Society for Asian ArtNewsletter for Members

May - June 2012 No. 3

The Society for Asian Art is a support organization for the

The Society’s January 2012 Trip to East India and the Coromandel Coast

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Society for Asia ArtMay - June No. 3

Members’ NewsletterEdited by Jeanne Dorward, Jim Frank

and Judy Fraschellapublished bimonthly by:

Society for Asian Art200 Larkin Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

www.societyforasianart.org

Copyright © 2012 Society for Asian Art

Board of Directors 2011-2012

President Ehler Spliedt Vice President Linda Lei Vice President Phyllis Kempner Secretary Jeanne Dorward Treasurer Edward Baer

Richard Beleson Eileen Bitten Deborah Clearwaters* Judy Fraschella Mel Hetzel Anne Adams Kahn Elizabeth Johnson Susan Lai Forrest McGill* Donald Meyer Julie Kim Nemeth Robert Oaks Anthony Pan

Merrill Randol Sherwin Coral Reiff Teri Sandison Peter Sinton Shelley Sorani Barbara Wirth Carolyn Young

*ex officio

IN THIS ISSUE:

UPCOMING EVENTS: (subject to change)

Tuesday, April 17Annual Spring Dinner

Saturday, April 28Visit: Curator Tour of Himalayan Pilgrimage Exhibit with Julia White

Thursday, May 3First Thursday Lecture: Shrines and Storerooms: A Curator’s Ideal Trip to Cambodia with Forrest McGill

Thursday, May 10SAA Annual Meeting and Reception

Friday, May 11Lecture: Adrian Wong - Installation Artist and Phantoms’ Geomancy Consultant

Saturday, May 19-Thursday, May 24Travel: Minneapolis Trip

Thursday, June 7First Thursday Lecture: Chasing Phantoms: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Phantoms of Asia with Kelly Bennett

Saturday, June 9Workshop: It’s Not All Curry – Part II with Nazneen Spliedt

Saturday, June 16Study Group: Art and Meaning of Himalayan Thangkas with Jeffrey Durham

Fridays, August 24-December 7Arts of Asia Lecture Series Fall 2012

Saturday and Sunday, October 27-28Souk Sale at Fort Mason

Saturday, January 5-Sunday, January 20, 2013Travel: Burma Trip

Thursday, July 5First Thursday Lecture: Around the World of the Early Seventeenth Century: Early Modern Globalism with Tom Christensen

Saturday, July 21Tea Tasting at Ayame Flint's Home with Peter Luong (Buyer for Red Blossom Tea in San Francisco)

Thursday, August 2First Thursday Lecture: Being a Dealer of Modern and Contemporary Asian Art with Ramen Frey

Annual Book Sale

We are looking for donations for our annual book sale. If you have any Asian related books, please call the office.

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ARTS OF ASIA LECTURE SERIES

The Culture and Arts of China: From the Neolithic Age through the Tang DynastyInstructor of Record: Michael Knight

When: Fridays, August 24 – December 7Time: 10:30 am – 12:30 pmPlace: Samsung HallFee: $150 Society members, $175 non-members (for the series, after Museum admission) $20 per lecture drop-in (after Museum admission, subject to space availability)

Register now for the next Arts of Asia lecture series and join us as we explore the arts, culture, and history of China. Featuring prominent scholars and curators from across the globe, the 15 Fall lectures will showcase the collection of the Asian Art Museum. These works of art help us understand early Chinese philosophies, religions, technology, trade, and the rise and fall of its great dynasties from pre-history through the end of the Tang dynasty in 906 CE. Lectures will cover China’s linguistic, religious, ritual, and artistic structures as well as early China’s wide spread economic and cultural clout. This lecture series coincides with the beginning of the second year of a three-year training program for new Museum docents.

