Staff Picks: The Mughal Cup

In this occasional series, members of staff introduce you to their favorite pieces in the museum. We rotate the works in our galleries every six months, so we’ll have a fresh set of picks each time new objects go on display.

Cup with nineteenth-century French fittings, 1650-1750. Northern India or Pakistan. Nephrite, enamel, gilding, silver, and garnets. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60J961.

Idit Agam from our store chose this Mughal cup:

My first reaction coming upon this piece was to laugh at the audacity of whoever decided this delicate little cup, with its meticulous raised floral design, needed the “improvement” of gilded silver fittings and a few garnets here and there, but I love it as a tangible reminder that the histories of the empires of Europe and Asia are not easily teased apart.

Phantoms of Asia Tour, Part 3: Asian Cosmologies

Cosmological painting, approx. 1750–1850. India; Rajasthan. Opaque watercolors on cloth. From the Collection of William K. Ehrenfeld, M.D., 2005.64.54.

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. In our third episode, we explore Asian cosmologies through some very different works.

As you enter Hambrecht Gallery, you’ll see a large Indian cosmological painting. Many people, including guest curator Mami Kataoka, name it as one of their favorite pieces in the exhibition. If you’re like many of us, you’ll be surprised to learn that the painting is not one of the contemporary works in the show; it dates from some time between 1750 and 1850. It has been in our collection for some time but has never been on view before; the video below gives a glimpse into the painstaking conservation effort that made it ready for this exhibition.

The painting uses a common geometry of interconnected spheres to represent the cosmos. It’s a convention that you also see in Tibetan thangkas, including an example that hangs opposite the painting. The work begs to be decoded—as with contemporary art, there is no single established reading of this painting, and the viewer is forced to let go of any expectation that they can have all the facts.

The connection between this painting and Poklong Anading‘s series Anonymity might not be immediately apparent, but these images also explore cosmological themes. In an earlier post we shared Mami Kataoka’s thoughts on the relationship between the Chinese bronze mirrors and Poklong’s work, a series of nine lightboxes. On her tour, Allison spoke about how these images turn traditional ideas of portraiture on their head by deliberately obscuring the subject’s face. She also pointed out the connections to other traditions in art history, where reflections of light can suggest a connection to the spiritual realm. The individual subjects are depersonalized and placed within a larger universe. The images are always shown in groups of nine, and were reduced in size for Phantoms so that they could be displayed together in this space. An interesting fact: Originally, the curators believed that all these photographs were taken in metro Manila, but in fact some were taken in Zurich.

Developing the exhibition has not only helped us make connections between different artistic traditions, it has also led us to artists we didn’t previously know. Allison had not encountered Poklong before planning this show—they were introduced by another Filipino artist whose work is also included in Phantoms, Ringo Bunoan. The show has given us a wonderful opportunity to tap into smaller art scenes where the community of artists is more important than the gallery system, and it’s these human connections that have enabled us to bring you such a diverse selection of works. If you want to learn more about contemporary art in the Philippines, join Ringo and Poklong In Conversation on August 18.

Tour Part 1: Heman Chong
Tour Part 2: Hiroshi Sugimoto
Tour Part 4: Hidden Energies
Tour Part 5: The Afterlife
Tour Part 6: Myth, Ritual, Meditation
Tour Part 7: Art from Home 

Phantoms of Asia Tour, Part 2: Hiroshi Sugimoto

A visitor contemplating Hiroshi Sugimoto’s “Five Elements”.

In easy-to-miss Lee Gallery, visitors to Phantoms of Asia will find a row of tiny pagodas on plinths. These are Hiroshi Sugimoto’s vision of the cosmos, rendered in optical quality glass and photographs.

Sugimoto has been creating seascapes since the early 1980s. These seascapes have a personal connection for the artist because he uses the series, which is ongoing, to place events in his own life. It also has a larger meaning; the five-part Japanese pagoda represents the five elements of the cosmos, while the ocean is seen as the source of all life.

In displaying these objects, Sugimoto wants to create a sense of theater. He visited the museum a few times before Phantoms opened and determined every aspect of the room. The yellow didactic panel that explains the work is deliberately outside the room, and the fact that there is no seating was part of the artist’s design. The experience of seeing the piece is part of the work; in the intimacy of close looking the viewer can contemplate their relationship to these objects and to the universe itself.

Tour Part 1: Heman Chong
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 

Asian | Education: Our New Site for Teachers

Today we’re proud to announce the launch of our new site for teachers.

