Asian Art Museum Reopens

The Asian Art Museum has reopened in Civic Center, and it feels marvelously safe, partly because so few people visit it. We went on the first FREE Sunday two weeks ago, and it was a joy to see a bunch of old friends, like the 10th Century Cambodian Vishnu sandstone sculpture above.

The permanent collection on floors two and three were redesigned and relit just before the pandemic arrived, and it's a well-done job, brighter and refreshed. The giant Kumbhakarna battling the monkeys in an 11th century Thai sandstone relief looks better than ever.

We genuflected in front of the 19th century Thai temple sculpture that billionaire heiress Doris Duke picked up during her ill-fated, round-the-world honeymoon cruise in the 1930s (click here for salacious stories of decadent capitalism).

The core of the permanent collection is from another problematic historical character, Avery Brundage, a Chicago real estate developer in the skyscraper age at the turn of the century, a seminal character in the modern Olympics movement as an athlete and authoritarian leader, and a prescient real estate buyer during World War Two of much of Santa Barbara and Montecito when people were terrified of a Japanese invasion.

There have been a few hints in Asian Art Museum publications during the BLM movement about a hard, second look at the potentially racist character of their founding donor, but what I'm hoping for is an exhibition that is an honest, historically informed examination detailing how an American real estate capitalist sent minions all over Asia to find treasures for him.

It could be a great uncovering, rather like The Dig on Netflix, of the real geniuses who negotiated for the first Buddha sculpture in China with a date on it, above.

My favorite piece in the museum, a 12th century Chinese wooden sculpture of the bhodisattva Guanyin, looking at the moon and the world and its illusory nature with perfect serenity, is now framed by a dark red wall that suits him.

Guanyin makes another appearance in the 17th century wood sculpture above, except now he has 1,000 arms. The signage explains. "It is said that because this bhottisattva previously did not have enough power to reach out to all those who needed help, the Buddha enabled him to have 11 heads and 1,000 arms to provide assistance to all those in need."

Random violence against Asians in America is finally in the news after an upward progression for the last, pandemic year while the racists in charge were and continue to poison the airwaves with "China Virus" and "Kung Flu."

Looking at photos of those attacking elderly Asians on urban sidewalks around the country, half of them look like street people schizophrenics who are hearing scary voices in their head saying "Hurt Asians."

Almost all of the interesting younger people I know in the San Francisco Bay Area are Asian-American. Brilliantly juggling at least three cultures simultaneously, they strike me as potential saviors of the world.

They are also freaking out right now. Reverence for elders is a foundational value, and it's being violated increasingly, daily, publicly. So please, make a point while in public to watch out for your fellow Asian citizens, particularly the elderly, who are right now at risk from the unleashed crazies.