August 24Introduction: What is China? What is Chinese?Michael Knight, Asian Art Museum

August 31Foundations of China’s Linguistic and Ritual Structures: Neolithic period to early Bronze AgeLothar von Falkenhausen, UC Los Angeles

September 7The Shang Dynasty Robert Bagley, Princeton University

September 14The Late Shang Dynasty and Western ZhouJay Xu, Asian Art Museum

September 21Forces of Regionalism vs. a Central State: Spring & Autumn and Warring States PeriodsColin Mackenzie, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City

September 28Unification: Qin and Early Han DynastiesJeffrey Riegel, University of Sydney

October 5Planning for the Living and the Dead in Han Dynasty ChinaPat Berger, UC Berkeley

October 12Foreign Relations during the Han and Three Kingdoms: The Early “Silk Road”Stan Abe, Duke University

October 19Introduction to Chinese BuddhismStan Abe, Duke University

October 26Confucianism, Daoism and the State Cult: Han - Six DynastiesSuzanne Cahill, UC San Diego

November 2A Time of Disorder: the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties PeriodsAnnette Juliano, Rutgers University

November 9Toward a Unified State: Late Six Dynasties – Sui DynastyAmy McNair, University of Kansas

November 16Early to High Tang DynastyDe-nin Lee, Bowdoin College

November 23Thanksgiving No Class

November 30The Silk Road: China’s International Impact in the Late Seventh and Eighth CenturiesValerie Hansen, Yale University

December 7Changing Roles: the Educated Elite and the Hereditary Aristocracy in the Late TangPat Berger, UC Berkeley

Ritual vessel (zun or gui) in the shape of a rhinoceros, Shang dynasty (1600-1050 BCE), probably

1100-1050 BCE. China; Shonchang; Shandong province. Bronze. The Avery Brundage Collection,

B60B1+

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When: Thursday, May 10Time: 6:00 pmPlace: Samsung HallSpeaker: Arthur Leeper: Protective Charms, Massive Gowns and Lively Cartoons: Surprises Found During the Conservation of Several Yuan Dynasty GarmentsNote: Invitations have been sent; please RSVP

Always one of our favorite speakers, Arthur Leeper will entertain and educate us with the fascinating tale of a four-year conservation project that produced startling revelations about details of Yuan Dynasty court life, altering some commonly held assumptions. In 2005 a group of Arthur’s Yuan period costumes were exhibited in Hangzhou, China in The China National Silk Museum’s exhibition: Gold/Silk/Blue and White Porcelain: Fascinating Arts of the Marco Polo Era. These are the costumes we will hear about this evening.

Arthur Leeper has worked as a dealer in Asian art since 1970 and has traveled widely in Nepal, Northern India, Tibet, China and Japan. Although his initial interest was Tibetan ethnographic material, through the influence of Tibetan friends he grew to share their love of Chinese decorative art. That became his primary interest, with a particular focus on textiles and lacquer. He has lectured on Asian art at the Textile Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, the Society for Asian Art, the International Conference on Oriental Carpets and UC Berkeley.

SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING AND RECEPTION

Study Groups

Art and Meaning of Himalayan ThangkasWith Jeffrey Durham

When: Saturday, June 16Time: 10:15 am - 3:00 pmPlace: Education StudioFee: $45 Society members, $55 non-members (after Museum admission), includes lunch

Discover the secrets of the thangka art tradition of Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism with Jeff Durham, the ASIAN curator of Himalayan art. In this study group we will explore the following:

• The four basic styles of Himalayan thangka, as illustrated in the ASIAN collection;• The geographic regions that historically produce thangka;• How to ‘read’ the figures in a Himalayan thangka;• How art and meditation depend on each other in the production of Himalayan

thangka.

By the end of our discussion you’ll have a solid command of thangka art and philosophy. You’ll also build confidence in your own understanding of the tradition and its relevance to Himalayan life and culture.

Dr. Jeffrey Durham received his PhD in the History of Religion at the University of Virginia. He has taught and conducted research in Himalayan and South Asian art, ritual and text. He developed courses on Hinduism and Buddhism, Religions of Asia and developed an innovative course entitled “The Mind of the Mahayana, Himalayan and Indian Buddhist Thought and Art.”

The Buddha Amitayus, approx. 1700-1800. China; Chengde. Thangka, colors on cotton. The Avery Brundage Collection

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Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of members of the Society for Asian Art will be held in Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, on May 10, 2012 at 6:00 pm for the following purposes:To elect 15 Directors to serve until the next Annual Meeting of members to be held in May 2013 and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. To transact such other business as properly may be brought before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

The Nominating Committee submitted the names of the following nominees for election as directors:Ed Baer, Rick Beleson, Jeanne Dorward, Mel Hetzel, Phyllis Kempner, Don Meyer, Coral Reiff, Teri Sandison plus the seven new members.

