Phantoms of Asia Tour, Part 1: Heman Chong

Heman Chong, Calendars (2020-2096), 2004-2010, Offset prints on paper. 1001 sheets, each H: 11 3/4 in x W: 11 3/4 in. Installation view. Photo by Jay Jao.

Recently staff were treated to an exclusive tour of Phantoms of Asia led by Associate Curator of Contemporary Art Allison Harding. While Allison can’t personally escort every visitor around the galleries, we wanted to share the experience. We’ll be presenting a series of posts based on the tour, with Allison’s insights into the works and the artists who created them. First up, Heman Chong‘s Calendars (2020–2096).

In this work, Chong presents an imagined vision of the future through 1001 calendar pages starting in the year 2020. Chong started with that year because he felt that it was a kind of fulcrum: many of the big goals we hear about—around health, climate change, economic stability—take 2020 as their target date. It’s a year that could be a promise or an ultimatum.

Calendars (2020–2096) is presented with the pages attached directly to the gallery walls. Chong personally oversaw much of the installation, ensuring that the spaces between pages were absolutely uniform throughout the room. Allison commented that this uniformity put her in mind of the use of the grid in postwar art. Rosalind Krauss wrote in the Summer 1979 issue of October 9 that the “grid announces modern art’s will to silence, its hostility to literature, to narrative, to discourse.” For others, the grid is about creating complexity from the simplest of formal structures. It’s an interesting context to use when thinking about Chong’s work, which deliberately shows scenes devoid of people, haunted spaces, suggesting that what we have created might outlive us. Although I’m guessing that an artist who considers social media to be part of his art practice is not entirely hostile to discourse.

The images that make up the work were all taken in Singapore. Chong wanted to use public spaces for this work, but he also never asked people to leave. He simply waited in the space until no one was around. It’s hardly surprising, then, that these images were captured over a seven-year span—including an entire year in Ikea. He did not seek permission for any of these photographs, which is significant in Singapore where the use pf public space is highly regulated.

Walking into the room that contains this work, I was at first overwhelmed. Then slowly I started to see patterns, repetition of the same location, similar locations across a single column. These are just a couple of ways you could think about it; spend some time with it and you’ll find plenty more.

Tour Part 2: Hiroshi Sugimoto
Tour Part 3: Asian Cosmologies
Tour Part 4: Hidden Energies
Tour Part 5: The Afterlife
Tour Part 6: Myth, Ritual, Meditation
Tour Part 7: Art from Home 

Related: Heman Chong on Sci Fi

Korean Objects Out on Loan

Sharon contemplating our Moon Jar in the National Museum of Korea's exhibition.

I just returned from delivering and overseeing the installation of 10 Asian Art Museum objects to an exhibition at the National Museum of Korea. The exhibition is called Korean Art from the United States and if you find yourself in Seoul between June 5 and August 5 you can see it for yourself.

Staff at the National Museum of Korea prepare our Standing Buddha for display.

The exhibition highlights the history and importance of Korean art collections in the United States and features Korean treasures  from museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Harvard Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Brooklyn Museum. For more, check out these reviews from The Korea Times and The Korea Herald.

Although we removed nine of our most precious Korean objects from display for this loan, including our Standing Buddha, the Moon Jar and Tiger jar, we have borrowed five objects from the collections of the National Museum of Korea to replace them. Come and see them soon in the Korean gallery.

Where is this Flower?

Yoshihiro Suda, Morning Glory, 2010. Paint on wood.

The artist Yoshihiro Suda was here recently to help install his beautiful painted wooden flowers.  The flowers are stunning and actually look like they are real. The good news is that these flowers will last the entire length of the Phantoms of Asia exhibition.  It takes nearly a month to make just one of these incredible pieces.  Suda really enjoys challenging the viewer with his work so I challenge you to find this lovely morning glory in our galleries.

He also enjoys making leaves and weeds, some of which you can also find on display. He grew up working on his father’s farm and had to pull many weeds in his life, an activity which somehow inspired his art.

Yoshihiro Suda, Weeds, 2008. Paint on wood.

Suda told me a funny story of placing some of these weeds in another gallery setting: they were displayed out in the open, and to his horror when he returned the next day he discovered that the cleaning crew had thrown them away overnight. Thankfully our stellar staff are not likely to make such a mistake.

Five Reasons to Make Us Part of Your Mothers’ Day

Sunday is Mothers’ Day. Whether you think this is a sacred day to celebrate everything your Mom has given you or a cynical attempt by greeting card companies to fleece you of your May paycheck, chances are you’re planning to do something special for your Mom. Here are five reasons we should be on your list:

1. Your Mom took you to museums. On rainy days, on Saturdays, on holidays, your Mom stood in line with you outside. She looked at bugs with you. She encouraged you to pore over old swords and dinosaur eggs and she patiently followed you as you sprinted through her favorite art museum. So now it’s your turn.

2. Surprise your Mom with a gift membership; she can enjoy the museum year-round, as well as take advantage of discounts and special offers. If you buy a membership during your visit we’ll take off the cost of her admission ticket, too.

