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Asian art

Curator’s Corner

What Was Happening in the 20s?

Monday, January 6, 2020 | Karl Cole

As a celebration of the new year, let’s look back at what was happening in the ‘20s of centuries past. ...

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Curator’s Corner

Chrysanthemum Day and Festival

Monday, September 9, 2019 | Karl Cole

I’ve shown this print on this blog before, but only in passing with other works concerning vacations. I’ve never gone into depth about a holiday that I think should be adapted around the w ...

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Curator’s Corner

Gem of the Month: Tokuyama Gyokuran

Monday, August 19, 2019 | Karl Cole

A nice way to spend a summer day: imagining yourself wandering in this landscape by my Gem of the Month, Tokuyama Gyokuran. (As a side note, Chinese scholars considered a painting successful if it inv ...

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Curator’s Corner

Cool Off with Cool Colors

Monday, July 15, 2019 | Karl Cole

July can be moderately hot in Massachusetts, but I understand some regions of the world are having the hottest July ever recorded (probably due to climate change). So, if it’s hot by you, just s ...

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Curator’s Corner

Earth Appreciation Month II

Tuesday, April 30, 2019 | Karl Cole

There is nothing I like more than the colors of nature awakening to spring. I especially love the arrays of greens that are seen in the grass, foliage, and trees. To celebrate Earth Appreciation Month ...

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Curator’s Corner

Let It Snow

Monday, February 25, 2019 | Karl Cole

We have had several snowfalls in the past couple of weeks. On Presidents’ Day I found myself staring at a snow-laden tree across the street and thinking, that looks like a Japanese woodcut of a ...

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Curator’s Corner

Surimono Time for the New Year

Wednesday, January 2, 2019 | Karl Cole

I did it before and I’m doing it again: surimono to celebrate the New Year. In the West, we don’t really make little works of fine art to celebrate the New Year. In Japan, the surimono&mda ...

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Curator’s Corner

It's Scarf Weather

Monday, December 17, 2018 | Karl Cole

I’m not sure how warm these scarves would be in winter, but they sure would be fabulous displayed over a black overcoat! The honor accorded Japanese textile art equals that of ceramics, and cert ...

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Curator’s Corner

"Hmm, Ginko Leaf or Toothbrush?"

Monday, August 27, 2018 | Karl Cole

I just got a crown on a tooth this week, so I thought I’d do a teeth-themed posting. Goodness knows I don’t love going to the dentist, but he’s a really good one, so I’m no lon ...

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Curator’s Corner

A Lyrical August Gift

Monday, August 20, 2018 | Karl Cole

I’m always wowed by color. And when I found out that the landscape-like backgrounds of this artist’s work are derived from pond scum powder (spirulina is the source, considered a healthy a ...

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Curator’s Corner

Artists with August Birthdays

Monday, August 6, 2018 | Karl Cole

Monthly artists’ birthdays are a good way to introduce you to a variety of artists I actually adore, while contrasting art from vastly different cultures. I’m not going to call it “i ...

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Curator’s Corner

Architecture as Sculpture

Monday, April 30, 2018 | Karl Cole

When Western art history books talk about “architectural sculpture,” it is usually in the context of Romanesque and Gothic churches/cathedrals in Europe. When one is looking at temple arch ...

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Curator’s Corner

Self-Taught Artists

Monday, April 23, 2018 | Karl Cole

I was recently studying the insanely wonderful art of contemporary artist Carmen Cartiness Johnson (I posted about her back in February), and I noticed that her artist’s statement said right off ...

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Curator’s Corner

Women's (Art) History Month 2018 II

Monday, March 26, 2018 | Karl Cole

I like to feature pioneering women during National Women’s (Art) History Month. The arts are obviously no exception to the fields in which women have pioneered and excelled. This is as true in J ...

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Curator’s Corner

Temple on Active Volcano's Slopes!

Monday, December 4, 2017 | Karl Cole

I’m naturally concerned for Pura Besakih (Mother Temple). It is situated on the slopes of Mount Agung, which is currently causing havoc with its eruption in Bali. It survived a major eruption of ...

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Curator’s Corner

The Iconoclast (?)

Monday, September 18, 2017 | Karl Cole

It would probably take me forever to be able to say that I had “seen it all” in the world of art. You know the old expression, “just when you thought you’d seen it all,” ...

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