The names of additional nominees may be submitted to the Board of Directors for review not less than twenty (20) days prior to the meeting. The petitions shall be signed by not less than twenty (20) members in good standing and shall contain the information required by Section 3 of Article IX of the Bylaws. Each member in good standing is entitled to one vote on each matter considered at the meeting.  No proxy voting is permitted. All voting is conducted in person.

By order of the Board of Directors,

Jeanne DorwardSecretary

ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS - ELECTION SLATEMay 10, 2012

The members of the Nominating Committee for the year 2012-2013 are: Peter Sinton, Chair, Ehler Spliedt, Anne Kahn and Paula Rampe.

Nominations:The following Members of the Society for Asian Art desire to serve as Directors and are nominated for election to serve their first two-year term of office: Vince Fausone, Maureen Hetzel, Sherlyn Leong, David Menke, Nazneen Spliedt, Lucy Sun, Alice Trinkl

The following Directors of the Society for Asian Art will complete their first two-year term and are nominated for election to serve a second two-year term: Rick Beleson, Jeanne Dorward, Mel Hetzel, Teri Sandison

The following Directors of the Society for Asian Art will complete their second two-year term and are nominated for election to serve a third two-year term: Ed Baer, Don Meyer, Coral Reiff

The following Director of the Society for Asian Art will complete her third two-year term and is nominated for election to serve a fourth two-year term: Phyllis KempnerDirectors with one year remaining on their two-year terms: Ehler Spliedt, Linda Lei, Eileen Bitten, Judy Fraschella, BJ Johnson, Anne Kahn, Susan Lai, Julie Nemeth, Barbara WirthThe following previously elected Directors are retiring from the Board of Directors: Bob Oaks, Tony Pan, Merrill Randol, Peter Sinton, Shelley Sorani, Carolyn YoungThe following ex-officio Directors will continue to serve: Forrest McGill and Deborah Clearwaters

Report from the Nominating Committee:The Nominating Committee recommends the following members for a first two-year term to the Board of Directors of the Society for Asian Art.Vince Fausone, Jr. received his BA from UC Berkeley and medical degree from UCSF, retiring from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in 1999. Vince was SAA director for eight years as well as President 2001-2004. An avid collector of snuff bottles, he was president of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society and currently is a member of the ASIAN’s Connoisseur Council’s steering committee and Jade Circle Committee, as well as a director of Museo Italo Americano in San Francisco and Piedmontesi nel Mondo of Northern California.Maureen Hetzel earned her BA from St. Louis University followed by a graduate fellowship at State University of New York at Buffalo. Newly retired from Graduate School USA following 28 years with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, her community involvement includes serving on the boards of Cathedral School for Boys, Katherine Delmar Burke School and SF Boys Chorus. She and her husband, SAA board member Mel, also have a deep interest in Asian (and other) art.Sherlyn Leong is a native San Franciscan who graduated from UC Berkeley. She enrolled in the Docent Training Program at the Asian Art Museum in 1997 and since then has been active in many roles with the docents, including painter in the Nature in Art Program, Training Co-Chair 2004-2007 and Vice Chair 2009-2011. She appreciates the luxury of being able to participate in the community of the Asian Art Museum.

SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT

David Menke majored in philosophy at Columbia College and earned his MD from New York University. He lives in Burlingame and recently retired from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group. He has a keen interest in Asian Art (sparked in part by his father’s collection of Chinese ceramics and other art) and regularly attends the Friday Arts of Asia lecture series. He is on the Asian Art Collection Committee of the Harvard University Art Museums.Nazneen Spliedt was born and raised in Karachi. She attended the Institute of Business Administration and worked with Inter-Continental Hotels in Karachi and Lahore as well as other countries on multiple continents. With Ehler she lived and worked in Hong Kong for 15 years where they developed their love of Chinese and Asian art. After their arrival in San Francisco she became involved with the Society and served on the Society board since 2000 in various capacities and as President 2006-2008.Lucy Sun grew up in Taiwan and the U.S. She has a BA from Vassar College, an MBA from Harvard and an MA in Archaeology from University of London. For more than 20 years she worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. She recently moved back to the U.S. and now lives in San Francisco. Since 2000 she has served as a trustee of Vassar and has been involved in volunteer and patronage activities in London.Alice Trinkl graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism. After working at the University of Oklahoma and Maryville College in St. Louis, she became director of public information for the City and County of St. Louis. Later Alice worked at the University of California, San Francisco, retiring as Director of News Services. Since leaving UCSF she has done consulting and joined the docent training program at the ASIAN in 2004. Currently she is Vice Chair of the Docent Council.

