Two compelling exhibitions right now at Asia Society and Museum in New York explore the evolution of culture through interaction.
One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now (through December 10, 2006) offers fresh views on Asian American identity and experience from 17 contemporary artists born in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Moved by Binh Danh’s use of photosynthesis to recreate images from the June 27th 1967 issue of Life Magazine entitled, “The Faces of the American Dead in Vietnam: One Week’s Toll” on leaves. His beautiful, luminous Dead series evoked powerful feelings about the residue of war on the environment and how we are imprinted and shaped intrinsically by the experiences we live through. (You can listen to Asia Society’s audio tour commentary on the piece by calling (408) 794-0828 and pressing 9#.)
Enchanted also by Ala Ebtekar’s Elemental installation, an inviting tableau dedicated to the merging and blurring of cultural traditions (shown above) and Indigo Som’s photos of forlorn Chinese restaurants in rural America.
Who were those mysterious Northerners always crashing the Song Dynasty party? Gilded Splendor: Treasures of China’s Liao Empire (through December 31, 2006 then off to Europe) offers a fascinating glimpse of the Khitan people of Inner Mongolia and their Liao Dynasty (907–1125). These Nomads traveled in style, with exquisite equestrian gear, jewelery, silks and luxury accoutrements, weaving together a unique and complex mash-up culture drawing not only from Mongolian and Han Chinese traditions but also Iran, Central and Southeast Asia and incorporating elements of Buddhism, Shamanism, Confucianism and Daoism.
Asia Society and Museum 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY
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