Permanent Collection

Update on Japanese and Korean galleries rotations

From Curator Aaron Rio:

Below, please find a complete list of recent and upcoming changes to the Japanese and Korean galleries, including everything from minor rotations and to exhibitions. Moving forward, I will try to do a better job of alerting you to these changes, but also please never hesitate to ask if you are planning a tour and concerned that something may come off view.

Sincerely yours,
Aaron
 
December 23, 2017
 
238-9, Exhibition: Mizusashi: Japanese Water Jars from the Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Collection. This exhibition also includes around a dozen teabowls from the collection of our friends Michael and Tamara Root. Closes May 13
 
mid-February, 2018
 
G252, Complete rotation with new theme, from “Year of the Rooster” to “Bamboo and Orchids”
G251, New pair of screens
G226-7, Complete rotation, from “19th-century kabuki prints” to “20th-century kabuki prints”
 
February 22-23, 2018
 
G264-5: Small rotation of paintings in exhibition, Boundless Peaks: Ink Paintings by Minol Araki
 
late March, 2018
 
G220, Rotation of Buddhist hanging scrolls
G206, Rotation of Korean paintings and textiles
G221-3, Complete rotation with new theme, from “The Kano House of Painters” to “Art of Zen Buddhism”. Rotation includes numerous works never before seen at Mia, plus some old favorites
 
mid-May, 2018
 
G238, complete rotation and new theme: Fukami Sueharu
G239, Exhibition: The Landscape Prints of Kawase Hasui
 
August 2018
 
G219, complete rotation with new theme: Samurai (includes return of suit of armor from 3rd floor)
G224-5, rotation of all tea-related paintings and lacquers
G226-7, G237-9, G251-3: Exhibition: The Tale of Genji in Japanese Art. Two rotations, 8/2018-12/2018 and 12/2018-3/2018

Power and Beauty

We’ll continue to post materials to help prepare for the salon conversations and art cart use during the special exhibition Power and Beauty in China’s Last Dynasty: Concept and Design by Robert Wilson. Videos of various trainings will also be linked on this page.

The arts of the Chinese Qing court rivaled that of Europe’s great kingdoms. This opulence served to affirm imperial power and prestige, and also as stagecraft for the emperor’s leading role as “son of heaven.” “Power and Beauty in China’s Last Dynasty” presents treasures from the museum’s renowned collection of Chinese art, including rare court costumes, jades, lacquers, paintings, and sculpture. Mia’s curator of Chinese art, Liu Yang, has collaborated with celebrated artist, director, and New York-based stage designer Robert Wilson to create an experiential exhibition that engages the senses and evokes the otherworldly, intoxicating—and even dangerous—world of the Qing (pronounced “ch’ing”) court (1644–1912).

Here is the initial press release, announcing the show:

Power-and-Beauty-Press-Release

Here is a PDF of Liu Yang’s article on the exhibition:

Power and Beauty final Liu Yang

Pronunciation guide for article (courtesy of Mingjen Chen):

Chinese pronunciation

and here is the gallery map from that article (but please note, it is not quite final):

gallery plan

Here is the exhibition checklist, with small photos of the objects:

Power and Beauty in China’s Last Dynasty_Exhibition Checklist.docx

Here is the PDF of Matthew Welch’s article:

Power&Beauty_MWelch

Here is the video of the training session with Michael Lapthorn, exhibition designer, on December 13, 2017:

Power and Beauty info session with Michael Lapthorn

Videos of the training session on January 11, 2018:

P&B 1.11.18 1

P&B 1.11.18 2

Video of the training session by Liu Yang, on February 8, 2018:

P&B 2.8.18

Online resources for learning more about Robert Wilson and his work are located in the Resource document at the end of this post.

Here are the scents being used in the galleries:

Scents by gallery

Some refreshers on Daoism and Confucianism:

Daoism refresher

Confucianism refresher

For a refresher on the Ming/Qing Dynasties, here are materials from the last docent class, a recorded video, the PPT for the lecture, and the lecture handouts, including a great handout on Chinese robes!

Video links to Ming and Qing Dynasty lecture

Ming-and-Qing-dynasties

Imperial-Chinese-Court-robes-of-the-Qing-Dynasty-1644

ming-and-qing-handout

For a refresher on Buddhism, here is a PDF of lecture slides, with good information on the origins of Buddhism:

Buddhism Origins_DH

Here is a general overview and best practices for Art Cart facilitation:

110324_Introduction to Art Carts_General

And here are some links (each is a separate document) for additional handouts from art cart training:

1. Inkstone;  2. Silk Worms;  3. Bird cage;  4. Cricket Cage_ Power & Beauty;  5. Dǒugǒng; 6. Lacquer Box with Carved décor;  7. P&B Ancient Bronze Vessel;  8. P&B Calligraphy and Writing Implements;  9. P&B Pair of Jade Carved Ducks and Raw Jade; 10. 8 Daoist Immortals; 11. P&B Imperial Chinese Court Robe; 12. P&B Seated Buddha statue; 13. P&B Cloisonne Vase_ Power & Beauty ; 14. P&B 500 Lohans; 15. Buddha Diagram; 16. P&B Silk Cocoons; 17. P&B porcelain vase

Here are the PDFs with the details of the Imperial Robe symbols. These are from the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, from an exhibition on Chinese textiles:

Imperial Robe symbols 1

Imperial robe symbols 2

And here is the entire manual for the China art cart, with the new objects:

Power and Beauty Art Cart Manual

Here is the video of the China Art Cart training on 2/17/18:

China Art Cart training for Power and Beauty

Sample questions, pre-visit and post-visit, for Stop And Chat:

Stop & Chat discussion questions

FAQ for Power and Beauty:

FAQ Power and Beauty

Fact Sheet for Docents and Guides:

Fact Sheet for docents and guides

Finally, here is a Resource document, with links to online articles and videos that pertain to the exhibition. We will continue to add resources to this document and post revised versions. If you find an article or video to share, please email information to Kara (kzumbahlen@artsmia.org):

Resources for Power and Beauty 02.27.18

 

IPE CE session for October 28, 2017

In this session, we had a presentation from Padma Maitland, our new curator of South and Southeast Asian Art. He mentioned a great exhibition that was held at the Smithsonian a few years ago, on Puja, and here is a link to the educators’ guide. If you click to the second chapter, you will find some great background information on this Hindu practice of reverence:

Puja guide for educators

We have further online resources for China and South and Southeast Asia located under Research Resources/Online Resources. Scroll down the results to find more educator guides and other online information.

Here is a transcription of the ideas developed during the team tour and theme discussion:

IPE CE session on team tours and themes