Society for Asian ArtPresident’s Report

2011-12The SAA highlights of the past year are easily identified with the special exhibitions at the ASIAN – Poetry in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art; and Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts. We planned many lectures and events for these exhibitions, with the highlights being the two Symposia the Society organized with invited speakers from all over the world who shared their knowledge with our members.

Summer 2011 began a revised Arts of Asia Program in conjunction with the start of the new docent training class (Class of 2014). 60 docent trainees became members of the Society, many of whom are already volunteering by joining some of the Society committees.

In September we launched our new website with a new design and with many new features including an on-line sign up for most events: www.societyforasianart.org.

The pinnacle of the past year was the donation of $125,000 from the Society to the ASIAN as lead cultural sponsor of the Maharaja exhibition. A gala pre-opening reception was held in Samsung Hall for our members who enjoyed the early opportunity to view this exceptional exhibition. Over 250 Society members joined Director Jay Xu, Exhibition Curator Qamar Adamjee and many other Museum staff to celebrate the close co-operation and continued support by the Society for Asian Art to the ASIAN.

Your support of the Society makes all this possible.

Thank you,Ehler Spliedt

COMMITTEE REPORTSEducational Programs

Arts of AsiaAsian Art Museum Chief Curator Forrest McGill was instructor of record for both the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 semesters. The theme of the 15 Fall Arts of Asia lecture series was “The Art of Culture of South Asia and the Islamic World: Beliefs Made Visible.” The 15 Spring 2012 series was titled “The Arts of Southeast Asia and the Himalayas: the Sacred and the Secular.” The lectures coincided with the first year of training of a new class of more than 60 docent trainees and the Arts of Asia series achieved record attendance. A total of 245 docents, docent trainees and other Society for Asian Art members bought series tickets to the Fall and Spring lectures held in Samsung Hall.

We sponsored lunches for guest speakers in the Peterson Room and invited 8 to 12 guests for each luncheon, including AAM curators and staff, SAA manager and directors, Docent Council members as well as visiting scholars and other interested docents and Society for Asian Art members.

Since the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 lecture series will be connected to the second year of the new docent training class, the Arts of Asia committee of interested docents and other SAA members met with Director of Education Deb Clearwaters and Senior Curator Michael Knight to chart the year-long course on Chinese art history and culture. Planning for the Fall 2012 portion of the lecture series is almost completed with 15 lecture slots filled between August 24 and December 7. The title of the Fall lectures is “The Culture and Arts of China: From the Neolithic Age Through the Tang Dynasty.” Michael Knight is the instructor of record for both the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 lectures. The latter 15 lectures will focus on Chinese art and culture from the Song Dynasty to the present. The Arts of Asia is co-chaired by Peter Sinton and Linda Lei.

Study GroupsThe Study Group Committee organizes day long, in depth workshops about four times a year on Saturdays. This year began with a program on Buncheong Ceramics given by AAM Curator for Korean Art, H.J. Kim Han. It was scheduled to coincide with an exhibition

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on view in the Korean Galleries of Korean Buncheong Ceramics called Poetry in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. In February Sylvia Fraser-Lu spoke about Burmese crafts in the morning. In the afternoon the group examined objects they had brought in for show and tell. This Study Group served as excellent preparation for the SAA's trip to Burma, planned for January 2013.

Our third Study Group in April will feature Toru Sugita, a print maker and painter originally from Japan, talking about the print making process and its history. He will also give a demonstration of his work. In June Jeff Durham, AAM Curator of Himalayan Art will help us discover the secrets of the "Thangka" art tradition. He will focus on thangka art and philosophy. The Study Group Committee is chaired by Phyllis Kempner. Her excellent committee includes Eileen Bitten, Sheila Diehl, Barbara Levinson, and Carolyn Young.

