Resources

Objective: Students will be exposed to East Asian art traditions through the lens of a contemporary Chinese American artist, Bernice Bing.

Islam has been an important cultural force in much of Asia for more than five hundred years, and in some parts for more than a thousand. Today, far more Muslims live in other parts of Asia than in the Arab areas of Asia such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

The vast Tibetan pantheon includes numerous peaceful and wrathful deities, who guide and protect believers on their paths to enlightenment. Among the images of peaceful deities are those of buddhas and bodhisattvas, great teachers, and high monks. Wrathful deities, such as the guardian deities, use their power to protect Buddhism and to destroy the three major obstacles to enlightenment: anger, greed, and ignorance.

Students will: 1.) Learn that Buddhism is a religion founded by an enlightened young Indian prince who became the Buddha. 2.) Learn how the Buddha’s birthday, a national holiday, is celebrated in Korea. 3.) Discuss how the lotus flower is symbol of purity and wisdom. 3.) Construct a lotus blossom lantern.

Explore Nara’s ancient Buddhist art and architecture.

Jeffrey Durham, Assistant Curator of Himalayan Art at the Asian Art Museum discusses the secrets of the Svayambhu Stupa in the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Jeff Byers, tells a story about a monk and a samurai in the Asian Art Museum’s Japan galleries.

Hear the origin story of the Hindu deity Ganesha and learn how to identify depictions of Ganesha with the use of artworks in the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Asian Art Museum Storyteller Leta Bushyhead tells a scene from from the Rama epic (Ramayana) with the use of artworks in the museum’s collection.

An introduction to the Rama epic produced for the Asian Art Museum by filmmaker and cultural historian Benoy K. Behl, featuring performances from across South and Southeast Asia.