Asian Art Histories

Programme Information

Duration: 1.5 years (3 semesters)

Award: Master of Arts Asian Art Histories

Mode: Full-time. Classes will be conducted in evening mode.

Intake: August 2012 intake & January 2013 Intake

“...more than half of the world’s best-selling painters and sculptors today are from asia...” - The Straits Times (Singapore), 1 December 2008

The Master of Arts Asian Art Histories is the first MA programme in any tertiary arts institution or university worldwide to focus on modern and contemporary Asian art. Institutions that do offer degree programmes in Asian art focus mostly on the classical periods. By contrast, the programme gives students the opportunity to undertake research in a largely untrodden field and thereby contribute to its discourse and scholarship. Modern and contemporary Asian art is an emergent field of inquiry in terms of its scholarship and research. The Programme seeks to fill the gap in the scholarship of modern and contemporary Asian art by providing an academic framework for the serious study and research of the subject. The Programme takes a multifaceted and cross-disciplinary approach in terms of its content, covering a diversity of art forms, disciplines and issues that go beyond the conventional 'history' of painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, installation and video art. it will encompass 'histories' in fields of study as diverse as museology, heritage, conservation, film and the art market.

By focusing on modern and contemporary Asian art, the Programme is in line with LASALLE's focus on contemporary art practice. The Programme also fits in well with LASALLE's strategic plans and ambitions for the development of the College over the next five years, which is to become the world's premier educational institution for contemporary intercultural study of diverse artistic traditions and to become the leading Asian educational institution for contemporary creativity in the arts.

The Master of Arts Asian Art Histories is a full-time Programme that is conducted over three semesters (1.5 years). On successful completion of 120 credits at the end of the second semester, students have the option of exiting the Programme with a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art Histories or proceed to undertake their dissertations in the third and final semester in order to graduate with a Master of Arts Asian Art Histories.

Assessments: Assessment is an integral part of the learning process, and will be formative and diagnostic as well as summative and evaluative, providing feedback to students wherever appropriate. Read more about assessments here.

Modules

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Taking from a starting point in the mid 1850s, the Programme will examine the emergence of modernism in Asian art, the impact of colonialism and nationalism as well as the role of society and politics in Asian art. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary art, this Programme will also have a seminar module where a range of topics and disciplines spanning architecture, photography, design, curation and art collecting will be discussed.

Semester 1:

Introduction to Writing and Researching Art Histories
This module aims to equip students with the fundamental skills and methods to carry out postgraduate research work specific to art history. Students will be guided through the process of academic research and writing such as identifying a research topic, formulating research questions, defining appropriate methodologies, making critical use of primary and secondary sources, writing a literature review and analysing research data.

Methods and Theories of Art Histories
The module aims to critically examine the multiple intersections of critical theories and art histories rather than just being a survey of historiographies or theories of art. While the module will discuss the older historiographical traditions, both in asia and the West, it will focus on the interventions made by critical and cultural theories into the discipline of art history in the second half of the 20th century which particularly critique the eurocentric interpretation of art history.

Strategies and Concepts of the Modern in Asian Art
The idea of the ‘modern’ and its variants ‘modernism’ and ‘modernity’ in the context of Asian art, cannot be understood as simply derivative of Euro American paradigms. Asian modern art discourses developed in relative independence from the linear genealogy of modernism associated with Euro American modernism, in response to specific historical, social and political realities in localised and regional contexts. The problematics in the definition of an asian ‘modernism’, including questions relating to relativisation, authenticity and tradition, will be the focus of critical examination in the module.

Semester 2:

Society and Politics in Asian Art
Perceiving themselves as agents and participants of change, Asian artists have engaged in a diversity of issues on the social and political fronts. These include neo-colonialism, cultural identity, social injustice, political corruption, war, racism and environmental degradation. This module investigates the ways in which new paradigms in artistic practices are influenced by local and regional issues and events as well as the critical engagement of artists with those developments.

Perspectives on Asian Visual cultures and Histories
The module is conducted in a seminar style in which students will have the opportunity to dialogue and debate contemporary issues across an interdisciplinary range of visual histories and cultures within the Asian context. The topics will go beyond the conventional boundaries of art history as defined by academic tradition such as painting, sculpture and architecture and will incorporate photography, performance art, film and new media. Contemporary issues relating to the art market, the biennales, censorship, curation and popular culture will also be covered.

Semester 3:

Dissertation
The dissertation is a major component of this Masters Programme that is a consolidated application of the skills and knowledge that students have acquired in the Programme. Through the dissertation, students would be expected to demonstrate their ability to undertake academic research through critical engagement with historical and theoretical issues in modern and contemporary Asian art within an appropriate methodological framework.

