The chosen artworks offer strong visual illustrations of this Sanskrit epic and encompass its various facets effectively through two mediums. Promised Gift of the Kronos Collections, 2015 The Met, New York | Visual Poetry
#Asian art museum ramayana series#
![asian art museum ramayana asian art museum ramayana](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/MP901X/english-series-title-ramas-journey-suite-name-ramayana-display-artist-nainsukh-creation-date-last-quarter-18th-century-display-dimensions-8-316-in-x-12-14-in-208-cm-x-3112-cm-credit-line-edwin-binney-3rd-collection-accession-number-19901265-collection-a-href=httpwwwsdmartorgartour-collectionasian-art-rel=nofollowthe-san-diego-museum-of-arta-12-september-2001-151529-english-thesandiegomuseumofartcollection-1180-the-royal-exiles-in-a-sages-hermitage-6125133086-MP901X.jpg)
We also learned more about scenes where they take a leading role, and how they fit into the larger cultural context of the epic. The second half of the exhibit introduced four of the main characters (Rama, Sita, Ravana, and Hanumna) in all their various forms and appearances, through sculptures, paintings, masks, puppets, and all sorts of amazing objects in vivid colors. Instead of trying to tell the whole story at the beginning, or in one handy pamphlet, the creators of the exhibit spread information out to several signs, and then provided an easy-to-follow outline for the major events and characters of the epic:
#Asian art museum ramayana tv#
In addition, there were several video screens placed throughout the exhibit that played short clips on a loop - scenes from various iterations of the Ramayana (such as a 2008 movie, a 1980's TV show, and stage performances from various places in South and East Asia). Pictures and other artwork related to certain scenes and narrative highlights were grouped together, so that visitors could walk though the epic and see how different cultures and eras depicted the same scenes differently. The signs accompanying the objects and displays were concise, well written, and yet they told parts of the story in interesting ways, pointing out small details and explaining things the viewer was likely to ask (such as "Who is that guy in the upper left corner of the painting?").ĭisplays followed the story in chronological order for the first part of the exhibit. And yet, the Rama Epic exhibition achieved the impossible with care and eloquence. When I took Museum Studies courses, they told us that the average visitor spends 2-3 seconds on an object cramming written information into that time frame is near impossible. They usually lack information that I'd like to know, or provide generic descriptions of items that have all kinds of interesting details. Presenting the Rama epic in a fashion that showcases it in its beautiful complexity, and makes it accessible to Western audiences at the same time, is a true feat of curating - and something that the Asian Art Museum pulled off with seamless elegance.įull disclosure: As a trained archaeologist, I am very fussy about signs. It is even harder to do so with one of the most complex, multi-layered, culturally influential tales humanity has ever told. It is hard to put a story - any story - on display in a museum setting.
![asian art museum ramayana asian art museum ramayana](https://www.rightreading.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/rama-cover.jpg)
After all, it would have been ridiculous to fly all the way to San Francisco for epics, and then miss a museum exhibit about an epic. Since the exhibit would be closed by the next Epic Day, I shifted some of my schedule around, and took the BART back to the city on Friday, to catch it on the opening day. Being in town for Epic Day, I visited two days before opening, and therefore was limited to staring through the doors with longing, like orphans in a Dickens novel. I did not know until I showed up at the doors that the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco is having a temporary exhibit on the Rama Epic.