The body east: the proliferation of performance and body art in Asia, often with an implicit political charge, was chronicled in a recent exhibition at the Queens Museum - Import/Export

Art in America, April, 2002 by Eleanor Heartney

Taken as a whole, "Translated Acts" provided a multifaceted vision of the body in Asian art. At times a battleground in the struggles between the individual and society, the body also appeared here as a place for self-testing and self-discovery. As an art material that requires no special expense or expertise, it is fundamentally democratic, available to artists in even the most remote and economically deprived areas. It also seems to foster remarkably accessible art. Despite clear cultural differences in specific approaches and actions, Asian body art, like its Western counterpart, derives its effectiveness from the way it reflects on our common humanity.

"Translated Acts: Performance and Body Art from East Asia, 1990-2001" was seen at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin [Mar. 8-May 6, 2001], and the Queens Museum of Art [Oct. 23, 2001-Feb. 17, 2002]. The accompanying catalogue includes essays by the curator, Yu Yeon Kim, as well as by Gao Ming-Liu, Fumio Nanjo and Wang Mo-lin.

Eleanor Heartney is a freelance critic based in New York.