Assessments: Assessment is an integral part of the learning process, and will be formative and diagnostic as well as summative and evaluative, providing feedback to students wherever appropriate. Read more about assessments here.

Faculty Members

Jeffrey Say, Programme Leader

Jeffrey Say graduated with a First Class Honours in History and an MA in Art History. A former curator of the National Museum, Jeffrey has been teaching at LASALLE College of the Arts since 1997, where he helped to develop its art history Programme. In 2009, he designed and developed the first MA Programme in the world for LASALLE that focuses on modern and contemporary Asian art history. He is presently Programme Leader of the MA Asian Art Histories Programme. In his professional capacity, Jeffrey has curated and co-curated a number of visual arts exhibition. He has contributed essays to both local and overseas exhibition catalogues. Jeffrey has regularly given public lectures on art history in venues such as the Singapore Art Museum and the Asian Civilisations Museum. Jeffrey's area of research is on the history of sculpture in pre and post-war Singapore, for which he has written several scholarly articles and for which an exhibition is being planned.

There will be a core team of adjunct lecturers who will teach into the Programme. The team will comprise individuals who are either practising art historians or are knowledgeable in the field of art theory, cultural theory or visual studies. The lecturers are all active practitioners in their respective spheres of professional activity. They include art historians, art theorists, curators and artists-theorists. They all have a good track record of publications or curated exhibitions on Asian art, or have participated in exhibitions around the region. They are drawn from a diversity of background in terms of training to ensure that students in the Programme are exposed to a broad range of perspectives and practice that reflect the philosophy of the Programme.

Guest Lecturers

The adjunct lecturers will be supported by visiting professors and lecturers who will include well-respected academics, art historians, cultural theorists, curators and artists within Singapore, around the region, as well as internationally.

Kwok Kian Chow
Senior Advisor, The National Art Gallery of Singapore and founding director of the Singapore Art Museum.

Asso Prof Wee Wan-ling
Associate Professor of English in School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Nanyang Technological University. Author of many publications which includes Culture, Empire, and the Question of Being Modern (2003) and editor of Local Cultures and the 'New Asia' (2002).

Iola Lenzi
An acknowledged authority, writer and curator of Southeast Asian Contemporary Art. Author of Museums of Southeast Asia (2004)

Daniel Komala
CEO of Larasati Auctioneers, specialists in Southeast Asian Contemporary Art

Isabel Ching
Independent Curator and writer. Specialist in Philippine and Myanmar Contemporary Art. Isabel recently curated the critically acclaimed exhibition on Roberto Chabet, a pioneer of Philippine conceptual art, that was shown in Singapore, the Philippines and Hongkong

Dr Charles Merewether
An art historian, writer and curator who has worked in Australia, Europe and the Americas. A well-published and acknowledged expert on Chinese and Japanese Contemporary Art. Dr Merewether curated the 2006 Sydney Biennale. Author of Ai Weiwei: Under Construction (2009). He is currently the Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Singapore

Prof Chua Beng Huat
Professor with the Asian Research Institute and Dept. of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Prof Chua's publications include Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore (1995) and he has also edited Consumption in Asia: Lifestyles and Identities (2000)

June Yap
Curator and writer. She curated the Singapore Pavilion of the 2011 Venice Biennale featuring the critically acclaimed work “The Cloud of Unknowing” by Ho Tzu Nyen

Visiting Professors

T.K. Sabapathy
Acknowledged as Singapore’s foremost art historian, Sabapathy is currently an Ajunct Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the Naitonal University of Singapore. Professor Sabapathy has published numerous books on Singaporean art, many of which are now considered seminal.

Dr Patrick Flores
Professor of Art Studies at the Department of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines, Diliman and Adjunct Curator at the National Art Gallery of the Philippines and Singapore. Among his publications are Painting History: Revisions in Philippine Colonial Art (1999) and Past Peripheral: Curation in Southeast Asia (2008).

Dr Vishakha Desai
President and CEO of Asia Society, New York. Dr Desai is a frequent speaker at national and international forums As scholar of Asian art, Dr Desai has published and edited several books and numerous articles on traditional and contemporary art. Dr Desai was a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the head of Public Programs and Academic Affairs. She has also taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Columbia University and Williams College.

