Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art | LinkedIn (original) (raw)

Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos

Washington, District of Columbia 5,056 followers

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Sharing the arts and cultures of Asia since 1923. Open daily. Admission always free. #CuriosityWelcomed Cover Image: Monkey studying a dragonfly in his hand, Ohara Koson 小原古邨 (1877-1945), ca. 1910, Japan, Ink and color on paper, 34.6 x 18.6 cm (13 5/8 x 7 5/16 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Robert O. Muller Collection, S2003.8.1833 http://si.edu/termsofuse

Industry

Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos

Company size

51-200 employees

Headquarters

Washington, District of Columbia

Type

Educational

Founded

1923

Locations

Employees at Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art

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What do you suppose she’s thinking? This scene in “Caprice in Purple and Gold: The Golden Screen” overflows with works from American artist James McNeill Whistler’s personal collection of Japanese and Chinese art, from porcelain and lacquer to the painted Japanese screen referenced in the work’s title that, like the walls of our famed Peacock Room, shimmers with applied gold leaf. Whistler poses his model, Joanna Hiffernan (d. 1886), as an active viewer by having her hold a print from the series “Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces” by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858). Her rapt attention transforms her into a proxy for both the viewer and the artist as discerning connoisseurs who were creating imagined views of East Asia through collected objects. Explore this work’s connection to our most famous work of art in “Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler’s Peacock Room,” now on view in Gallery 11. https://s.si.edu/4cjw8I1Part of our #AmericanArt collection. #SmithsonianAsianArtImage: Caprice in Purple and Gold: The Golden Screen, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), 1864, United States, Oil on wood panel, 50.1 × 68.5 cm (19 3/4 × 27 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.75a
Can you imagine a map that takes up your entire living room? That's about the size of this 19th century map of Korea you can access on our website. Learn about this piece's extraordinary history and craftsmanship: https://s.si.edu/3XNIF1x #CuriosityWelcomed
On October 4, join us to celebrate Vietnam Week with an evening of food, music, crafts, and a screening of "Three Seasons" with director Tony Bui in person: https://s.si.edu/3BabnRj
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Long before the Rings of Power and the fantasy world created by J. R. R. Tolkien, supernatural trees already populated the earth in medieval literature. In Firdawsi’s Shahnama (Book of kings), Iran’s national epic completed in 1010, Alexander the Great comes upon a wondrous and oracular tree with two trunks, the male speaking in the daytime, the female talking at night. The latter warns Alexander of his imminent death despite his immeasurable power and wealth. In this painting, from one the most celebrated copies of the Shahnama made for the Mongol Ilkhanid ruler of Iran in the 1330s, the artist departs from Firdawsi’s description by adding human and animal heads, making the tree even more marvelous. These hanging fruits in the shape of men, jackals, or birds, all seem to talk, bark, and sing in a surreal cacophony in front of the mighty ruler. Come see this artwork in person in special exhibition “An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama” opening on September 21, 2024 in galleries 23-24. Part of our #PersianArt collection. #SmithsonianAsianArtImage: Iskandar and the Talking Tree, Folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama, Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid dynasty, ca. 1330, Ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase – Charles Lang Freer Endowment Fund, F1935.23
“Is an image of North Korea independent of all ideologies, politics, and war possible? In a powerful Cold War society, ordinary daily life, pure nature, lazy behavior, and naive judgment in a hostile country are all taboo. When I was young, my mother told me she was surprised once seeing a soldier from the North Korean People's Army. He seemed so gentle and child-like.” The role of media in shaping perceptions of North and South Korea is a recurring theme in Park Chan-kyong's practice. Echoing the style of popular images from the 1950s to the 1970s, Park takes his mother’s anecdote as a point of departure in reimagining a solitary North Korean soldier wandering aimlessly through a forest. The gentle sounds of water and rustling leaves, a harmonica, and the static of a radio broadcast are his companions. Occasionally shown with bloodied head and bent rifle, the young man appears to hover between cruel reality and sun-dappled dream. The juxtaposition of isolated photographs with the stop-motion quality of the audiovisual work enhances the sense of revivifying fragments of a distant memory. Experience the powerful imagery in “Child Soldier” on a curator-led tour September 21 at 3 p.m. as part of our Chuseok Family Festival. https://s.si.edu/3YWCER8Images: “Child Soldier,” Park Chan-kyong, 2017–2018, Digitized 35mm color photographs, light boxes, Courtesy of the artist and Tina Kim Gallery, New York, ELS2023.7.2.1–6
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Meet curator Simon Rettig online September 17 for an overview of the upcoming exhibition, "An Epic of Kings" and learn about the intricate text-image relationship in this copy of Iran’s national epic! Free and open to the public: https://s.si.edu/3yXBaeD #SmithsonianAsianArtImage: Iskandar and the talking tree (detail), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of kings), Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid dynasty, ca. 1330, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1935.23
Do you celebrate #Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving Day, one of the biggest holidays in Korea? Nicole Dowd, our Head of Public Programs, explains why this holiday is personally meaningful: https://s.si.edu/3Th5tUC
Notes from the field! It may be tiny, but did you know that the Indonesian bronze Buddhist deity in the first photo embodies a huge network of knowledge that crisscrossed the Indian Ocean before the year 1000? Together with dozens of similar bronzes, it was part of a mandala, or assembly of deities. Mandalas are widespread throughout the Buddhist world, well known from paintings and wall murals in the Himalayas, but three-dimensional bronze mandalas are unique to tenth-century Java, Indonesia. This summer, curator Emma Natalya Stein traveled to Indonesia for research surrounding this type of Buddhist sculpture. She presented a paper at ICAS 13, the International Convention of Asia Scholars at Airlangga University, Surabaya, met with local archaeologists and museum professionals at BPK X and Ullen Sentalu Museum, and discussed plans for collaborations between our museum and the Indonesian Heritage Agency with their team and Director General of Culture, Bapak Hilmar Farid. Want to learn more? Browse our Southeast Asia collections here! https://s.si.edu/47wsCZjImages: [1] Buddhist deity from the Nganjuk mandala, Nganjuk, Java, Indonesia, late 10th century, High tin bronze, 7.9 × 5.1 × 3.7 cm (3 1/8 × 2 × 1 7/16 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Ann and Gilbert Kinney, S2023.9.4 [2] Buddha looking east, Borobudur [3] Studying reliefs with Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA), at Borobudur [4] International seminar with Ine WawoRuntu, cultural activist, Chung Ji Piyo, ethnomusicologist, and Daniel Haryodiningrat, museum head, Ullen Sentalu Museum, Yogyakarta [5] Director General of Culture, Pak Hilmar Farid, addressing ICAS participants at the opening ceremony, City Hall, Surabaya [6] With Director General of Culture, Pak Hilmar Farid, and IHA at the Ministry of Culture, Jakarta [7] Museum Mpu Tantular, Surabaya [8] Durga Mahishasuramardini from Candi Jawi, 13th century, Andesite stone, Museum Mpu Tantular, Surabaya [9] With Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA) and National Museum of Indonesia teams, National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta
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Global conflicts endanger cultural heritage, from art and texts to music and rituals. This week, our Director Chase Robinson participated in a roundtable discussion at VOLTA Art Fair on cultural diplomacy, when he spoke about prioritizing the protection of cultural heritage through research and collaboration. Read more about what we're doing in this report: https://s.si.edu/3PVhZHT

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Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art | LinkedIn (original) (raw)

Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos

Washington, District of Columbia 5,056 followers

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