Art History Non Western (Essay Sample)

Art History Non Western
Name
Title of the Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Art History Non-Western
Modern European and America artist engagement with pre-modern and modern Asian art is not a new thing. In this reading, Clarke states that as early as 1920, artists such Mark Tobey had already learnt the Chinese brushwork. Additionally, after the World War II, the Western world welcomed Zen Buddhism’s art works and calligraphy from China and Japan. Nonetheless, the Asian art is interpreted as an inferior form of the European and North American art. Only a few Western artists bothered to learn about the contemporary Asian art. As a result, assessment of the Asian art by the west is based on assumptions. Clarke reiterates that art classes are skewed in favor of the West in the modern-day classrooms. Therefore, Clarke’s arguments are a perfect summary of the assumptions and biases accorded to the Asian art over the years.
Little is known about the history of the Asian art because only a handful of artists have bothered to study it. Worse is the fact that those who were lucky to visit Asia in the pre-modern error disregarded it. For instance, Tobey called Asia an ugly place when he visited the continent in the 1920s in an effort to study its arts. Clarke adds that not much has changed. Ignorance of the Asian art is rife despite advancement in technology. The asymmetry in the knowledge of these artistic works is as worse as it was in the 1930’s and 1940s. Although the 1990’s saw a renewed interest for Asian art by North Americans and Europeans, only curators adopted it for exhibitions. Few or no artists took it to the studios. To add salt to injury, art historians are not providing contextual reading despite the curators displaying Asian arts. Clarke states that “even when modern and contemporary Asian art is being dealt with in the classroom, it is confined to an Asian Ghetto and not placed alongside its European and North American counterpart.” Most Western art critics believe that this form of art had no place in their region.
In this article, Clarke reiterates that Asian art is being preserved by the Europe and the US as evidence that other cultures are trying to copy the west. Wang Guangyi works are typical examples of communism trying to adopt capitalistic tendencies. To the US, this signifies success in its post-Cold War foreign policy. Thus, there is more than meets the eye. The battle could be more political than cultural. Nonetheless, an article by Hammond and Hammond states that Pompidou (in France) and other museums contain a wide range of arts from under-represented cultures. These museums are clear indications that not all art created outside Europe and North America are second-rate. Accordingly, the exhibitions in this center counter ethnocentric tendencies within the contemporary and modern art world. Not only are non-Western art and Western arts displayed side by side, but the important issue of how Asian and other minority cultures’ art should be presented to the audience is addressed.
Clarke also claims that Asians have deep understanding of the Western contemporary and modern art despite their counterpart having little or no clue on contemporary and modern art from Asia. The Bombay Progressives case study vindicates Clarke. Arts from members of Bombay Progressive Artist Group have a western touch. In other words, they try to blend Indian culture with European and the North American Culture. On the other hand, the Terracotta Army case study is proof that the West has little information on the Asian arts. Although the case study depicts Qin Shi Huangdi as primitive and dictatorial, Terracotta Army museums are a major art attraction in major cities. Bowers Museum in California is one of the homes to this unique art. Earlier rumors indicated that Huangdi only craved for military might, but recent studies show that this is not true. Recently, archeologist have learned that he was judged through an incomplete assessment as fresh evidence indicate that he had civil structures that lasted for a long time. Such anomalies are as a result of skewed and shallow assessments of arts from Asia.
In conclusion, Asian art has been of interest to the West for many years. As a result, there are many changes to the way people view this once underestimated and neglected region. Despite the groundbreaking art boom in china, more needs to be done. There is limited knowledge of Asian arts in the West. However, just like other stakeholders, art historians are guilty of not addressing this issue. The world will overcome biases and attitudes towards Asian arts when their stories are told. Stereotypes are challenged when individuals learn from other cultures. As a result, the preconceived notion that modern art is oriented to a single source will be disapproved. Audiences must be given a chance to know that there are competing cultures in modern art. For instance, they must know that Zhang Daqiah, a Chinese, is the highest selling artist in the modern era.
Bibliography
Lubow, Arthur. “Terra Cotta Soldiers on the March: A traveling exhibition of China's terra cotta warriors sheds new light on the ruler whose tomb they guarded.” Smithsonian.com. Accessed July 19, 201.  HYPERLINK "/history/terra-cotta-soldiers-on-the-march-30942673/" /history/terra-cotta-soldiers-on-the-march-30942673/
Clarke, David. “Contemporary Asian art and the West,” in Globalization and Contemporary Art, edited by Jonathan Harris. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Company, 2011.
 HYPERLINK "/author/int-jeff_hammond/" \o "Posts by...