Friday, September 15, 2006

Modern Art at the Asian



One of the coolest things about the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco...



...is that they circulate their works of art so prodigiously that the museum looks half-new every time you visit the permanent collection.



Though I love all the old Buddha sculptures...



...and items like "The Womb Mandala," (above) donated by poet Gary Snyder, no less...



...my favorite artworks in the museum tend to be contemporary, such as the Korean mountain painting above.



In the Japan wing, there's a whole new selection of modern baskets...



...that are not only miracles of design but really stretch the idea of "basket" to unheard of places.



In the ancient Indian wing on the third floor...



...a large contemporary painting depicting a religious pilgramage is being exhibited...



...along with other works by Anjolie Ela Menou.



On the main floor, there is a small exhibition of six Pakistani artists who are all alumni of "The Miniature Department" of the National College of Arts in Lahore.



They collaborated through the mail on a series of works...



...and though they are interesting enough...



...the really amazing pieces are by the individual artists working on their own.



Saira Wasim, in particular, delivers an extraordinary punch...



...with her illuminated manuscript illustrations of modern non-mythological monsters such as Cheney and Bush.

3 comments:

  1. I'm gonna be a bitch, Michael.

    "donated by poet Gary Snyder, no less"

    You sound impressed. I challenge you to find two poems by Gary Snyder that you would recommend as "really good."

    If you can do it I'll kiss your ass.

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  2. I guess I'd better start reading some poetry, if I can stop laughing.

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  3. I continue my rant on my blog:
    http://sfwillie.blogspot.com/

    In the soon-to-be classic post, "Gary Snyder's Poems Suck Bigtime."

    Especially check out the pictures. Which would be more fun at a dinner party?

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