Some works of art speak to you on a level that is hard to define. You gaze and are drawn inward. Something in you identifies with what you see there. It’s not outside, it’s in here. It was there before you saw it, and the seeing is just a reminder of its presence.
Oh my! I haven't been to the Asian Art Museum in years! Thank you so much for this post. I love the art work and the quotes. Now I am going to look for an opportunity this summer to get down there and explore in person. Beautiful!
Lovely sculptures and quotes, Deborah. Thank you for sharing them with us.
I grew up in Cleveland, and the Cleveland Museum of Art has a phenomenal Collection. As a teen, I was fascinated by their South Indian collection and spent many hours looking at its beautiful Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance, which dates from around 1000 AD.
The Māhūs in Polynesian cultures are also the third gender and are respected and honored for their spiritual roles and as teachers. In Native America, they are called "Two Spirits." Painter Kehinde Wiley traveled to Tahiti and did a series of paintings of the Māhūs in an attempt to give them their voice and to reclaim indigenous Tahitian people from the sexually objectified, colonist gaze in Paul Gauguin's paintings. Coincidentally, just today, I shared Wiley's paintings and a fantastic video of him in his studio with my students.
You are welcome, Michael. It was fun to put together. Your students are so lucky to have you as a teacher, sharing so many interesting artworks with them. Are you able to take them on field trips to museums?
Oh my! I haven't been to the Asian Art Museum in years! Thank you so much for this post. I love the art work and the quotes. Now I am going to look for an opportunity this summer to get down there and explore in person. Beautiful!
I'm so glad you enjoyed this, Gracie. Thanks for coming here and letting me know. I hope you'll be able to get to the Asian Art Museum this summer.
Lovely sculptures and quotes, Deborah. Thank you for sharing them with us.
I grew up in Cleveland, and the Cleveland Museum of Art has a phenomenal Collection. As a teen, I was fascinated by their South Indian collection and spent many hours looking at its beautiful Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance, which dates from around 1000 AD.
The Māhūs in Polynesian cultures are also the third gender and are respected and honored for their spiritual roles and as teachers. In Native America, they are called "Two Spirits." Painter Kehinde Wiley traveled to Tahiti and did a series of paintings of the Māhūs in an attempt to give them their voice and to reclaim indigenous Tahitian people from the sexually objectified, colonist gaze in Paul Gauguin's paintings. Coincidentally, just today, I shared Wiley's paintings and a fantastic video of him in his studio with my students.
You are welcome, Michael. It was fun to put together. Your students are so lucky to have you as a teacher, sharing so many interesting artworks with them. Are you able to take them on field trips to museums?