Literature and Culture of AsiaThis year the “Literature and Culture of Asia” series presented one six-week session and one eight-week session. In Fall 2011 Professor John Wallace presented an eight-week course entitled “Identity in Japanese Stories and Film.” The participants in the course read three novels – The Makioka Sisters, Norwegian Wood and the graphic novel The Ghost in the Shell – and viewed the corresponding films. The subject of the Spring 2012 six-week session, presented by Drs. Robert and Sally Goldman, moved to South Asia in a course entitled “Krishna Tales.” Using various texts and a reader, the subject matter focused on Krishna in his various roles in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the Puranas, and the Jatakas.

Judy Fraschella is the Chair of the Literature and Culture Committee. Other members of the committee have been Vince Fausone, Barbara Liddell, Elinor Cullen, Anne Kahn, and Jeanne Newman.

First ThursdayChaired by Coral Reiff, this series continued to be a popular offering by the Society. The Bali Exhibition kept our First Thursday attendees coming to our lectures during Spring 2011 with a series on this fascinating island that concluded with Cory Combs’ presentation on Contemporary Indonesian Music. AAM’s Assistant Curator of South Asian galleries Qamar Adamjee provided an informative and colorful preview of the Maharaja Exhibition. We concluded our 2011 Fall season with two lectures on Chinese Art by our AAM Curators, one on the 338 Buddha by Michael Knight, and the other on a contemporary painter by Dany Chan.

In April 2012 Marsha Vargas Handley, President of the International Netsuke Society, will speak on these magnificent Japanese miniatures. AAM's Chief Curator Dr. Forrest McGill will speak on his 2011 summer in Cambodia in May. Then in June AAM's Exhibition Preparator Kelly Bennett will describe what it is like to work "behind the scenes" of Phantoms, the AAM's first Pan Asian Contemporary Artists Exhibition.

Events for Members

Member EventsThe Member Events’ Committee was co-chaired by Annie Dorsey and Anne Kahn this year and included thirteen committee members. At least two Member events were offered most months, and these events included scholarly lectures, private collection visits, a curator exhibition walkthrough, gallery visits, a documentary film event followed by a director Q&A, an Indian classical music concert, and several lunch and dinner events at galleries, restaurants, and private homes.

Offsite visits included a gourmet lunch in Napa, a gallery and workshop tour in Marin, a lunch and snuff bottle lecture in San Francisco, a holiday party at Inja’s in the Design Center, a curator’s tour of a contemporary Indian art exhibit at the Yerba Buena Center, a trip to Monterey beginning with a cocktail party at a private home followed by a dinner and Japanese lacquer exhibition at Orientations Gallery, and most recently a visit to a collection of contemporary art in Saratoga. Rounding out the year are a lecture on an upcoming Nepalese art exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum, a Spring dinner at the Empress of China, a curator tour of the Himalayan Pilgrimage exhibit at the Berkeley Museum, and a lecture by installation artist Adrian Wong on his work and the Phantoms’ exhibit.

Lecturers have included Joseph Fischer, Forrest McGill, Joseph Chang, Melissa Rinne, Laura Allen, Emma Bunker, Anna Jackson, Bob Del Bonta, Sanjyot Mehendale, Daniel Ehnbom, and Munis Faruqui.

Upper Category Member EventsThe “Society Conversations” offer Upper Level members (supporters at the $100 Contributor or $250 Donor level) the opportunity to meet in small groups with a scholar, curator or Society advisor in the intimate setting of private homes. Content is driven by questions from our members and topics of interest to our guests. Co-chaired by Jeanne Dorward and Carolyn Young, the easy exchange of ideas creates a different dynamic from the large lecture hall and is always a popular program.

TravelThis year the SAA Travel Committee is composed of 13 members, including Board members, docents, and general members. Teri Sandison is the Travel Chair.

Foreign TravelArts and Religions of Bali and Java, Indonesia (August 20-September 11, 2011). Sixteen SAA members began the trip in Singapore, where our scholar, Dr. Robert Brown, arrived with pneumonia! SAA Travel Committee chair Teri Sandison worked with Distant Horizons owner Janet Moore to arrange locally based scholars to provide our educational component. The successful results included a lecture series in the Jogjakarta/Borobudur area, lectures on the ancient religions of Eastern Java, and explanations of the mask and dance ceremonies of Bali.

