Buddhist Art

The article “On the Road with Seekers and Other Dharma Bums” by Holland Cotter discusses the Asia Society’s exhibition entitled “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art.” Cotter begins with a short summary of the exhibition. He states that the exhibit is small, but “spans vast swaths of land, from India to Japan, and time, from the first century AD almost to the present” (Cotter). The exhibit also features paintings, sculptures, pilgrim travel gear, and historical maps (Cotter). Cotter also points out that all the art is actually from collections around North America (Cotter).

Cotter next explains the story of Buddha, presumably because many New York Times readers do not know his story or his spiritual journey. Buddha left his sheltered home near the border of India and Nepal, and set out on a spiritual pilgrimage without a set destination (Cotter). Buddha journeyed, trying to gain wisdom, gained followers, and when he was on his deathbed he told his followers if they wanted to find him, “they should look where he had been: where he was born, gained supreme knowledge, first preached it; where he was about to pass away” (Cotter). And these locations became the main sites of Buddhist pilgrimages and the subject of many, beautiful works of art.

The Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art show was organized by the Asia Society’s curator of traditional art, Adriana Proser (Cotter). The exhibit immerses the visitor in the world of Buddhist pilgrimages. There are paintings of pilgrimage tour leaders, a real monk’s staff, amulet shrines, and hand-held prayer wheels made of jade (Cotter). Overall the exhibit strives to explain to the viewer the importance of pilgrimage to the followers of Buddhism. The author of this article truly seems inspired by the exhibit and just from reading his review and seeing a few pictures of the artwork on display, I truly wish I could see the exhibit.

Cotter, Holland. "On the Road With Seekers and Other Dharma Bums." New York Times (2010). Web. 28 Mar 2010.

architecture.

I have visited a few museums in my life, but I really have not particularly noticed or remembered the architecture of the museum itself and I think that is an extremely important point. The focal point of a museum should the objects inside it and the architecture should be close to unnoticeable. As Taniguchi said in the Giebelhausen article, “architecture should not compete with the work of art, the architecture should disappear” (12). But, this is impossible. Architecture is a necessity for the flow of traffic throughout the museum and it is also important for the museum façade itself to portray something about what is inside. As for the architecture of the exhibits themselves, they should melt into the background and not detract or distract in any way from the objects on display.

The museum visit that was most recent and also the one I remember best was to the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. The outside of the museum is very interesting and modern. It also has a small amphitheater and a great view of the city of Spokane. When I walked in, there was a beautiful atrium, with high ceilings, and walls of windows. I remember the architecture of these things clearly, but I have no recollection of the architecture of the exhibits aside from the overall flow from exhibit to exhibit. Since the architecture of the exhibits was so forgettable, I was able to concentrate more clearly on the object on display. This article opened my eyes to something I really never considered was important and I am sure that the architecture of the next museum I visit will be totally dissected.

Giebelhausen, Michaela. "The Architecture is the Museum." New Museum Theory and Practice (2006): 41-61. Web. 3 Mar 2010.

museum effectiveness

What makes a museum effective, aside from the content of the exhibit? According to Weil four basic criteria must be in place in order for a museum to be pertinent, successful, and effective. These four criteria, starting with the most important, are purposiveness, capability, effectiveness, and efficiency. Weil states that a museum must have purposes that are outcome based, a museum must have the proper staff, collection, and building, a museum must have effective public programming, and must also be efficient, like any other business even though museums are normally non-profit. In short, in order for a non-profit to be successful it must benefit the public, have a budget, have people to run it, and also have goals that can be obtained and measured.

When I visited Philadelphia, PA I went to a lot of museums about our founding fathers, the revolutionary war, the constitution, etc. But the museum I found to be most effective was the National Constitution Center. It was so effective because it engaged the visitor in every way. The exhibits were almost all interactive, there was a live, multimedia video performance titled “We the People”, you can walk among life size replicas of the founding fathers, and you can also sign the constitution yourself. This museum was extremely effective because it immerses the guest into the world of the constitution; the people, the places, and the time. In order for a museum to be effective to a guest it must engage the senses, while also teaching. In order for a museum to be effective in the eyes of “non-museum people” it must pay careful detail to Weil’s four criteria: purposiveness, capability, effectiveness, and efficiency.