Resources

Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV pushes the boundaries of bamboo art. He dramatically breaks the scale that we expect of the medium with soaring, twisting forms that stretch from floor to ceiling. His dramatic, immersive environments evoke the bamboo forests where these works began their lives.

Ogawa Machiko’s artistic connection to raw natural beauty is linked to her time living abroad with her anthropologist husband as well as to the seaside landscape of her hometown of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. “It is my passion for the earth that drives my continual search for the essential in art. The vessel form, with both interior and exterior space, enables me to best pursue this quest — it is not about making vases. Rather, I am inspired by the concept of emptiness within the whole.”
* Ogawa studied ceramics with three Living National Treasures in Tokyo and at the Ecole des Arts et Metiers in Paris, then continued her studies in Burkina Faso in West Africa and in South America

Artist Kwangwoo Bae demonstrates the process of making Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware.

Discover how two artists seeking a new direction for modern art in the aftermath of World War II found inspiration in Japanese tradition. Trace the friendship, work, ideas and mutual influence of Isamu Noguchi and Saburo Hasegawa, who both sought to balance tradition and modernity, Japanese culture and foreign influences, past and present.

Asian Art Museum Storyteller Asha Bajaj tells a Hindu story about a witty princess who outsmarted Death.

Use animal templates to make a mix and match game where you create new mythical creatures.

Mary-Ann Milford of Mills College discusses Shinto art and architecture.

Mary-Ann Milford of Mills College gives a talk on prehistoric Japan and early ceramics of the period.

Learn how to identify the Hindu deity Shiva and hear a story related to a depiction of Shiva in the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Learn about the Hindu deity Vishnu and his avatar Krishna, and hear a story about Krishna defeating the serpent Kaliya.