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East India and the Coromandel Coast (January 6-23, 2012) with scholar Dr. Mary-Ann Milford-Lutzker. This trip was fully booked and everyone reported a great journey with Mary-Ann. Her enthusiasm, intelligence, and scholarship provided a rich learning experience for all. Thanks to Anne Adelmann and her committee for all of her planning and attention to detail.

Domestic TravelPhiladelphia was our SAA destination May 24-28, 2011. This was a fully booked and very successful trip. Thanks to Anne Adams Kahn and her committee for excellent planning and follow-through to create a perfect trip. Sites visited included the Penn Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rosenbach Museum, Brandywine River Museum, Longwood Gardens and Winterthur, with an optional extension to the Barnes Foundation.

Minneapolis will be an exciting and eclectic trip May 19-24, 2012. Susan McCabe and Linda Lei are planning and organizing an unusual arts tour of many diverse museums and venues in the greater Minneapolis area, including St. John’s University with its St. John’s Bible, and the pottery studio of master potter Richard Bresnahan. There is still space available to join this tour.

SymposiumTwo Symposia were organized by the SAA in the past year in tandem with the related exhibitions at the ASIAN: Buncheong Symposium in September 2011 and Maharaja Symposium in January 2012. An illustrious group of scholars was invited for each symposium. Ideally the attendance could have been better as it was necessary for the SAA to subsidize the Symposia with about $2500.

Publications and Public Relations

NewsletterShelley Sorani, Judy Fraschella and Jeanne Dorward served as co-editors at different points during the year. They continued the goal from the previous year to make the newsletter more readable and useful, as well as more appealing by using more photos of Society events. On page 2 of the newsletter readers can find a list of current and upcoming events. On the following pages those events are explained in more detail. Major categories of events include the Arts of Asia series, Member Events, Literature and Culture Courses, Study Groups, Travel, First Thursday lectures and often those sponsored by the museum. In addition to the print version, the newsletter can also be found on-line in brilliant color. This year, as a major innovation, reservations and payment for all society sponsored events can be made on-line. The co-editors look forward to comments, suggestions and contributions from the membership.

Lotus LeavesBob Oaks continued as editor of Lotus Leaves and published two issues this year. The spring 2012 issue was published in color for the first time, rather than in black and white as in the past. This will be Bob’s last issue as editor since he is terming out on the Society board. Alice Trinkl will take over the editorship beginning with the fall 2012 issue.

The fall 2011 issue contained articles on Korean Buncheong ceramics and on the temples of Veranasi. The spring 2012 issue had articles on an Asian Art Museum Cambodian path marker with scenes of Krishna (by Forrest McGill) and one on Burmese Buddhism (by Dawn Rooney).

LibraryThe Society continued its support of the Museum Library with a monthly donation of $1500, for a total of $18,000. Ehler Spliedt, assisted by a small group of volunteers, organized the annual Society Book Sale which netted over $7000 in March 2012. The Library Committee is chaired by Tony Pan.

WebsiteIn September we launched our new website with a new design and with many new features including an on-line sign up for most of our events. It can be accessed at www.societyforasianart.org. Susan Lai and Susan McCabe, together with Jim Frank, were instrumental in preparing the details for a third party Website designer.

Development and Outreach

MembershipChaired by Merrill Randol Sherwin, the Society of Asian Art’s membership committee is happy to report that the SAA’s membership rolls grew significantly this year, in large part due to the addition of many docent trainees. From March 2011 to March 2012 membership grew from approximately 580 members to over 650. However the increase in our membership was primarily due to new members who signed up for the $50 membership, the most basic level of membership. In hopes of increasing enrollment in the Upper Categories, as well as our wish to include all active museum participants on our SAA rolls, we decided to reach out to the new Asian Art Museum trustees and commissioners and invited them to join by recently sending a letter enclosing SAA publications.

Our other activities included organizing and holding a reception for North Bay members and potential members. Dr. and Mrs. Matt Janin generously hosted the reception last June. With this North Bay reception we completed our cycle of receptions for members who live outside of San Francisco. We held receptions in the following areas and years: the East Bay (2009), Peninsula (2010) and the North Bay (2011).