Entry Requirements

Additional coursework may be required before acceptance into the programme based on applicant’s qualifications

• A good Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised tertiary institution with a serious interest in art history;
• A satisfactory score in written and spoken English OR a minimum of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 for applicants from countries where English is not the first language or whose qualifications are obtained from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction;
• A 1000 word statement of interest highlighting the candidate's reasons for choosing to enroll in the programme, research areas in Asian art histories which interest the candidate, and the ways in which the candidate intends to contribute to the field of art history after graduating;
• Two references (an educational reference from the student's university and a character reference from an employer);
• Samples of academic writing or published work (where available).

Programme Information

Duration: 1.5 years (3 semesters)

Award: Master of Arts Arts & Cultural management

Mode: Full-time. Classes will be conducted in evening mode.

Intake: August 2012 intake & January 2013 Intake

“...more than half of the world’s best-selling painters and sculptors today are from asia...” - The Straits Times (Singapore), 1 December 2008

The Master of Arts Asian Art Histories is the first MA programme in any tertiary arts institution or university worldwide to focus on modern and contemporary Asian art. Institutions that do offer degree programmes in Asian art focus mostly on the classical periods. By contrast, the programme gives students the opportunity to undertake research in a largely untrodden field and thereby contribute to its discourse and scholarship. Modern and contemporary Asian art is an emergent field of inquiry in terms of its scholarship and research. The Programme seeks to fill the gap in the scholarship of modern and contemporary Asian art by providing an academic framework for the serious study and research of the subject. The Programme takes a multifaceted and cross-disciplinary approach in terms of its content, covering a diversity of art forms, disciplines and issues that go beyond the conventional 'history' of painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, installation and video art. it will encompass 'histories' in fields of study as diverse as museology, heritage, conservation, film and the art market.

By focusing on modern and contemporary Asian art, the Programme is in line with LASALLE's focus on contemporary art practice. The Programme also fits in well with LASALLE's strategic plans and ambitions for the development of the College over the next five years, which is to become the world's premier educational institution for contemporary intercultural study of diverse artistic traditions and to become the leading Asian educational institution for contemporary creativity in the arts.

The Master of Arts Asian Art Histories is a full-time Programme that is conducted over three semesters (1.5 years). On successful completion of 120 credits at the end of the second semester, students have the option of exiting the Programme with a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art Histories or proceed to undertake their dissertations in the third and final semester in order to graduate with a Master of Arts Asian Art Histories.

Assessments: Assessment is an integral part of the learning process, and will be formative and diagnostic as well as summative and evaluative, providing feedback to students wherever appropriate. Read more about assessments here.

Modules

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Taking from a starting point in the mid 1850s, the programme will examine the emergence of modernism in asian art, the impact of colonialism and nationalism as well as the role of society and politics in Asian art. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary art, this programme will also have a seminar module where a range of topics and disciplines spanning architecture, photography, design, curation and art collecting will be discussed.

Semester 1:

Introduction to Writing and Researching Art Histories
This module aims to equip students with the fundamental skills and methods to carry out postgraduate research work specific to art history. Students will be guided through the process of academic research and writing such as identifying a research topic, formulating research questions, defining appropriate methodologies, making critical use of primary and secondary sources, writing a literature review and analysing research data.

Methods and Theories of Art Histories
The module aims to critically examine the multiple intersections of critical theories and art histories rather than just being a survey of historiographies or theories of art. While the module will discuss the older historiographical traditions, both in asia and the West, it will focus on the interventions made by critical and cultural theories into the discipline of art history in the second half of the 20th century which particularly critique the eurocentric interpretation of art history.

Strategies and Concepts of the Modern in Asian Art
The idea of the ‘modern’ and its variants ‘modernism’ and ‘modernity’ in the context of Asian art, cannot be understood as simply derivative of Euro American paradigms. Asian modern art discourses developed in relative independence from the linear genealogy of modernism associated with Euro American modernism, in response to specific historical, social and political realities in localised and regional contexts. The problematics in the definition of an asian ‘modernism’, including questions relating to relativisation, authenticity and tradition, will be the focus of critical examination in the module.

Semester 2:

Society and Politics in Asian Art
Perceiving themselves as agents and participants of change, Asian artists have engaged in a diversity of issues on the social and political fronts. These include neo-colonialism, cultural identity, social injustice, political corruption, war, racism and environmental degradation. This module investigates the ways in which new paradigms in artistic practices are influenced by local and regional issues and events as well as the critical engagement of artists with those developments.

Perspectives on Asian Visual cultures and Histories
The module is conducted in a seminar style in which students will have the opportunity to dialogue and debate contemporary issues across an interdisciplinary range of visual histories and cultures within the Asian context. The topics will go beyond the conventional boundaries of art history as defined by academic tradition such as painting, sculpture and architecture and will incorporate photography, performance art, film and new media. Contemporary issues relating to the art market, the biennales, censorship, curation and popular culture will also be covered.

