<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-left: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; "><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="580"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 11px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">July 5, 2011</td><td align="right"><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=232&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><img title="aa.gif" src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/aa.gif" alt="aa.gif" border="0" height="35" width="74"></a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><img title="dotted_line.gif" src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/dotted_line.gif" alt="dotted_line.gif" height="1" width="580" style="margin-top: 7px; margin-bottom: 26px; "></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; ">ArtAsiaPacific</td><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span style="margin-bottom: 2px; ">Follow us</span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=255&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><img title="fb.gif" src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/fb_16.gif" alt="fb.gif" height="16" width="16" border="0" style="margin-left: 5px; "></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=256&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><img title="tw.gif" src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/tw_16.gif" alt="tw.gif" height="16" width="16" border="0" style="margin-left: 5px; "></a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="padding-top: 15px; "><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=562&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><img title="jul5_artasiapacific.jpg" alt="jul5_artasiapacific.jpg" height="450" width="341" src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/newsletters/429/jul5_artasiapacific.jpg"></a><br></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="padding-top: 7px; font-size: 11px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; "><br></td></tr><tr><td style="font-size: 12px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; "><h1 style="margin-top: 26px; font-size: 23px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; "><em>ArtAsiaPacific</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>July/August 2011</h1><p>Out Now</p><p><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=561&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">www.artasiapacific.com</a></p></td><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="bottom" style="padding-top: 32px; font-size: 11px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">Share<a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=572&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><img title="fb.gif" src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/fb_16.gif" alt="fb.gif" height="16" width="16" border="0" style="margin-left: 5px; "></a><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=573&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><img title="tw.gif" src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/tw_16.gif" alt="tw.gif" height="16" width="16" border="0" style="margin-left: 5px; "></a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="padding-top: 36px; font-size: 12px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; "><p>While most of the art world puts up its feet in July and August,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>ArtAsiaPacific</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>takes a moment to contemplate the subtle and not-so-subtle changes swirling about us today. In this issue,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>AAP</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>looks at how artists respond to precarious histories and uncertain futures.</p><p><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=1099&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><b>Ai Weiwei</b></a>'s recent release after his 80-day-long detention at the hands of the Beijing police follows an overwhelming international outcry: interest in his work is stronger than ever. As outraged artists, curators and critics strive to disentangle Ai's occasional outbursts of acerbic social commentary from his art in an effort to underscore his artistic sanctity, contributing editor Andrew Cohen argues in his feature that in fact Ai's art and politics have always been deliberately inseparable.</p><p>The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan in March and sparked an ongoing nuclear crisis reminds us that the world as we know it can be upended in an instant. As Japan begins rebuilding, managing editor Ashley Rawlings probes the unearthly foreboding in the posters and canvases of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Tadanori Yokoo</b>, a graphic designer-turned-painter whose practice evolved in tandem with Japan's tumultuous decades of reconstruction immediately following World War II.</p><p>In West Asia, the Palestinian Authority's looming request for the United Nations General Assembly to confer international recognition onto the State of Palestine in September, draws editor-at-large HG Masters to the work of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=1102&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">Palestinian artists</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>who address the conditions of the Israeli occupation, from the construction of the separation barrier in 2002 up to the present. Also contemplating the issues of war, borders, exile and migration is Turkish-born Armenian conceptual artist<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Sarkis</b>. Contributing editor Marlyne Sahakian describes the driving force behind Sarkis' work as "the idea that art has a transformative power-both horizontally, in terms of education and activism, but also vertically, as a way to elevate the human spirit and transcend suffering." </p><p>In Essays, independent curator<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=1103&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><b>David Elliott</b></a><b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>offers a frank critique of the state of museums in the 21st century, while Catherine Wilson provides an unusual glimpse into recent public and private art initiatives in Brunei. Moving away from arts funding to the distressing trend of artistic censorship, we invite Tibetan artist<b>Tenzing Rigdol<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>to respond to the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=1101&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">recent attack</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by Hindu fundamentalists, who claimed that his work<i>Bollywood Buddha</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is blasphemous to Buddha. This also reminds us of the death of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=1100&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">MF Husain</a></b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>on June 9, the giant of Indian modern art, who struggled against the same insidious forces of religious fundamentalism for the last 15 years of his life, forcing him into self-imposed exile in London, Dubai and Doha since 2006. </p><p>Among our project columns, artist<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Jaishri Abichandani<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>discusses her admiration for painter<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Samira Abbassy</b>; and in our Questionnaire, Taiwan's<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Lee Mingwei</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>reveals what he is reading this summer. Reviews include senior editor Don J. Cohn's study of the translated Chinese digital texts that were permanently deleted by China's authorities in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Ai Weiwei's Blog: Writings, Interviews and Digital Rants 2006 –2009</i>.</p><p>Finally, Where I Work takes<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>AAP</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to the Beijing studio of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=1104&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><b>Guan Wei</b></a>, just a few weeks before his unexpected eviction and the building's razing on May 30. With bittersweet irony, we recall noticing the sound of planes flying closely overhead, whereupon Guan remarked that his studio, ". . . is a little less likely to be redeveloped because Beijingers don't want to live near a flight path." Guan and other tenants were given three days to move. The official line: the building did not meet fire regulations. </p><p>One cannot help but wonder, if Ai Weiwei was allowed to speak freely today, what would he be tweeting, blogging or saying in public about the gross injustice dealt to Guan Wei and other fellow residents in the building. And for those who remain uncertain over whether Ai is an activist or an artist, it is worth noting that he once said, "Art is about life. Our life is entirely political. Therefore all my art is political."</p><p>Select articles now online in Arabic and Chinese:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=567&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">artasiapacific.com</a> </p><p><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=564&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">Subscribe</a>, become a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=559&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>fan and follow us on<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=560&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">Twitter</a>.</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><img src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/dotted_line.gif" alt="dotted_line" height="1" width="580" style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; "></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="580"><tbody><tr><td width="180" style="font-size: 11px; "><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=232&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; "><img src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/admin/temp/templates/6/aa_logo.gif" alt="aa_logo" border="0" height="34" width="74"></a></td><td valign="bottom" width="230" style="font-size: 11px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">41 Essex Street<br>New York City, 10002 USA</td><td valign="bottom" width="170" style="font-size: 11px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; "><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=95949&N=724&L=244&F=H" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">Contact</a><br><a href="http://interspire.e-flux.com/unsubscribe.php?M=95949&C=5ba09189852122fb160a9d36d1fb5987&L=6&N=724" style="color: rgb(150, 150, 150); text-decoration: none; ">Unsubscribe</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><img src="http://interspire.e-flux.com/open.php?M=95949&L=6&N=724&F=H&image=.jpg" height="1" width="10"></div></span></body></html>