this drastic transformation that Asia was undergoing, they
started investigating the complex link between Asian art, architecture, and the
dynamic process of globalization.
According to Hou Hanru, he was approached in February 1997 by Hans-Ulrich
Obrist, who informed him that the Vienna Secession Pavilion offered an invitation to
curate a contemporary Asian art exhibition in celebration of the 100th anniversary of
the Vienna Secession, a well-known group of artists that originated from the Austrian
Art Nouveau movement. The museum had two exhibitions planned: a contemporary
Asian art exhibition and a retrospective on the centennial of the Vienna Secession,
both organized by Austrian curator Robert Fleck. It was an unexpected but sensible
decision. Not only because the Vienna Secession had been greatly influenced by
Asian art, but also because the 1990s coincided with the start of a steady stream of
exhibitions introducing contemporary Asian art to the Western art world. However,
the designation and narrative of "contemporary Asian art" in these exhibitions, in the
context of Western institutions, were often based on specific identity politics, with a
strong sense of exoticism and a tendency towards otherness. For him, this approach is
problematic.
In 1997, Hou Hanru curated the exhibition "Hong Kong Etc." at the Johannesburg
Biennale, curated by Okwui Enwezor. A former British colony, Hong Kong is far
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removed from its colonial masters in terms of its economic vitality and highly mixed
cultural energy reflected in contemporary visual arts, architectural design, film, and
performing arts. Furthermore, the rapid convergence of globalization and non-
Western art has resulted in an abundance of massive multicultural exhibitions,
including Documenta in Kassel, the Sydney Biennale, and the Venice Biennale, and
has caused Western art institutions to become concerned about the homogenization of
non-European identities. The exhibit has had tremendous success. To challenge the
curator's "single viewpoint" of non-Western identity, numerous international non-
Western curators, including Hou Hanru and Okwui Enwezor, have questioned the
essentialist and "othering" structures of Eurocentric exhibitions and frameworks.
According to Hou Hanru and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Asia is no longer the focus of the
Western gaze but rather a subject for the co-construction of a future culture. They also
think that the world can learn from the energy of Asia's eternal movement in the
integration of various cultures. Therefore, none of them wanted to enter Asia from the
perspective of cultural identity, did not want to perpetuate the exotic myth of the
"Asian tradition", did not want to simply show "Asia" to the Western audience, but
rather entered directly into the urbanization and modernization that was taking place
in Asia. Therefore, from the very beginning, they decided not to select works by
existing Asian artists to represent Asian identity but to create a new exhibition
mechanism to keep the art alive. This was not only a rejection of the "Asian
Contemporary Art Exhibition" format that emerged in the 1990s, but also a challenge
to the "white box" of Western modernism.
According to Hou Hanru himself, since he and Hans Jr. had only six months to
prepare for this exhibition, they ran to many Asian cities and visited hundreds of
artists and architects during the pre-planning stage,moreover, the density of their
visits kind of resonated with the speed and density of Asian cities.
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In the nineties, there were very few modern art galleries or museums in nearly every
Asian nation. Due to a lack of infrastructure, artists were able to consciously and
actively intervene in urban public spaces, arranging their own activities in
independent groups. They continue to discover that the most dynamic works of art in
the Asia-Pacific region can be found outside of white boxes, in urban settings where
grassroots and popular power is incredibly inventive and creative. Asian cities provide
artists with both a physical location and a conceptual framework that is not bound by
national boundaries. The exhibition itself should be a naturally occurring microcosm
of a city, with social action, film, music, theater, architecture, and visual arts taking
place both inside and outside.
As a result, he argues that the "city" they envision does not exist inside the confines of
the state, but rather reflects a continually redefined situation, whose instability and
ceaseless mobility project various future possibilities. Therefore, they chose the title
"Cities on the Move" for the show.
