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Society for Asian Art Newsletter for Members
The Society for Asian Art is a support organization for the
July - August 2019 No. 4
SAA trips are noted for the unique experiences they offer members, and the recent Four Treasures trip was no exception. In addition to touring the collections of the outstanding museums in Taiwan, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou, SAA travelers visited the studios of Liu Jianhua, the artist who created the Asian’s amazing Collected Letters ceramic sculpture, and Ah Leon, the renowned contemporary ceramic artist. At his mountain studio, Ah Leon not only discussed his current projects, but had also invited four tea masters to lead the group in tea tastings. At the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, SAA travelers were able to observe students learn the art of Chinese landscape painting and calligraphy in the classrooms. And throughout the trip, the group was given the opportunity to sample a wide variety of Chinese cuisine.
See inside for the Save the Date announcement for the May 14 - 25, 2020 trip, Arts in Japan: Past & Future!
At Juming Museum. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kinsey. Sitting at ceramic desks at Ah Leon’s studio. Photo courtesy of Mikiko Flynn.
Tea tasting at Ah Leon’s studio. Photo courtesy of Mikiko Flynn.At Suzhou Garden. Photo courtesy of Linda Lei.
Four Treasures Trip April 7 - 21, 2019
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Society for Asian ArtJuly - August 2019, No. 4
Members’ Newsletter Edited by John Nelson
and Susan Lai
Published bimonthly by Society for Asian Art
200 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102
www.societyforasianart.org (415) 581-3701
Copyright © 2019 Society for Asian Art
Board of Directors 2019-2020
President Trista Berkovitz Vice President Margaret Edwards Vice President Ehler Spliedt Secretary Treasurer Ed Baer
Edith Benay Margaret Booker
Lynne Brewer Deborah Clearwaters*
Kalpana Desai Gloria Garaventa
Kirk Gibson Thomas Ihrig
Nancy Jacobs Phyllis Kempner Etsuko Kobata Peggy Mathers Forrest McGill* Lawrence Mock
Howard Moreland John Nelson
Pamela Royse Kathleen Slobin Nazneen Spliedt
Marsha Vargas Handley Diane Weber Sylvia Wong Kasey Yang
*ex officio
IN THIS ISSUE
Sunday, June 30 Member Event - Visit to Wat Lao Rattanaram with Master Tiao Somsanith
Tuesday, July 9 Member Event - Wanxin Zhang: The Long Journey with Ted Cohen
Tuesday, July 16 Member Event - A Midsummer Night Dinner at Kirin Chinese Restaurant
Friday, August 16 Member Event - The Brundage Collection with Robert Mintz
Saturday, August 24 Member Event - Vietnamese Art: A New View with Suzanne Lecht
Fridays, August 23 – December 6 Fall 2019 Arts of Asia Lecture Series Seeking the Divine: The Lesser-Known Religious Traditions of Asia Sundays, September, 22, September 29, October 27, November 10 and November 24 Fall 2019 Literature and Culture Course Two Japanese Masterpiece Novels by Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe with John Wallace
Eileen Bitten
Both the SAA and the Asian Art Museum lost a staunch supporter with the recent passing of Eileen Bitten, former SAA Board Member. Eileen was an AAM Docent and a member of the Docent Council. The familiar adage “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it” certainly applied to Eileen. She will be missed not only for her dedicated service, but also for her wonderful smile and ever present enthusiasm for the SAA and the AAM.
Photo courtesy of H. Hughes.
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ARTS OF ASIA FALL 2019 LECTURE SERIES
Seeking the Divine: The Lesser-Known Religious Traditions of Asia
When: Fridays, August 23 – December 6 (No lecture on October 18 and November 29.) Time: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Place: September 6 and December 6 at the State Building, Milton Marks Auditorium, 455 Golden Gate Avenue. All other lectures at UC Hastings College of the Law, Snodgrass Hall, 198 McAllister Street. Fee: $175 Society members, $200 non-members for the series. $20 per lecture drop-in, subject to availability.
For over 25 years, the Arts of Asia Lecture Series has explored the many facets of Asian art, culture, and history. Now for the first time, we will delve into the finer points of religious beliefs in Asia – not the major religions with which our audience is already familiar, but the facets of Asian religious beliefs that are less known in the West yet continue to inform cultural traditions today. The lectures in this series will explore Zoroastrianism in the Iranian world, Manichaeism in Central and East Asia, Bon in Tibet, Mongolian Tengriism, Muism of Korea and folk religions in Asia. We will also explore Daoism in China, Shintoism in Japan, and Jainism in India, and examine more recent traditions such as Sufism in Asia, and Sikhism. Please join us for this informative and fascinating journey.
