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Asian art

Curator's Corner

It's Scarf Weather: Yuh Okano

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: Tam Van Tran

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: Sakai Hōitsu and George Bellows

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: Hoysala Empire

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, and I noticed that her artist’s statement said right off the bat that she is “self-taugh ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's (Art) History Month: Kajiwara Aya

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! Pura Besakih

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 (?): Zhan Wang

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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Curator's Corner

An Art Ode to Labor Day Week: Kim Deuk-sin

Thursday, September 7, 2017 | Karl Cole

I often marvel at how hard producers of the TV show M*A*S*H tried to faithfully depict everyday life in Korea. Of course, looking at this scene from the turn of the 1800s is an unfair comparison to 19 ...

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Curator's Corner

An Art Ode to Labor Day Week: Okumura Masanobu

Wednesday, September 6, 2017 | Karl Cole

My Labor Day Week series continues with this ukiyo-e woodcut. ...

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Curator's Corner

An Art Ode to Labor Day Week: Majapahit Empire

Tuesday, September 5, 2017 | Karl Cole

I know that Labor Day is past, but we can keep it going throughout this week with a few works of art that represent the working class. The subject of labor has been a trend in art going all the way ba ...

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Curator's Corner

Hanami in Spring: Terasaki Kōgyō, Katsushika Hokusai, Shibata Zeshin

Tuesday, April 11, 2017 | Karl Cole

With warm weather finally starting to return, I’m going to continue to celebrate spring with ART. Hanami is Japanese for “blossom viewing,” and is the name given to the annual spring ...

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Curator's Corner

It's All in the Details: Hoysala Dynasty and Safavid Dynasty

Thursday, March 9, 2017 | Karl Cole

The sculptural decoration of Hoysala dynasty (ca. 1050–ca. 1346) architecture is particularly ornate and worth scoping out. In the West, we are so inundated with data about the “sculpture ...

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Curator's Corner

What's in a Snake 2: Deccan Painting

Tuesday, February 7, 2017 | Karl Cole

Yesterday I introduced the snake as a subject in art. Here’s an example of a sinister serpent/person in Hindu tradition. Aghasura was a demon follower of the evil (pseudo-demon) king Kamsa (of M ...

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Curator's Corner

Vietnam Part 3: Dinh Q. Lê

Wednesday, January 18, 2017 | Karl Cole

Yesterday I told you about Vietnamese art from the 1500s. For today’s final installment in my series about Vietnamese art, let’s take a look at some contemporary art.  ...

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