UPDATED A Rediscovered Treasure?
UPDATE: The entire backside of the stele has a whole grid of inscribed Chinese characters in very legible clerical script.
detail of back side
Archive for 'Behind the Scenes'
Tag: Nancy Jacobs
Tag, round three: In this series, museum staff, artists, and guests answer a grip of questions about life, love, liberty and all that magic. The featured person then tags another with five more questions. It’s like transmitting a virus, but happy and fun. Up today is Nancy Jacobs, executive assistant to the director, tagged by Ken Ikemoto, school programs associate.
Do you collect anything or any type of experience?
I have an amazing collection of stamps in my passport! I save my old passports just because the visas and entry stamps are a wonderful reminder of the trips I have taken. And when I’m travelling, I try to find small boxes and have at least one from each place I visit. I look for a box that evokes the place it’s bought, is handmade and for practical reasons, it needs to be easy to carry. (That being said, I have gotten on airplanes with boxes large enough to elicit a look of exasperation from the flight attendants!) My favorites are a mother-of-pearl box that I bought in Thailand, a beautiful handmade metal box with silver inlay I bought in India, and a box from the souk in Marrakesh that turns into a bracelet.
I also have a collection of beaded belts I bought in tourist gift shops. The best one is from the Trees of Mystery: my rule used to be that they could cost no more than $2.50; that will show you long I’ve been collecting them.
Not so hidden after all
Flying someplace fabulous this summer? If so you might just stumble across the Asian Art Museum on your way out of town.
Hidden Meanings: Symbolism in Chinese Art at San Francisco International Airport (photo courtesy San Francisco Airport Museums).
Beginning this week, more than one hundred objects from the museum’s collection will be featured in the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) exhibition Hidden Meanings: Symbolism in Chinese Art. Based on the work of Asian Art Museum curator emeritus Terese Tse Bartholomew, this exhibition explores auspicious symbols and wish-granting motifs found in Chinese art.
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Tag: Ken Ikemoto
Tag: Round Two. In this series museum staff, artists, and guests answer a grip of questions about life, love, liberty and all that magic. The featured person then tags another with five more questions. It’s like transmitting a virus, but happy and fun. Next up is, me, Ken Ikemoto, School Programs Associate, tagged by Nicole Harvey.
Ken Ikemoto
Where do you most want to be right now?
At this moment there are many places that I would love to be. But one place that comes to mind would be soaking in a steamy outdoor bath somewhere in northern Japan. My mind would be soft clouds slow gliding across tall azure skies and the sound of trickling water, distant songbirds, and the wind in the leaves. Yes, that is where I want to be right now. Oh, and about half an hour later I will want to be eating a sumptuous feast of delectable foods.
China in the 21st Century–discussion on KPFA this morning
Jeffrey Wasserstrom gave a really interesting interview on KPFA this morning about China. (He comes on at 34 minutes into the morning show).
It made me think anew about the rapid changes China has undergone over the past 40 years. When asked for his predictions for the future of China, Jeffrey said he expects China to keep surprising us since all predictions have been off base for a long time. Jeffrey, who is professor of History at UC Irvine, will be at the Asian introducing some films about contemporary China on September 5 at 11am and 2pm, and at 12pm will be signing copies of his books, including his latest Global Shanghai, 1850–2010.
150 Years of Immigration Issues
Every clear morning I tuck in my right pant leg and pedal my way over to the museum. After setting my silver wheels up on the bike rack in the loading dock, I take the stairs up to the Education offices on the second floor. The dimly lit entry to the Education office space is located behind the tea room in the second floor Japan galleries. Because I pass through these galleries everyday, I always look forward to new rotations of Japanese art.
The latest additions to the Japan galleries include a pair of near-life-sized Japanese dolls in kimono complete with miniature accessories in a striking installation. Their innocent smiling white faces reflect in the gallery cases behind my own reflection. I know my sister would absolutely shudder at that description because she is one of those people that are just irrationally creeped out by dolls but I find them to be quite cherub-like. They are a part of the thematic exhibition Japan’s Early Ambassadors to San Francisco 1860-1927, currently on display.
This exhibition begins with the arrival of the ship Kanrin Maru and the first Japanese embassy in San Francisco, this year being the 150th anniversary of their arrival. It examines the experiences of some of the first Japanese diplomats and cultural emissaries to the United States. The exhibition also includes artwork and objects relating to Japanese artists active in San Francisco in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Asian Art in San Antonio
I recently returned from a site visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) where we have some loans from our collection that we have been checking each year. I feel a strong connection to SAMA because it was the first loan I coordinated when I first began working at the Asian in 1991.
Rear view of the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA)
The Asian has had loans from our permanent collection on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) since February 1992. At that time SAMA, which opened their doors in 1981 in the remodeled historic Lone Star Brewery complex, had a collection of Asian Art which they supplemented by borrowing additional pieces for display.
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Tag: Nicole Harvey
“Tag, you’re it.” One staffer asks another AAM staff, artist, or guest a handful of questions. The interviewed subject then comes up with his / her own set of questions, and chooses whom next to interview. Just like a hearty game of tag.
To inaugurate this new series, we have Nicole Harvey – Museum Store Associate at the Asian Art Museum.
Nicole Harvey
What book would you recommend to somebody?
This reminds me of a librarian in a novel who refuses to read anything in his library because he doesn’t want to become unduly attached to a single book, as attachment clouds judgment. I have no such problems and will play favorites whenever possible—but I have a lot of favorites.
Offhandedly, I love The History of Writing because it’s one of those fantastic over-arching tomes, beginning with cuneiform and oracle bones and ending with the internet. It’s an omnibus, excellent for those with a short attention span: just open anywhere and you’ll learn something.
But it would be lousy bus-reading, so I’d suggest something like Christopher Robbins’ Apples Are from Kazakhstan, because I’ll read anything on Central Asia, or one of the small, well-designed titles from Chin Music Press. Sorry, that’s not one book, is it? I could go on, but apparently you have other questions.
A Curator’s Notes – Women in Shanghai, Part 1
Historically, many battles have been fought over the body of the woman. So we knew that the images of Chinese women presented in the Shanghai exhibition would be a hot topic of discussion. Interestingly, the most passionate reactions expressed by the public have been focused on a group of images that have these two characteristics:
- The images were for commercial use, and
- The majority of them date to the 1920s and 1930s.
I am curious to understand why that is. So in this multipart series (I don’t even know how many blog postings I will need!), I will attempt to make connections that may have been missed or misread, using the artworks and the available texts in the exhibition, such as object labels, wall panels, and exhibition catalogue. But right off the bat, I must say, I am having fun with this topic and it is an incredible challenge!
Field Trip to the Asian Art Museum
“Hey so you know Mr. C, the history teacher? He is actually pretty cool for a teacher I guess. He set up this field trip to go to the Asian Art Museum next month.”
“Yeah? That place is hecka cool man. I went there a couple times in elementary school and we did some Chinese painting class and another time had a samurai thing.”
“Neat! You know my cousin, she’s really into art, she is doing a program there where they’re talking to a high school in China.
“That’s cool. Yo, I heard that this one time, they even had some kung-fu guys breaking bricks and stuff!”
“No way! That’s awesome. This will actually be kinda fun. Go Mr. C!”
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