Resources

Join world renowned contemporary Chinese artist Zhang Huan in conversation with Asian Art Museum director Jay Xu. The San Francisco Arts Commission will present the world premiere of Zhang’s colossal work,Three Heads Six Arms (2008), which will be the focal point of San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, nestled between City Hall and the Asian Art Museum. Standing over 26 feet tall and weighing almost 15 tons, the copper sculpture is the artist’s largest work to date. Zhang, who is based in Shanghai, is widely regarded as one of the most influential and provocative contemporary artists working today. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about this artists work against the backdrop of the Shanghai exhibition at the Asian Art Museum and the city-wide celebration of the 30th anniversary of the San Francisco Shanghai Sister City relationship. The program will be introduced by Luis R. Cancel, Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission. Please note Mr. Zhang will speak in Chinese. English translation will be provided by Wang Xiaoyu.

Asian Art Museum Art Speak teaching Artist, Imen Yeh, discusses her woodblock printmaking workshop with Art Speak interns and its connection with the Shanghai: Art of the City exhibition.

Melinda Takeuchi, Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Department of Art History at Stanford University, discusses the coded meanings behind a woodblock print in the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Nigeria and Ontario, Howie Tsui’s influences include ghost stories, Buddhist hell scrolls, Japanese monster culture, and Hong Kong vampire films. As part of his Horror Fables series, Tsui contributes to Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past (on view at the Asian Art Museum from May 18-September 2, 2012) intricately drawn human-monster hybrids that combine imagery from traditional Asian folklore with contemporary pop culture.

Dr. Touraj Daryaee, Howard C. Baskerville Professor in the History of Iran and the Persianate World and the Associate Director of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture at the University of California, Irvine discusses Alexander the Great and Persian culture and ideas at the Cyrus Cylinder Teacher Workshop at the Asian Art Museum on August 12, 2013 in conjunction with the Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia exhibition (August 9–September 22, 2013).

Search Houston Asian American Archive (HAAA) for oral histories, letters, diaries, photographs, newspapers and other records.

The Hindu deity Durga victorious over the buffalo demon, 1000–1100. India; Tamil Nadu state. Granite. The Avery Brundage Collection, B64S10.

The Hindu Deities Shiva and Parvati, 1000-1100. Cambodia; former Kingdom of Angkor. Sandstone. The Avery Brundage Collection, B66S2 and B66S3.

Hexagonal kettle (kama) with design of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, by Seishin (Japanese), approx. 1500–1700. Japan; Kyoto. Iron, copper alloys. The Avery Brundage Collection, B69M11.A-.B.