Our Instructor of Record is Sanjyot Mehendale of UC Berkeley.
August 23 Other Paths – A Panorama of Asia’s Lesser Known Divine Traditions Sanjyot Mehendale, UC Berkeley
August 30 Zoroastrians in Time and Space: Iran, India, and the Silk Road Jenny Rose, Claremont Graduate University
September 6 Peaceful Warriors: The Origins and Continuing Vitality of Jainism Jeffery D. Long, Elizabethtown College
September 13 The Great Unnamed Religions of East Asia: Divine Presence, Numinous Power and Magical Efficacy James Robson, Harvard University
September 20 Daoism and the Arts of China Stephen Little, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
September 27 Shinto for the Masses: Packaging Myth and Nationalism for Japanese Society John Nelson, University of San Francisco
October 4 Sky and Earth: Exploring the Non-Buddhist Religious Traditions of Mongolia Uranchimeg (Orna) Tsultem, University of Iceland
October 11 How is Mansin Like a Painting? The Work of Shamans in Korea Laurel Kendall, Columbia University
October 25 The Pearl and the Dragon: Silk Road Christianity From Syria to Xi’an Scott Johnson, University of Oklahoma
November 1 Manichaeism: The Religion that (Almost) Disappeared Zsuzsanna Gulacsi, Northern Arizona University
November 8 Sikh Religion in the Language of Colors Nikky Gurinder Kaur Singh, Colby College
November 15 Seeking the Divine through Art and Architecture, a Baha’i Architect’s Perspective Hossein Amanat, AIA
November 22 The Tibetan Bon Religion and the “Nameless Religion” of Tibet Brandon Dotson, Georgetown University
December 6 Sufism, Beauty, Love: Ecstasy and Rapture of Islam in Asia Carol Bier, Graduate Theological Union
Zoroastrian deity Fushimi Shrine, Japan
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LITERATURE AND CULTURE FALL 2019 COURSE
Visit to Wat Lao Rattanaram With Master Tiao Somsanith
When: Sunday, June 30 Time: 11:00 a.m. Place: Wat Lao Rattanaram, 2417 Barrett Ave., Richmond Fee: $25 Society members; $30 non-members. Includes lunch.
Come and join us for a visit to the Wat Lao Rattanaram in downtown Richmond, the spiritual home of the Laotian community in the Bay Area. We will see a demonstration of Laotian stencils and samples of Laotian textiles by Master Tiao Nithakhong Somsanith. We will also be served a typical Laotian lunch prepared by the community in the temple.
Master Tiao Somsanith grew up as a child of royal lineage in 1960’s Luang Prabang, Laos. He was surrounded by courtly arts, such as painting, lacquer, embroidery and dance. Even though embroidery was a woman’s work, the young Tiao Nith apprenticed until he reached the level of a mo, a gold embroidery expert. In addition, he became a medical doctor and practiced in rural Laos, and later practiced psychology in France. Tiao Nith returned to Laos where he has spent over a decade reviving the traditional arts. He has just been awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for his work as an embroiderer by the French Government.
MEMBER EVENTS
Two Japanese Masterpiece Novels by Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe With John Wallace
When: Sundays, September 22, September 29, October 27, November 10, and November 24 Time: 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Place: Koret Education Center, Asian Art Museum Fee: $115 Society members; $140 non-members (after museum admission).
We will read and discuss the two highest-acclaimed novels of Kenzaburo Oe, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994. The first, A Personal Matter, was written shortly after his handicapped child Hikari was born. It deals with how a young man in his twenties can or cannot find the courage and personal power to take on the challenge of loving and caring for his new, mentally disabled son. The second, The Silent Cry, results from Oe’s deep reading of William Faulkner. This somewhat long, very rich novel takes as its themes the love between brothers, a wife finding her independence, the balance between truth-seeking thought and political activism, and how difficult it can be to “understand” one’s family. Oe was deeply influenced by French humanism as well as a wide range of writers from the American deep south, Europe, and Asia. Some of these poets, novelists, and philosophers will be discussed along the way.
John Wallace is Senior Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at UC Berkeley, where he teaches premodern Japanese language and literature, modern Japanese literature and East Asian traditions. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is also an SAA Advisor and has taught several Literature and Culture courses in the past.
Wat Lao Rattanaram. Photo by Graeme Vanderstoel.
