Beirut, “Beyond Ruptures, a Tentative Chronology”- the First Show after the Sursock Museum’s Reopening.. and More
Lebanon_Beirut
“Beyond Ruptures, a Tentative Chronology”- the First Show after the Sursock Museum’s Reopening
Last May, the Sursock Museum in Beirut reopened after its closure in 2020. It marked the museum’s fourth reopening since 1961. As Lebanon’s oldest independent cultural establishment and one of the oldest contemporary art museums in the Middle East, its history conveys the economic hardship and political turmoils of the region.
Celebrating its reopening, the museum presents “Beyond Ruptures, A Tentative Chronology” through February 11, 2024. Curated by Karina El Helou, the show draws on the museum’s collection, archival materials, and restoration documentation.
Three chronologies of the museum, the museum’s exhibitions, and the region’s political events make up the show. The show likens the collections and archives to time capsules of different artistic practices that have responded to violence and extends the three timelines to the history of art in Lebanon.
India_Bengaluru
Retrospective of India’s Early Photojournalist T. S. Satyan at MAP Bengaluru
MAP (Museum of Art & Photography) Bengaluru presents a retrospective of India’s earliest photojournalist T. S. Satyan (Tambrahalli Subramanya Satyanarayana Iyer, 1923-2009) through November 20. “With great ease: The photography of T. S. Satyan” is organized on the 100th anniversary of Satyan’s birth.
Satyan is known for his black-and-white photographs that capture central moments in South Asian history and politics, and everyday life in late 20th-century India. His photographs frequently addressed the issues of child welfare, education, and medical advancement. Satyan worked for the Deccan Herald, an English-language daily newspaper published in Bengaluru, and his photographs have appeared in Life magazine, Time magazine, and World Health Organization publications.
The exhibition notes an auteurism in Satyan’s photography that goes beyond traditional photojournalism and characterizes his aesthetic as “effortless fluidity.” It also focuses on Satyan’s personal record through the notes he left behind on his photographs and for his editors. More than 21,000 prints, negatives, contact sheets, and newspaper clippings donated by the family are on display.
Taiwan_Taipei
MoCA TAIPEI’s “Signal Z” Views Contemporary Life as of Generation Z and Spectacles
MoCA TAIPEI presents “Signal Z” through October 22. “Signal Z” views modern society as transformed from analog, physical reality to a digital world of virtual hyper-reality. Reflecting on the rapid environmental changes brought about by the expansion of technology, the exhibition examines contemporary life through the concept of “Liquid Modernity” proposed by Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017).
The exhibition explores contemporary life in the post-globalization era with a focus on spectacle and Generation Z. Fifteen young Taiwanese artists and groups explore the variability and fragmentation of images, bodies conditioned by social change, landscapes reshaped by economic order, and the adjustment of boundaries between the private and public spheres.
