Week 2 - Auckland Triennial 2010

1.What are the themes behind the title "Last ride...' for the Auckland triennial?
** The theme of the next Auckland Triennial investigates adventure and risk as productive tools in their own right within the field of art. In doing so, it moves beyond modernity’s taste for expansion and at the moment of global economic contraction, to leave us with adventure and risk as suspended possibility. The subject area of adventure during a vulnerable economic climate has a context specific relationship to Auckland, which is widely regarded as the country’s business hub, and the city which shouldered the brunt of New Zealand’s stock market crash in 1987 and subsequent adventurous economic reforms.


2. What does a curator of an exhibition do?
** A curator is a type of director of an art gallery or museum. Curators put together exhibitions. They are in charge of a great many aspects relating to art shows. Some of these include: lighting, arrangement, selection of works and even refreshments. Curators also build relationships with artists and estates of artists who are deceased. That helps them to cultivate the best possible works for their gallery's exhibitions. Curators often write prologues for exhibition guides. It gives the curator the chance to explain a few of the ideas behind the show. Curators also may be prolific writers for art magazines, newspapers and other publications. The real essence of a curator's job is to 'frame' a collection of artwork. The best curators present a collection of artwork to the public in a new and interesting way. This aspect is especially relevant when exhibiting works by artists that have been shown many times before.


3. Which countries are represented in this year's triennial?
** Countries represented in this years triennial include artist's from New Zealand, Iran, Australia, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, India, The U.S, France, Japan, Samoa, Denmark, Argentina, Thailand, Germany and Lebanon.


4. Is Auckland the only city to have a triennial? Are there other similar art shows?
** Auckland is not the only place to have a triennial. Triennials have been held all across the world, celebrating where diversity and culture collide. Guangzhou, China and Turin, Italy are just a couple of other places where similar triennials have been held.


5. Name 4 artists who will be showing work in the show.
** Four artists that will be displaying works in the show are Shilpa Gupta from Mumbai, India, Gerard Byrne from Dublin, Ireland, Alicia Frankovich from Tauranga, New Zealand and Bundith Phunsombatlert from Bangkok, Thailand.
PICTURED: Work from Shilpa Gupta

6. Select an artist's work from the website, copy the work to your blog and write a short
comment on what the work is, and what it represents.(Reference your sources)
** IMAGE:
Bundith Phunsombatlert, Wind Study, 2008-, computer fans, microcontroller, sensor, electric wires, courtesy of the artist


BUNDITH PHUNSOMBATLERT
Born 1972, Bangkok, Thailand. Lives and works in Rhode Island, New York.
Originally trained in printmaking, Bundith Phunsombatlert began working with new media technologies in 2004 during a residency at the 12th International Symposium for the Electronic Arts in Helsinki, Finland. The introduction of new media, sculpture and installation elements in his work allowed his practice to extend beyond print's traditional boundaries. Phunsombatlert's work playfully satirises the consumerist obsessions of Thailand's burgeoning middle class urban population, but his critiques are equally applicable internationally. His Ready-Made Human Products for Sale, 2000, installed in a Bangkok shopping mall, presented 'amputated' photo-screenprinted facial organs of Thailand's most popular celebrities, individually presented for purchase on hygienic plastic. Commenting on cosmetic surgery as well as the illegal organ trade, the shop front installation presented a fractured, identikit view of the glamorous figures of popular Thai celebrities.

Phunsombatlert is currently studying at the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States, after receiving a Master's degree in Printmaking from Silpakorn University, Bangkok. His work has recently been included in the Athens Video Art Festival, Athens, Greece, 2009; the 3rd Guangzhou Triennial, China, 2008; and the Freewaves 10th Biennial Festival of Film, Video and Experimental New Media, UCLA Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 2006. Phunsombatlert's solo exhibition On the Ball, The Game Has Begun, 'Beware Crossing the Grid', at Bangkok University Gallery, 2006, expanded his exploration of consumerism into the realm of politics.

WIND STUDY - 2008: The work (pictured) is made of small electrical gadgets and obviously portrays themes from the title. The lady/girl depicted alongside the snippet looks as if she is blowing into the created device and is another great addition to his new media art collection.

7. Comment on why you find this work interesting, how does it relate to your own interests?
** I find this work interesting as it is a complete contrast to the printmaking the artist originally worked with. It shows his experimentation and exploration beyond his comfort zone and encourages the curiosity of audiences worldwide. The beginnings of Bundith's new experimentation 'extends beyond print's traditional boundaries' and shows another level of artistic expertise within his accustomed style of presentation. I find the transition from materials used in his print works to his media works fascinating as they are also relevant to the times they were made. These ideas relate to my interests as they encourage change which is evident in the forever-evolving world of the present. They give ideas of the continuous upgrade of technology and convey mechanical and technological ideas, furthering invention for the future.