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Written by Kat Murrell, Contributing writer
Jun 30, 2011
“Guardian Warrior Tang Dynasty” (618-906 CE) painted earthenware. – Photo: John R. Glembin
The Milwaukee Art Museum has launched its most ambitious slate of summer programming ever with the Summer of China. Not only is MAM hosting five new exhibitions, but even Mayor Tom Barrett is on board with an official proclamation welcoming the summer exhibits. The centerpiece is “The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City,” but the remaining four exhibits add much character to the China extravaganza.
“Warriors, Beasts, and Spirits: Early Chinese Art from the James Conley Collection” offers some entertaining works. Some are even humorous, which is not an adjective usually associated with 2,000-year-old sculptures.
Many objects come from a funerary context, as they were interred with the deceased for use in the afterlife. And what is needed? Protection, for one thing. Works in the Schroeder Galleria feature a number of lokapalas, or guardian figures represented as armor-clad warriors. Traces of bright paint are evident on many, but especially gripping are the expressions of these ancient tough guys. They grimace, they stare, they are not to be tussled with. They have an assertive beauty in their angular, sharp mouths and piercing eyes.
In the Baumgartner Galleria, figurative sculptures serve different purposes. The afterlife is long, and a person could get bored. So, how about a little music to liven things up? Got it. Groups of musicians and dancers are created for pleasure and entertainment. One riotous trio stick out their tongues in merriment and abandon.
Animals also are part of the sculptural offerings – elegant horses and even a small baby bear who quizzically yawns and scratches his head.
“Emerald Mountains: Modern Chinese Ink Painting from the Chu-tsing Li Collection,” on view in the Koss Gallery, shows artists influenced by ancient traditions. Shanshui, or paintings featuring mountains and water, is a genre that has been practiced for more than 1,300 years. There is a great deal to see, as many of the paintings are meant to be approached as a visual excursion.
For a short primer on Chinese painting, take a few minutes to watch the video with Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Maxwell Hearn, who walks us through a 14th-century piece. It’s a beautiful journey, highlighting the different nuances between Chinese and Western European approaches to landscape.
Then, peruse the details of line and form in this exhibition, where the vastness of mountain retreats are contained in the microcosm of a painting or revealed in book or scroll form. Other works represent the intersection of traditional ink painting and progressive modernist strains, such as the abstract expressionism of the mid-20th century. A selection of fans from the 19th century round out the display of visual image and poetry. Take your time.
The current contemporary art scene is most obviously referenced in “On Site: Zhan Wang” and his “Artificial Rock, No. 43,” a huge, stainless steel replication of a stone, glimmering under the vault of Windover Hall. If Jeff Koons was born in Beijing and inclined toward nature sculpture, he might have arrived at this piece. Zhan springs off the classical admiration for “scholars’ rocks,” stones looked to for their aesthetic and philosophical interest. He creates one of monumental proportions. We can explore the nooks and crannies, projections and recessions, but the glitziness of the stainless steel seems to keep us hovering on the surface, distracted by the novelty of reflection. We see more of what’s around us – and ourselves – rather than sinking into depths of mental contemplation. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the contemporary condition – oversized and glamorized.
The last of the exhibitions is “Way of the Dragon: The Chinoiserie Style, 1710-1830.” This selection of decorative art objects explores interpretations of Chinese culture and motifs, vis-a-vis the European world and marketplace. These are still very relevant issues, as our culture and economy are engaged with China on the world stage.
China is a country that can raise conflicting feelings. Corporations may tout relationships with this nation in the international marketplace, but many individuals have reservations about China’s human rights policies. Still, the exhibitions offer a way of exploring a culture that may be somewhat unfamiliar, but undeniable in global importance.
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