Take the example of Bangkok, like most cities in Southeast Asia, Bangkok in the late
1990s had no large contemporary art institutions, only a few small galleries and
independent spaces, and in 1999, Bangkok began to show new vitality as it recovered
from the Asian financial crisis. They believed that exhibitions in Asian cities at that
time could not be organized by any one institution, nor should they be exhibitions in
the general sense, but should be urban events or art festivals. Therefore, the city's
architecture, streets, transportation systems, decay and renewal, people, and vitality
were the best vehicles for this project. If the other Cities in Motion exhibitions were
cities in miniature, Bangkok was the exhibition itself. In October 1999, more than
fifty events took place all over the city, including galleries, architecture offices, city
squares, retail centers, pubs, theaters, campuses, and the National Gallery. There were
also activities scheduled for tuk-tuks, ferries, elevated rail stations, street billboards,
and websites.
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（Bangkok , "Cities on the Move"
Hou , Hanru. "Art Archive." Artda.cn, June 14, 2021. https://www.artda.cn/.)
"Cities on the Move" has had a profound impact on curating contemporary art
exhibitions. The exhibition challenged the traditional modes of exhibition-making by
showcasing not just the art, but the cultural context from which the art
emerged,breaking down stereotypes and challenging the notion of a unified "Asian"
aesthetic.
"Cities on the Move" broke down the traditional approach to curating exhibitions, it
focused on the cultural experiences and exchanges within individual cities,
challenging the norm and opening up new ways of thinking about art exhibitions.
This approach emphasized the importance of context, community, and collaboration
in contemporary art, promoting a more inclusive and diverse approach to curating.
What's more, "Cities on the Move" used technology and live events to create
immersive and interactive experiences for visitors. Augmented reality exhibits
allowed visitors to explore the city in a whole new way, while dance and music
performances were integrated with performance art to showcase the liveliness and
diversity of Asian urban culture.
In the exhibition, Yogyakarta-based artist Heri Dono's threaded angels, Kuala
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Lumpur-based Liew Kung Yu's photographic collages, Seoul-based Lee Bul's giant
inflatable dolls, and Paris-based Wang Du's International Landscapes are all
superimposed on each other and nested within each other in a high-density fashion,
like the spatial urgency of an Asian city. Like Asian cities, they are filled with a sense
of spatial urgency. Gray PVC pipes by Singapore's Matthew Ngui spread throughout
the venue, inserting themselves into offices through windows and out into the street.
Xu Tan's installation "Made in China" was placed in the famous Beethoven Fresco
Hall, even touching the sacred frescoes of Klimt.
（"Cities on the Move," 1997, Secession, Vienna. ）
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(Xu Tan, Made in China, 1999)
In addition to this, the curators invited artists to do projects that interacted with the
city, such as Chiang Mai artists Navin Rawanchaikul and Rirkrit Tiravanija, who
conceived an unfinished road movie about a Thai lad who travels from Thailand to
Vienna on his Mutant Bike, with many adventures and encounters along the way. The
entrance to the exhibition is decorated with hand-painted Southeast Asian-style movie
posters, underneath which the main character's Thai buggy is parked, while another
buggy is driven through the streets of Vienna by a local artist invited by Naveenwen.
(Artda.cn."Document Archives," 2021.https://www.artda.cn/wenxiandangan-c-11775.html.)
And another example of this can be seen in the work of Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Tiravanija's installation, titled "Untitled 1996 (Tomorrow is another day),"
transformed the exhibition space into a communal kitchen and dining area, where
visitors were invited to cook and share meals together.
The installation was inspired by Tiravanija's experiences living in Bangkok, where
communal dining is a common practice. Tiravanija attempts to create greater social
contact and cultural exchange among visitors from all backgrounds by offering a
communal place for cooking and eating.The installation reflected the exhibition's
greater emphasis on the value of community and collaboration in contemporary art,
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and also contributed to challenging the traditional concept of the artist as a solitary
person working alone.
（Rirkrit Tiravanija. "Untitled 1996 (Tomorrow Is Another Day) " , October 14, 2019.
https://vimeo.com/366307650.）
Secondly, the exhibition helped to the internationalization of modern Asian art by
questioning Western-centered perceptions of the art world and fostering attention and
appreciation of Asian artists and their work. It challenges the stereotype of Asia as a
single and unchanging cultural entity, instead highlighting the diversity and vitality of
contemporary Asian culture.
This exhibition highlights the experimental and collaborative nature of contemporary
Asian art, melding various contemporary art forms including installation,
photography, video art, and performance as forms of expression for the exhibition.
