The last leg of this journey started in Chicago at O’Hare airport where I oversaw the loading of 25 crates of objects onto a plane bound for Beijing. The crates had come to Chicago from their last exhibition venue in St. Louis.

A mere 13 1/2 hours later I was busy watching those same crates transfer to a cargo warehouse where they were loaded  onto two trucks headed for the Forbidden City. This is the first stop for the objects, some of which will continue on to Shanghai and Nanjing.

It is hot and smoggy in Beijing, a sharp contrast to my previous winter trip. This is the third year in a row that I have made this same three city tour. I first came in 2007 to inspect the objects and plan their transportation, and returned in 2008 to  oversee packing and to accompany the crates to the United States. Each time there is something new to discover.

Like how did they figure out a way to keeep a huge square in the center of the hotel bathroom mirror from fogging up? Does everyone working at the Palace Museum need to wear face masks? (The answer is yes). I saw a new restaurant that I did not see last year: Subway sandwiches.

I’m sure that I will discover more changes over the coming weeks, as I say a fond goodbye to Power and Glory.

This is a post from: the blog of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Visit us at www.asianart.org.

Ming returns home

Walking into our exhibition staging area these days is a bit of a challenge. What used to be a vast open work space is now full of the distinctive dry sawdust scent of crates. Dozens of crates full of treasures, all lined up in neat rows or tucked into the odd corner with just enough space for a small person to shimmy between.

With more than 160 objects in Lords of the Samurai—ranging from delicate tea scoops to a 500 pound bronze bell—and with each object carefully packed and sometimes accompanied by accessories or installation equipment, the exhibition takes up a surprising amount of storage space. All of this artwork is staying snug in storage while the museum preparation crew outfits the ground floor galleries with drama enough for a Samurai lord.

Between exhibitions, the galleries undergo sometimes astonishing transformations. Walls are torn down and rebuilt. Cases change color from cream to red and back again. Huge sheets of plexiglass are carefully lowered into place. Lights change direction, banners drop down, and sometimes new sources of sound and video enter the mix. What eventually emerges from this controlled chaos is a space that will transport museum visitors to another time and place.

But just as it isn’t very safe to hang around a construction zone, the gallery in transition is a no-go place for art.  Only after construction is complete will the incoming objects leave the safety of storage to be carefully installed in their fancy new digs.

Until then, it’s crazy crates everywhere.

This is a post from: the blog of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Visit us at www.asianart.org.

Crazy crates