The new site features lesson plans, videos, discussions of artworks, activities, school tours, professional development, and everything else you might need to bring Asian art and culture into your classroom. You can even save the things you like so you’ve got your materials all in one place.

We’re adding more content all the time, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for today check back later or let us know and we’ll tell you when it’s coming. And we’d love to hear your feedback: leave your comments in the blog or contact our education team.

This site was made possible by the generous support of Bank of America and The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.

Bob and Fred talk about the Asian Art Museum

We talked to storyteller Fred and docent Bob about their experience volunteering at the Asian Art Museum. Check out the interview with one of our favorite couples, and join us this weekend for Pride!

Pride at the Asian

Pride is around the corner and on our doorstep, and we can’t wait.

We are offering $5 entry all weekend, but like everyone else we want to be out where the action is. We’ll have booths on our front steps and in front of Breathing Flower in Civic Center Plaza. Stop by to get your picture taken with the lotus (we’ll give you a temporary tattoo in return—while stocks last!) and grab a coupon for discounted entry. Some lucky visitors might even find themselves with a free ticket.

Look out for the hula hoops out the front of the building, too. That’s right, we said hula hoops.

See you there.

PS check out our latest video, featuring Bob and Fred, two of our favorite volunteers.

Gift Ideas for Dad

We all know dads are hard to buy for. Come Fathers’ Day, it seems like you’re choosing between something unexciting he needs, like socks, or something funny but superfluous that will end up forgotten in a desk drawer. This year, break out of the Father’s Day rut with something stylish, useful, and oh-so-manly from the museum store—we’ve got something for every kind of Dad.

Art Dad
Wataru Sugiyama sculpture ($250)

This whimsical dog just arrived; we so want to take him to the park and throw a ball.

Beer Dad

Nambu bottle openers ($30-$45)

These chunky fellows won’t let Dad down when opening his beverage of choice, and they look great on the bar. A variety of designs are available.

Geek Dad

Earth Toy interlocking blocks ($35.00+)

If Dad’s the type who’s always stealing the kids’ LEGO these are the way to go. Earth Toy blocks are made from natural ingredients such as cedar bark, coffee beans, and green tea, mixed with polypropylene. Their subdued palette makes them great for the office, too.

Wine Dad

Sugahara glasses ($35-$70)

These beautiful Japanese stemless wine glasses are perfect for the dad with sophisticated tastes and a cellar to match. And we also have glasses for the whisk(e)y connoisseur.

Book Dad

If you want to go small and personal, Chin Music Press’ titles are a combination of art object and book, tactile but still great reading. The collection Kuhaku ($28.50) is an old favorite, but my first choice would be Todd Shimoda’s newest book, Subduction ($25.00) which combines science and philosophy in an intriguing mystery novel.

If you really want to impress an art dad, Phaidon’s massive The Art Museum ($200) is ideal. Compiling the entire history of art from cave painting to the present, it culls its source material from the best museums in the world (including ours). Not something you’d want to take on a bus, it’s as much a piece of furniture as book, clocking in at nearly 1,000 pages and almost 18 pounds.

My dad and I are much more likely to get into a conversation about imperialism and 19th-century politics, so Peter Hopkirk’s classic The Great Game ($18.00) is what I gave him a few years ago. This year I’m considering Dragon Fighter, the new autobiography from the Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer. Yeah, I think I get my history nerdism from him.

If you’re stumped for a present, drop by the museum store and take a look. The fact that Saturday is Members’ Day (double discount!) might actually reward your procrastination.

Fish, Food

Dootsu Toshosai, Carp Shaped Hanging Basket, Lloyd Cotsen Japanese Bamboo Basket Collection

I have worked at the Asian Art Museum for over 20 years and there are several objects in the galleries that I never get tired of looking at. In the Japanese gallery—way at the end by the tea room —we always have a beautiful collection of bamboo baskets from the Cotsen Collection on display. The baskets get changed out every 6–8 months and I look forward to seeing the new selection each time. At the moment this area is especially interesting because  the tea room objects have been selected by artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, and one of the contemporary pieces from Phantoms of Asia has found its way in there.

If you wander a ways down the Japanese gallery to the case full of diminutive netsuke (the sculptural toggles used to attach pouches to a kimono),  look for this fish with amazing details including actual fish skin.

This usually makes me hungry for Japanese food, so at lunch time I walk over to Nojo on Franklin St in Hayes Valley for some White Miso Glazed Trout or their delicious noodles.

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.