Magnolia and quince, from the flowers of the twelve months: March, approx. 1670–1710, by Yun Bing (Chinese, 1670–1710). Ink and colors on silk. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection, B65D49.d. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
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MEMBER EVENTS
Wanxin Zhang: The Long Journey With Ted Cohen
When: Tuesday, July 9 Time: 11:00 a.m. Place: Museum of Craft and Design, 2569 3rd Street, San Francisco Fee: $15 Society members; $20 non-members.
Wanxin Zhang was born in Changchun, China, and spent his formative years in the 1960’s and 70’s under Mao’s regime. He was part of the first generation to receive a formal art education after the Cultural Revolution. Wanxin Zhang: The Long Journey is the first museum solo presentation of his work in San Francisco. This exhibition is a survey of Zhang’s ceramic sculpture from 2006 to 2017 and celebrates the artist’s signature style – a hybrid of California Funk influence and nods to Chinese history. Zhang’s monumental clay figures are at once irreverent and troubling, evoking the tension inherent in globalization, politics and power. He demonstrates this through his mastery of the malleable qualities of clay, reshaping traditional symbols and iconography with contemporary pop culture.
Ted Cohen, a long-time SAA member, has been designing exhibitions for over 60 years. Ted has designed exhibits for the Oakland Museum of California, Craft Contemporary, Palo Alto Art Center and the Museum of Craft and Design. Ted will discuss how he planned and solved issues that arose in setting up this exhibit from a designer’s perspective. The collaborative efforts between the artist, the curator and the designer will be addressed.
A Midsummer Night Dinner at Kirin Chinese Restaurant
When: Tuesday, July 16 Time: 6:00 p.m. Place: Kirin Chinese Restaurant, 6135 Geary Blvd., San Francisco Fee: $45 Society members; $50 non-members.
Join us for a delicious meal to celebrate the summer of 2019 in the company of members of the Society for Asian Art.
We will enjoy the foods of summer like rainbow salad, squab in a lettuce cup and more, along with a lovely glass of sauvignon blanc.
We would appreciate it if you could register for this event no later than July 10.
Royal gathering in an outdoor pavilion. India (1900-2000). Ink, opaque watercolors, and gold on paper. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Gift of Mr. Jack Hubbs, F2013.29. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
Foggy (Horse), 2010, by Wanxin Zhang (China, b. 1961). High-fired stoneware with glazes. Photo courtesy of Henrik Kam.
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MEMBER EVENTS
The Brundage Collection With Robert Mintz
When: Friday, August 16 Time: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Place: Koret Education Center, Asian Art Museum Fee: $15 Society members; $20 non-members (after museum admission).
From his early life in the industrial cities of the Midwest to his leadership of the International Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage led a life of international prominence and fame that exposed him to some of the world’s greatest works of art. With the assistance of scholar and connoisseur Rene-Yvon d'Argence during the middle of the 20th century, he amassed one of America’s most prominent collections of Japanese art. This talk explores Brundage’s history as a collector of Japanese art and features some of the works that have made the collection, now housed in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, worthy of its fame as one of America’s great collections of Japanese art.
Robert Mintz, Deputy Director at the Asian Art Museum, is responsible for managing the curatorial, conservation, museum services and education departments. Born and raised in Midland, Michigan, Robert studied at Reed College and the University of Michigan. His studies continued at the University of Washington, where he received an M.A. (1995) and Ph.D. (2002). Prior to joining the Asian Art Museum in 2016, he worked at the Walters Art Museum for a decade, becoming its Chief Curator and Curator of Asian Art in 2012.
Vietnamese Art: A New View With Suzanne Lecht
When: Saturday, August 24 Time: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Place: Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum Fee: $15 Society members; $20 non-members (after museum admission).
Suzanne Lecht will be telling her personal story about living in Vietnam and the artists that she met. She will also talk about the art scene in Vietnam.
Suzanne Lecht is the Art Director of Art Vietnam Gallery. While living in Tokyo in the early 1990’s, Suzanne was captivated by images of the works of Hanoi’s “Gang of Five,” early pioneers of contemporary art in Vietnam. Compelled to move to Hanoi to follow her dream, Suzanne has been working with Vietnamese artists since the day she moved from Tokyo to Hanoi in January 1994, a year and a half before diplomatic relations were restored between Vietnam and the U.S. Her first exhibition was in Hong Kong in 1997, The Changing Face of Hanoi. Art Vietnam Gallery has continued to exhibit internationally and locally promoting local as well as international artists.
Photo courtesy of Suzanne Lecht.
