The Goddess and Buffalo Demon
The Goddess Durga appears in an episode involving her defeat of the buffalo demon. The Goddess image appears in a niche on one side of the main structure of the great Shiva Nataraja (Dancing Shiva) a temple in Chidambaram, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. This celebrated temple complex was created during the Chola dynasty and completed in the 1200s. The god Shiva is the main deity worshiped at this temple, while images of other important and related duties are found in principle locations around the temple structure, as well as in sculptural freezes and other decorative motifs.
In this image, the multi-armed Goddess is portrayed with her enemy the buffalo demon in a subject commonly depicted in sculptural relief. The sensual looking and serene Goddess is framed by a cascade of multiple arms, each once holding a separate weapon or attribute.
Elsewhere in narrative sculpture and painting, this story is often depicted through an image of graphic violence. In the previous slide, the beheading and conquest of the buffalo demon is subtly alluded to by the fact that the Goddess stands upon his head. This rendering at the great Shiva temple expresses a sense of harmony, and a victory that is satisfying to both parties in the drama.
The buffalo demon Mahisa is portrayed here in an unusually anthropomorphic and sensuous form, his curvaceous thigh and garment echoing those of the Goddess herself. His charmingly realistic face, including bovine eyes and drooping ear, speak to the persistent talent of Indians artists in rendering lifelike animal forms. The buffalo has so acquiesced to his defeat that also equates with his own spiritual liberation, that he is licking the foot of the Goddess which rests upon the shoulder.
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If you were to design a bronze vessel for a friend who has done something important for you, what shape would you make it? How would you decorate it? Would you use designs like the ones on the bronze vessels in the museum? What would you inscribe on it?
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How would you answer Chanel Miller’s “I was, I am, I will be” prompt? Would your answers look like Miller’s, or would they look different?
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Visible from Hyde Street outside the Asian Art Museum are Chanel Miller’s I was, I am, I will be, Jas Charanjiva’s Don’t Mess With Me, and Jenifer K Wofford’s Pattern Recognition.
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Create your own layered collage to preserve your memories of a special place in your life.
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In this activity, you will create your own “space sculpture” out of found objects, light, and shadow.
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Personal Space (2001), a layered, dreamlike painting by Kolkata-based artist Jayashree Chakravarty, is an imaginary map built up from painted strips of paper. In this activity, create your own map based on your special place.
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Make your own torn-paper collages inspired by the images created in the teamLab experience.
Teacher Packet
In this packet, you will engage with Wofford’s mural, learn about different Asian cultures and identities, and celebrate Asian American artists from the San Francisco Bay Area. With what you’ve learned and researched, you will then create your own patterns in a digital collage art project.
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In this activity, create your own weaving loom with cardboard and then weave your own textile project. As you construct your loom and learn the labor-intensive process of weaving, you might begin to wonder how Sekimachi was able to create her famous three-dimensional structures.
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In this activity, observe the different moon phases, learn about the lunar calendar, and research some Hindu traditions and celebrations.