3. We’re open late Thursday (till 9 pm), so you can stop by on your way home for a last-minute Mothers’ Day gift from our store.

4. Sunday is going to be a beautiful day. Treat Mom to lunch on our outdoor terrace and enjoy a first glimpse of Breathing Flower, a motorized 24-foot red lotus that will be installed on Saturday May 12 in Civic Center Plaza.

5. There’s plenty here for you, too. Many of our Phantoms of Asia artists will have installed their works in our galleries, so it’s a great opportunity to get a sneak peek at some of them. And you and Mom can visit old favorites and discover new ones. We don’t have any dinosaur eggs, but we do have the odd sword.

A Farewell to Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak, children’s author and illustrator, died today. For those who loved his books it’s a great loss.

You may be wondering what this has to do with Asian Art. Granted, not a lot. But it has to do with how we think about children, and what we share with them. Sendak’s work is dark, exploring some of the grimmest topics a child could be exposed to. He didn’t believe in sheltering children from the real world. He had a deep respect for the ability of children to deal with complex and challenging themes. For an insight into Sendak’s work, check out this recent interview from The Colbert Report.

Phantoms of Asia, which opens on May 18, is in many ways a challenging show. As a parent, I am wondering how my three-year-old will react to the images. I wonder if he should even be exposed to some of them. I have been speaking with other parents here at the museum about how we plan to address some of the questions that could come up: about death, about violence, about sex. We will all have different ways of dealing with these questions, depending on the age of our kids, our own experience, our parenting styles. But we’re all bringing our children to see the show. We all feel there’s something in it that will be enriching for them. And I can’t speak for the others, but for me I know that Maurice Sendak is part of the reason that I feel prepared to engage with this material: not just as a parent, but as a person.

Vale, Mr. Sendak.

Phantoms of Asia: Art Everywhere

We’ve wrapped up week two of the Phantoms of Asia installation (read about week one here) and a crazy week it has been. Because this exhibition encompasses the entire museum, the install team has had the challenge of juggling simultaneous installation in several galleries at once.

Phantoms of Asia Curator Mami Kataoka surveys "Mountain Gods" (2011) by Aki Kondo, being installed in the Tateuchi Thematic Gallery.

Tateuchi gallery was the first major transformation. The brilliantly colored walls of Deities, Demons, and Dudes with ‘Staches have given way to a contemporary white space exploring the theme of sacred mountains.

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Artists at Work

Jakkai Siributr, Karma Cash. © Jakkai Siributr. Courtesy of Tyler Rollins Fine Art.

Last week we told you that Sun K Kwak had started work on her site-specific installation. She’s still working, and her ethereal piece now stretches almost the entire length of North Court.

Over the next two weeks, Kwak will be joined by Charwei Tsai, Heman Chong, Adrian Wong, Takayuki Yamamoto, Jompet Kuswidananto, and Jakkai Siributr, all of whom will be in the galleries installing their pieces. These artists work with materials as diverse as self-adhesive labels (Heman Chong) and live plants (Charwei Tsai), so it’s safe to say that the installations will be like nothing we have ever seen at the museum before.

Most of the artists will be working in public view, so if you’re in the museum you may catch a glimpse of a work in progress. The busiest days are likely to be May 10th and 11th; plan to come in on one of those days if your heart is set on seeing artists at work.

Phantoms of Asia: Installation in Progress

The first week of an exhibition install is always a magical week. As we begin to unpack and examine the artwork up close, we are continually reminded that catalog photographs are no substitute for the real thing.

Museum Conservator Katie Holbrow examines "Absence of God VII" (2008) by Raqib Shaw.

For Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past, the first week of installation has concentrated on incorporating contemporary artwork into the second and third floor galleries.

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Inspiration, Installation

Sun K. Kwak at work on the installation.

What happens when an artist is suddenly inspired? She gets to work, of course. Artist Sun K. Kwak was scheduled to begin her installation on the first floor of the museum next week, but a flash of inspiration has brought her in today.

We don’t know how long she will be working this week and we don’t know when she’ll be done. As our exhibition manager Kelly put it, “This is kinda like whale watching—things just happen.” We are watching art performed and made in real time. If you’re able, you should join us.

Artists from Phantoms of Asia will be installing their work in our galleries over the next couple of weeks.

Check back here for updates about who is coming when. We promise you’ll know as soon as we do.

Tattoo You

A tattoo by Marcus Kuhn depicting the Hindu goddess Kali. Image courtesy of Marcus Kuhn.

We’re not new to tattoos. Back in 2008 we had tattoo artists work one of our Matcha evenings (you can see the video here). Taking the connection between Asian art and tattoo culture a step farther, we recently partnered with Marcus Kuhn’s online documentary project Gypsy Gentleman to film the third episode in the series.

Marcus plus tattoo artists Jason Kundell and George Campise spent nearly a full day at the museum. We see them pondering the beauty of the collection and seeking inspiration for tattoo designs, telling the viewer in one scene: “that is just dying to be tattooed.” The show explores their artistic process through to the execution of three original tattoos on eager volunteers, including one brave soul from our Marketing and Communications staff. Check out the episode, and tell us your Asian art related tattoo stories in the comments.