Semester 3:

Dissertation
The dissertation is a major component of this Masters programme that is a consolidated application of the skills and knowledge that students have acquired in the programme. Through the dissertation, students would be expected to demonstrate their ability to undertake academic research through critical engagement with historical and theoretical issues in modern and contemporary Asian art within an appropriate methodological framework.

Assessments: Assessment is an integral part of the learning process, and will be formative and diagnostic as well as summative and evaluative, providing feedback to students wherever appropriate. Read more about assessments here.

Faculty Members

Jeffrey Say
Programme Leader (MA Asian Art Histories) and Art Historian. Specialist in pre and post war Singapore sculpture.

There will be a core team of adjunct lecturers who will teach into the programme. The team will comprise individuals who are either practising art historians or are knowledgeable in the field of art theory, cultural theory or visual studies. The lecturers are all active practitioners in their respective spheres of professional activity. They include art historians, art theorists, curators and artists-theorists. They all have a good track record of publications or curated exhibitions on asian art, or have participated in exhibitions around the region. They are drawn from a diversity of background in terms of training to ensure that students in the programme are exposed to a broad range of perspectives and practice that reflect the philosophy of the programme.

The adjunct lecturers will be supported by visiting professors and lecturers who will include well-respected academics, art historians, cultural theorists, curators and artists within singapore, around the region, as well as internationally.

Guest Lecturers

Kwok Kian Chow
Senior Advisor, The National Art Gallery of Singapore and founding director of the Singapore Art Museum

Asso Prof Wee Wan-ling
Associate Professor of English in School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Nanyang Technological University. Author of many publications which includes Culture, Empire, and the Question of Being Modern (2003) and editor of Local Cultures and the ‘New Asia’ (2002)

Iola Lenzi
An acknowledged authority, writer and curator of Southeast Asian Contemporary Art. Author of Museums of Southeast Asia (2004)

Daniel Komala
CEO of Larasati Auctioneers, specialists in Southeast Asian Contemporary Art

Isabel Ching
Independent Curator and writer. Specialist in Philippine and Myanmar Contemporary Art. Isabel recently curated the critically acclaimed exhibition on Roberto Chabet, a pioneer of Philippine conceptual art, that was shown in Singapore, the Philippines and Hongkong

Dr Charles Merewether
An art historian, writer and curator who has worked in Australia, Europe and the Americas. A well-published and acknowledged expert on Chinese and Japanese Contemporary Art. Dr Merewether curated the 2006 Sydney Biennale. Author of Ai Weiwei: Under Construction (2009). He is currently the Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Singapore

Prof Chua Beng Huat
Professor with the Asian Research Institute and Dept. of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Prof Chua's publications include Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore (1995) and he has also edited Consumption in Asia: Lifestyles and Identities (2000)

June Yap
Curator and writer. She curated the Singapore Pavilion of the 2011 Venice Biennale featuring the critically acclaimed work “The Cloud of Unknowing” by Ho Tzu Nyen

Visiting Professors

T.K. Sabapathy
Acknowledged as Singapore’s foremost art historian, Sabapathy is currently an Ajunct Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the Naitonal University of Singapore. Professor Sabapathy has published numerous books on Singaporean art, many of which are now considered seminal.

Dr Patrick Flores
Professor of Art Studies at the Department of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines, Diliman and Adjunct Curator at the National Art Gallery of the Philippines and Singapore. Among his publications are Painting History: Revisions in Philippine Colonial Art (1999) and Past Peripheral: Curation in Southeast Asia (2008).

Dr Vishakha Desai
President and CEO of Asia Society, New York. Dr Desai is a frequent speaker at national and international forums As scholar of Asian art, Dr Desai has published and edited several books and numerous articles on traditional and contemporary art. Dr Desai was a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the head of Public Programs and Academic Affairs. She has also taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Columbia University and Williams College.

Entry Requirements

Additional coursework may be required before acceptance into the programme based on applicant’s qualifications

A good Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised tertiary institution with a serious interest in art history;
• A satisfactory score in written and spoken English OR a minimum of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 for applicants from countries where English is not the first language or whose qualifications are obtained from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction;
• A 1000 word statement of interest highlighting the candidate's reasons for choosing to enroll in the programme, research areas in Asian art histories which interest the candidate, and the ways in which the candidate intends to contribute to the field of art history after graduating;
• Two references (an educational reference from the student's university and a character reference from an employer);
• Samples of academic writing or published work (where available).