Jakkai on His Recent Works

Art Through His Eyes

On Art School, Politics, and Free Time

About Art Speak
Art Speak is a multi-disciplinary youth engagement and job preparedness program featuring a dynamic learning environment, real world museum experience, and arts education practice. Art Speak offers training and stipends to three San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) youth in grades 10–12. Interns learn art production and multimedia skills, produce hands-on activities and content for family and public programs and the museum’s Education Resource Room, and create awareness of the museum’s programs through outreach to their peers. Interns are introduced to other museum departments and staff, learning about museum operations and careers, and develop their presentation and public speaking skills through interaction with the general public and schools and community groups. For more information: www.asianart.org/artspeak.htm

This Balinese folktale about a gecko provides another important lesson:

Especially for Teachers: For lesson plans on Balinese art and culture that coincide with the concepts expressed in the above videos, view the related Educator Resource Packet. In addition, hear these stories and more and explore related artworks with your students by scheduling a free storytelling school tour at the Asian Art Museum.

The series of events depicted in the scroll (left) comes from a northeastern Indian version of the Story of Rama (the Ramayana). As is typical of scrolls from Bengal, in northeastern India, the scenes unfold in a linear fashion. This painted scroll would have been carried from village to village by a storyteller-priest who who would narrate the stories in public performances. The scroll was unrolled scene by scene as the storyteller’s narrative unfolded. Such paintings not only served as visual aids but simultaneously affirmed the existence of the mythic world they represented. Moreover, the recitation of religious stories and the audience’s participation through listening and viewing were means by which worshipers could demonstrate their piety and accrue religious merit.

Especially for Teachers: Through the study of The Story of Rama (The Ramayana) as well as a broader view of the arts and culture of Bali, students can experience how the literary, visual, and performing arts can provide a lens through which to understand the world—and to reflect on their own identities and world views. Prompt your students to explore how artists communicate events and characters with the use of the Lesson: Epic Story Scrolls (Grades 5-8). In this lesson, students will work in groups to observe and describe scenes in the scroll, then compare the context of the scroll’s use with those of scrolls illustrating other epics. They will then create a biographical scroll from the perspective of a character in The Story of Rama (The Ramayana). View The Abduction of Sita (an Excerpt from the Ramayana) video with your students to provide additional context for this lesson.

Hinduism originated in northern India and moved to Southeast Asia through maritime trade. More than 1,000 years ago, evidence of Hinduism existed in much of Southeast Asia. Though Hinduism is still popular in Southeast Asia, the Indonesian island of Bali is the only place in this vast region where a form of it is dominant even today. One of the ways Hinduism spread was through the telling of the Ramayana, a 1,000-year-old Indian epic.

Especially for Teachers: Download the Ravana handout (pdf), for activities related to this object and the Ramayana (The Story of Rama) to conduct with your students in the museum or in your classroom. For related videos and curriculum guides, visit the Asian Art Museum on ArtBabble (a video site dedicated to art content) and the Asian Art Museum’s  Educator Resources page. We would love to hear your feedback on our new Art At-A-Glance format. Stay tuned: there are more to come!

Some questions to ponder as you watch:

• Can writing forms reveal information about belief systems? How so?
• Can writing be considered an art form? Why or why not?
• What are the similarities and differences between these two writing forms and that of languages you are familiar with?
• Can you make any additional connections?

Check out the conversation over at the Contemporary Jewish Museum: cjmvoices.blogspot.com

1. free flowing conversation, about art, for anyone.
2. a place where everyone is invited to join an open, ongoing discussion – no art degree required.

The Asian Art Museum has now joined the ranks of institutions such as the Guggenheim, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the New York Public Library on ArtBabble.

What is ArtBabble? And how is it relevant to teachers? (You may ask.) Well, ArtBabble was conceived and initiated by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in order to showcase video art content in high quality format from a variety of sources and perspectives. ArtBabble is not blocked by school districts (as is YouTube), and has a great Notes feature, which allows you to delve deeper into video content via related educator resource packets, websites, works of art in museums’ collections, and much more.

Check out our latest video, What does the Asian Art Museum Mean to You? Babble on! www.artbabble.org

The Asian Art Museum’s exciting new site on iTunes U enables the museum to extend its educational mission by reaching further beyond the museums’ walls. The content featured on the site includes a diverse range of multimedia resources on Asian art and culture such as audio guides and videos on the museum’s acclaimed collection and special exhibitions; public lectures by renowned scholars; educator resource packets and art activities; footage from museum performances, events and  demonstrations; short documentaries; and much more!

To begin exploring the Asian Art Museum’s new iTunes U site, please visit: http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/asianart.org

For an excellent tutorial on how to use iTunes U, see: http://www.apple.com/education/guidedtours/itunesu.html