There are some very diverse contemporary pieces in the Phantoms of Asia exhibition. There is one that I especially like, The Cult of Appearance III, by South Asian artist Jagannath Panda. It is in two sections and the interesting thing—especially from the perspective of our exhibitions team installing the works—is that there are some separate elements that get attached to the painting.

Above is a photo of Assistant Registrar Cristina Lichauco helping our Head of Conservation Katie Holbrow during the installation. Katie is attaching a fabric and ribbon laden element to the piece.

One of the exciting things about contemporary art is that its meaning has not been fixed by scholarship. I cannot tell you that much about the painting or the artist’s intentions, but if you read his bio on our website it might give you more insight. You can also join us this Thursday night, May 17, for an after-hours preview of the exhibition and decide for yourself what it all means.

The lotus breathes! This afternoon, Choi Jeong Hwa’s kinetic sculpture, Breathing Flower, was inflated opposite the museum in Civic Center Plaza. Check out the images and video below, and join us this weekend for a Day of Dialogue with artists and a sneak peek at site-specific installations.

The successful exhibition team.

The first tourists getting holiday snaps in front of the lotus.

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.

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 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.

The room is anchored by Aki Kondo’s seven panel painting Mountain Gods (2011), fresh — actually still a bit wet — from the artist’s studio.

Artworks by Hiroshi Sugimoto are carefully installed in Lee Gallery.

On the museum’s first floor, Lee gallery features an installation by Hiroshi Sugimoto. Part of last week’s work included placing a series of delicate glass pagodas, each containing a photograph of the sea, on their pedestals.

Museum mountmaker Vincent Avalos prepares masks from the museum collection for display in Osher gallery.

In Osher gallery, museum mountmakers worked to hang more than a dozen masks into a single dramatic display. It looks really cool.

Exhibition staff fine-tune the layout of paintings and works on paper in Hambrecht gallery.

Finally, in Hambrecht gallery staff  focused on hanging paintings and works on paper. With the walls complete, we can now concentrate on filling the room with a selection of sculptures from the museum’s collection.

Next week we’ll be wrapping up in these same galleries, and throwing an assortment of artists into the mix.

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.

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.

Visitors this weekend had a chance to see sneak peeks of the exhibition in the form of stunning new works in the Chinese, Himalayan, Japanese, Korean, and West Asian galleries. Some of them literally glow!

Bae Young Whan "Frozen Waves" (2010) part of installation in progress.

While most of the artists have yet to arrive, Korean artist Cho Jeong Hwa was on-site during the week to assist with the technical set-up for Breathing Flower, the giant red lotus that will be installed in San Francisco Civic Center in the coming weeks. Like many works in the exhibition, this artwork is not exactly plug-and-play.

Artist Choi Jeong Hwa and museum Exhibition Manager Kelly Bennett work on the technical components for "Breathing Flower" (2011-2012), to be installed in Civic Center.

We have a lot more artwork going up over the next few weeks. Keep an eye on this blog for sneak peeks of works and artists to come, or take a walk through the galleries and prepare yourself for encounters with art both new and old.

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.

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.

Adeela Suleman, Untitled 1 (Peacock with Missiles) with added elements, 2011. Ink on paper. © Adeela Suleman. Courtesy of the artist and Aicon Gallery. Sketch of work to be installed for Phantoms of Asia.

This is readily apparent for site specific installations, such as Sun K. Kwak’s masking tape drawings. But even works that look ready-to-hang may not be.  For example, Jakkai Siributr’s Karma Kash & Carry is assembled from existing materials but also includes elements that the artist must create on-site during the installation. We don’t exactly know what the complete work will look like.

Materials for Jakkai Siributr, Karma Cash & Carry (2010) are inspected in advance of the artist’s arrival.

This results in a dynamic relationship. Museum  curatorial and preparation staff have to work in concert with the artist to make sure that we communicate the artist’s vision while remaining aware of how our gallery spaces work.

Exhibition Designer Marco Centin inspects images for lightboxes being made for Poklong Anading, Anonymity, 2008-2011 (ongoing project), a series of nine lightboxes with black and white Duratrans prints.

For example, a number of works in the exhibition are digital in nature and require lightboxes, screens, or other built viewing spaces.  In producing these spaces, artistic intent meets mundane concerns — can we get the right light bulbs? Are the electrical plugs in the right place? Is the color just right?

Components for Ringo Bunoan, Passage: The Blanket Project, 2007, ready to be painted in the museum prep shop.