“Anonymous: Contemporary Tibetan Art” Exhibition
Queens Museum of Art
This event has ended.
Anonymous is an exploration of changing attitudes towards self-expression, attribution, and identity in contemporary Tibetan art. Traditional Tibetan culture placed little emphasis on individuality or artistic self-expression. Art adhered to a formal system of production to support the transmission of Tibetan religious culture and was, by and large, created by unattributed artists who remained anonymous. However, in the global contemporary market, the creativity of the individual has become the primary basis by which we produce, interpret and consume art. Innovation and novelty are often valued more highly than technique and tradition. Attribution, the artist’s name, has become a fundamental aspect of the work. Within the new social reality as part of the People’s Republic of China, art is becoming a vital medium of self-expression for Tibetans. Artists are increasingly focused on the experience of the individual and a cautious 21st-century visual language steeped in irony, metaphor and allusion has fully emerged.
The work presented in Anonymous is largely drawn from the Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection, much of it made expressly for this presentation. Rather than proposing a defined set of answers, the exhibition provides opportunities for curatorial, artistic, and audience discovery. In a range of mediums and individual styles, the artists explore themes of identity and self-expression. Displayed without attribution, the videos in Anonymous approach these themes from an alternate vantage point, embracing anonymity as an opportunity for open exploration and the presentation of oft-censored imagery. Experienced collectively, the range of work across media considers the varied roles of self-expression and identity in contemporary Tibetan culture.
The inclusion of artists from Dharamsala, Kathmandu, Lhasa, New York City, Oakland, Thimphu, Zurich and the Australian Outback provides for a range of diasporic perspectives. Firmly established as well as emerging artists are featured, including Ang Sang, Benchung, Dedron, Gade, Jhamsang, Karma Phuntsok, Kesang Lamdark, Losang Gyatso, Marie-Dolma Chophel, Nortse, Palden Weinreb, Penba Wangdu, Phurba Namgay, Rabkar Wangchuk, Sherab Gyaltsen, Sodhon, Tanor, Tenzing Rigdol, Tsering Nyandak, Tsewang Tashi, Tsherin Sherpa, Tulku Jamyang, and anonymous contributors.
Media
Schedule
from September 21, 2014 to January 04, 2015
Opening Reception on 2014-09-21 from 16:00 to 19:00