The works on display break away from traditional Asian forms and themes to reflect
the social and cultural changes taking place in Asian cities at any given time. As such,
Cities on the Move helps visitors gain a deeper understanding of Asian art that
transcends traditional forms and styles, and demonstrates the richness and complexity
of contemporary Asian art.
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For instance, there is an artwork by Huang Yong Ping called "Theater of the World"
(1993), which is a massive circular cage filled with live insects, reptiles, and other
critters arranged according to the traditional Chinese zodiac. It's a crazy scene where
the creatures are interacting with each other in really violent and chaotic ways. The
artwork is meant to say something about the relationship between power, violence,
and tradition.It representes how violence and chaos can be associated with rigid social
structures. And it also shows how important it is to use traditional cultural symbols
and elements in new and creative ways, instead of just copying what Western artists
are doing.
（ Huang Yong Ping,"Theater of the World" ,1993
https://publicdelivery.org/huang-yong-ping-theater/.）
"Cities on the Move" exhibition had a big impact on the world of curating by
showcasing contemporary Asian art and encouraging cultural exchange. It gave
Asian artists a platform to share their work and perspectives in the world, which
allowed audience to get a better understanding of artist's unique cultural traditions and
artistic practices. The artworks were also a reflection of the social and cultural
changes happening in Asian cities at that time, which provided a rich and complex
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view of contemporary Asian art.For example, Cai Guoqiang's "The Great Wall of
China Extension Project" (1993) used explosive paintings of the Great Wall extending
into space to reflect China's growing political and economic power. One of the
standout pieces from "Cities on the Move" was Cai Guoqiang's "The Great Wall of
China Extension Project" (1993). This artwork used explosive paintings of the Great
Wall extending into space to show off China's growing political and economic power.
(Cai Guo-qiang,"The Great Wall of China Extension Project" ,1993
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/cai-guo-qiang-cai-guo-qiang-project-to-extend-the-great-wall-of-china-by-10000-
meters-project-for-extraterrestrials-no-10.)
Futhermore,"Cities on the Move" had a big impact on the curatorial industry.It was
curated by a team of independent curators from all over the world, which brought a
variety of perspectives and experiences to the exhibition. This new approach
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encouraged innovation and experimentation in curatorial practice, which challenged
traditional ways of making exhibitions. Besides,it was also unique in that it combined
various categorties to organise exhibition, including architecture, design, visual arts,
and photography,this approach was pioneering and helped to redefine the role of
curators in creating exhibitions.
"Cities on the Move" was a truly ground-breaking exhibition that completely shook
up the curatorial industry. By using an interdisciplinary approach, the exhibition
successfully push boundaries and create outside the box, leading the more engaging
and thought-provoking exhibitions for audiences around the world. This approach has
been widely adopted by curators today and has led to many exciting and innovative
exhibitions.
The most significant impacts of "Cities on the Move" was that it helped to promote a
better understanding of modern Asian art worldwide. By challenging traditional
curatorial models and techniques, the exhibition encouraged experimentation and
broke down cultural barriers. It also showcases the diverse and dynamic culture of
Asia.Ultimately, it elevated the status of Asian art and artists on the global stage.
Today, the impact of "Cities on the Move" can still be felt in the curatorial industry,
and it has influenced the way exhibitions are organized and how Asian art is perceived
and exhibited internationally. Overall, "Cities on the Move" fostered cultural
exchange and helped to promote a more diverse and inclusive art world, making it a
truly ground-breaking and influential exhibition.
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Bibliography
Archive, Asia Art. "Cities on the Move Exhibition Archive ." aaa.org.hk, n.d.
https://aaa.org.hk/en/collections/search/archive/cities-on-the-move-exhibition-archive.
Artda.cn. "Document Archives," 2021. https://www.artda.cn/wenxiandangan-c-
11775.html.
Artforum. "TRADING SPACES: A ROUNDTABLE on ART and
ARCHITECTURE," October 1, 2012. https://www.artforum.com/features/thomas-
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João Miguel Queiroz. "Untitled 1996 (Tomorrow Is Another Day) | Rirkrit
Tiravanija." Vimeo, October 14, 2019. https://vimeo.com/366307650.
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Delivery," n.d. https://publicdelivery.org/huang-yong-ping-theater/.
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