Cranes, by Kano Ujinobu (Japanese, 1616–1669). One of a pair of six panel folding screens; ink, colors, and gold on paper. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection, B60D70+. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
LOTUS LEAVES
The Spring 2019 Issue is Now Online! We are delighted to present an article on Bencharong ceramics, highly colorful export ceramics made in China for the Thai royal family. Dawn Rooney, who is the author of the seminal work on these ceramics, provides an excellent overview of this art form. In the second article, Asian Art Museum Associate Curator of Korean Art, Hyonjeong Kim Han, takes us into the world of a master Korean calligrapher, Kim Jeonghui, and shows how his work reflects the intellectual milieu in which he lived. The issue concludes with a short article by Asian Art Museum Deputy Director, Robert Mintz, about Your Dog, the contemporary Japanese culture now gracing Osher Plaza in front of the museum.
To access online issues of Lotus Leaves:
• Go to the SAA website, www.societyforasianart.org.
• Click on the “Lotus Leaves” tab on the banner along the top of the homepage. This will open the Lotus Leaves webpage.
• Click on “View PDF” of the issue you would like to read.
To print a copy of Lotus Leaves:
• Press “Ctrl and P” on your keyboard at the same time.
• Follow the commands your computer gives you to print a copy.
Cover of Spring 2019 Issue of Lotus Leaves. © Society for Asian Art.
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TRAVEL
Save the Date! Arts in Japan: Past & Future - May 14 – 25, 2020
The Society for Asian Art’s upcoming Japan trip is expected to be most rewarding in its mixture of history and culture, tradition and innovation, and the sheer geographic scope of its ambition. The tour’s key posts are Kyoto, Nara, and the Naoshima Islands in the Seto Inland Sea for a total of ten nights. Kyoto, ancient capital of Japan from 794 to 1868, is quintessential to understanding Japan’s spiritual aesthetic development, especially in the areas of traditional craft, and in cultural and artistic practices. Day trips from Kyoto to Nara, the imperial capital from 710 to 784, will include visiting the Asuka regional tombs and the first Buddhist temple of Horyuji, representing early footprints of East Asian continental culture and the beginnings of Japanese civilization. Finally, the scenic Naoshima Islands, Benesse Art Site and the Seto Inland Sea represent the transformational qualities of revitalization efforts of post-industrial late 20th century Japan, where site-specific art and architecture projects have restored both the natural setting and created an interdependent relationship amongst the local communities and visitors.
The opportunity to sign up for this trip will be available in mid to late June, 2019 to SAA members only.
Photos Left to Right: Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin, 1994, Naoshima Island Ryoanji temple and dry landscape garden, mid-15th c., Kyoto Geigi artisan in preparation for musical performance
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q June 30 Member Event - Visit to Wat Lao Rattanaram with Master Tiao Somsanith$15 Members $20 Non-Members
q July 9 Member Event - Wanxin Zhang: The Long Journey with Ted Cohen$15 Members $20 Non-Members
q July 16 Member Event - A Midsummer Night Dinner at Kirin Chinese Restaurant$45 Members $50 Non-Members
q August 16 Member Event - The Brundage Collection with Robert Mintz$15 Members $20 Non-Members
q August 23 - December 6 Fall 2019 Arts of Asia Lecture Series: Seeking the Divine: The Lesser Known Religious Traditions of Asia
$175 Members $200 Non-Members
q August 24 Member Event - Vietnamese Art: A New View with Suzanne Lecht$15 Members $20 Non-Members
q September 22 - November 24 Fall 2019 Literature & Culture Course: Two Japanese Masterpiece Novels by Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe with John Wallace
$115 Members $140 Non-Members
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REGISTRATION FORM
How to Register 1. Go to our website, www.societyforasianart.org, sign up and pay online; OR
2. Print and fill out this registration form, and send it with a check or the credit card information to: Society for Asian Art, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.
SAA does not issue tickets or confirmations. You will be contacted ONLY if your registration cannot be completed. Requests for refunds are granted for cancellations received by the SAA office no later than one business week before the start of the event.
Paid Programs Fee Quantity Subtotal
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Donations for Book Sale
We now accept books throughout the year for our annual Book Sale. So if you move, downsize or are tired of all the books collecting dust in your home, please donate them to our Book Sale. We are accepting books with Asian subjects only, be it art, culture, novels, history, travel, cooking, exhibition catalogues or others.
Due to construction at the museum, we are unable to accept book donations at the SAA office. You can drop off books at the Friday morning Arts of Asia lectures at UC Hastings. If you have a lot of books, we are happy to pick them up from your home within the Bay Area. Please contact the SAA office at 415-581-3701 or [email protected] for details.
