Resources

Krishna overcoming the serpent Kaliya, 1400–1500. India; reportedly from Sundaraperumakoil, Tanjavur district, Tamil Nadu state, former kingdom of Vijayanagara. Bronze. The Avery Brundage Collection, B65B72.

The Wooden Fish Ensemble plays the music of Hyo-shin Na, including the world premiere of a new work based on A Meadow by Czeslaw Milosz for piano solo. Program includes commentary by Hyo-shin.

Artist Koki Tanaka discusses his works.

Learn about how people in Bali approach the story of Rama and see how to facilitate different forms of Balinese kecak with Gamelan Sekar Jaya and teachers at the Asian Art Museum.

Karasu Tengu (crowlike deity) mask, approx. 1800-1850. Japan. Netsuke; ivory with dark detail staining, inlaid metal. The Avery Brundage Collection, B70Y811.

Kanzan (Hanshan), by Tobai (Japanese), approx. 1500-1625. Japan. Hanging scroll; ink and light colors on paper. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60D39+.a.

Justin Chin reads a poem he wrote in response to the artwork, Absence of God VII, 2008 by Raqib Shaw. This work is in the exhibition Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past (on view at the Asian Art Museum from May 18 – September 2, 2012). Co-presented by Litquake.

In his most recent work, Indonesian artist Jompet Kuswidananto explores political and cultural identity, particularly around the people and history of Java. Informed by theories drawn from the field of cultural studies, he connects local history to global movements with a focus on the fragility of changing identities.

“If the Qur’an is indeed a divine message to all peoples, what does it mean to an individual American in the 21st century?”

This is the question that artist Sandow Birk contemplated during his extensive travels through the Islamic world, which ultimately led to his nine-year project to transcribe and illustrate the entire Qur’an. Birk will present his project, American Qur’an, which finds connections between the universality of the messages in the sacred text and contemporary American life.

Birk will be joined by Bay Area artist Ala Ebtekar; Qamar Adamjee, Malavalli Family Foundation Associate Curator of Art of the Indian Subcontinent; and Jeffrey Durham, Associate Curator of Himalayan Art, to discuss the roles art has played in religious and political contexts.