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Buddhism

Curator's Corner

Do Not Deface! Historic Sites to Visit Respectfully

Monday, July 24, 2023 | Karl Cole

As an art historian and artist, I am appalled by recent incidents of tourists defacing the Colosseum (72–80 CE) in Rome and Toshodai-ji (founded 759 CE) in Nara, Japan, with their initials. It i ...

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Curator's Corner

Gem of the Month: Guanyin

Monday, January 25, 2021 | Karl Cole

Seated in the “position of royal ease” (rajalilasana in Hindu), this portrayal of the bodhisattva Guanyin mirrors hundreds of other versions of the subject in Chinese art. The pose was inf ...

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Curator's Corner

Rethinking Romanticism Part 2

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | Karl Cole

This week’s Rethinking Romanticism series continues with romanticism in Japanese art. The Kamakura period (1185–1333) was a particularly turbulent, civil-war-ravaged era in Japan. It is th ...

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Curator's Corner

Rich History

Monday, October 16, 2017 | Karl Cole

I just returned from vacay, spending my last day in Dublin after leaving Switzerland. We went to the National Museum of Ireland, where we saw tons of beautifully executed golden objects that have ...

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Curator's Corner

Smile

Wednesday, September 9, 2015 | Karl Cole

The look on the Buddha’s face of serenity is probably what some of us acquired after having a three-day weekend for Labor Day. But, this image intrigued me because—as is the case with ever ...

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Curator's Corner

Architecture or Sculpture? You Decide

Monday, March 2, 2015 | Karl Cole

I have been stunned recently by the overwhelming beauty of Hindu-Buddhist temples in Java. I think they rival the beauty of any architecture anywhere else in the world. It is interesting to compare th ...

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Curator's Corner

"General" Redefined

Monday, November 26, 2012 | Karl Cole

I’m sick, after a week or two, of hearing general-bashing in the news. And for what? Really??? I’d rather hear the government debating about more funding for education. But, I digress. So, ...

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Curator's Corner

Cross-Cultural Similarities

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 | Karl Cole

I am really not convinced that aliens came to Earth in ancient times and seeded cultures with the same aesthetic ideas, despite programs on NatGeo or TLC that still propose such scenarios, comparing t ...

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Curator's Corner

The Subject as Art

Monday, January 16, 2012 | Karl Cole

Did you ever find it hard to decide what the most significant aspect of a work of art is? This can happen when we look at a work and find multiple levels of meaning, aside from purely aesthetic concer ...

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