AdvisorsThe Society for Asian Art has a group of 25 advisors, many of them professors at some of the Bay Area universities as well as independent scholars, several of whom have given lectures during the year. Each year the board invites all the advisors to a lunch with the board members; this offers the opportunity to meet on a personal basis and to exchange ideas and information between the two groups and also among the advisors. The lunch is held in the Peterson Room in April. The committee is chaired by Don Meyer.

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MEMBER EVENTS

Adrian Wong - Installation Artist and Phantoms’ Geomancy Consultant

When: Friday, May 11Time: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pmPlace: Education StudiosFee: $15 (after Museum admission)

In this lecture Adrian Wong, the entertaining and articulate installation artist, will discuss his art projects plus his current work with Feng Shui practitioners for the upcoming Phantoms of Asia exhibit.

In addition to discussing his installation in the Phantoms exhibit, he will discuss how his installation, videos and sculptures draw from varied subjects and explore the intricacies of his relationship to his environment - experientially, historically, culturally - through the filter of fantastical or fictionalized narratives. His talk may include such recent exhibits as “Troglodyte Sees the Light: A Passion for Creation” for the Louis Vuitton Foundation and works shown at the Hong Kong Sculpture Biennial.

Adrian Wong has a Masters in Psychology from Stanford and an MFA from Yale. He splits his time between Hong Kong (where he is director of an art consultancy and an independent production studio) and Los Angeles (where he teaches sculpture and critical theory at UCLA). He is also currently posted as an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University for the 2011-12 academic year.

It’s Not all Curry – Part IIWith Nazneen Spliedt

When: Saturday, June 9Time: 3:00 pm – 6:00 pmPlace: South San Francisco (address TBA to participants)Fee: $30 Society members, $35 non-members

Following up on her first foray at demonstrating Parsi home cooking, Nazneen Spliedt welcomes you to broaden your horizons a bit further and learn more about Parsi cooking. We will taste real parsi’chhai’ and nibble on tea-time snacks before learning to cook a few more dishes. This is a hands-on class, so come prepared to chop and stir and taste while sipping a glass of wine.

Adrian Wong

There’s Still Room at the Inn! Minneapolis Trip May 19-24, 2012Space is still available for the Society trip to Minneapolis museums and gardens. Among the special features of the trip are a private tour of Minneapolis Institute of Arts collection and special exhibitions Celestial Fragrance: Chinese Flower and Bird Painting and Layered Abstraction: Quilting and Contemporary Fiber Art. Members will also have a special visit with master potter, Richard Bresnahan, at his pottery at St. John’s University, and a visit to the Manuscript Library to see originals of the St. John’s Bible contemporary “illuminated manuscript” by Welsh master calligrapher Donald Jackson.

Sign up now by contacting Jim in the SAA office.

Come Along on This Special Travel Opportunity: Burma Trip January 5-20, 2013

See the enclosed flyer for complete information about the January 2013 Society trip to Burma with scholar and author Sylvia Fraser-Lu, and an optional extension to Inle Lake. This is a nation that’s changing quickly and many of the traditional arts and crafts are disappearing.

The itinerary is detailed in this newsletter. If this trip excites you as much as it does us, send your deposit of $500.00 to Jim in the SAA office.

TRAVEL

Our Trips Include Scholars and Gurus!

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FIRST THURSDAY LECTURE SERIES

When: Thursday, May 3Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pmPlace: Education StudiosFee: $10 (after Museum admission)

The Asian Art Museum’s collection of artworks from the ancient Kingdom of Angkor is one of the most important in the country. It encompasses over ninety sculptures of stone and bronze, as well as ceramics and ritual objects of gold and other metals.

Forrest McGill’s 2011 trip to temples and museums in Cambodia and conversations with archaeologists both Cambodian and foreign brought forth new information and contexts for a number of these works. It also gave Dr. McGill new understanding of a particular interest of his, the post-Angkorian art of Cambodia and its connections with the arts of Thailand. The talk, part travelogue and part serious art history, will highlight the interesting results of this study trip.

Forrest McGill is Chief Curator and Wattis Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at the Asian Art Museum.

Left: Krishna conquering the elephant Kuvalayapida (detail), approx.

1000-1100, Cambodia, Conservation Angkor, Siem Reap.

Right: Krishna conquering the elephant Kuvalayapida (detail),

approx. 1000-1100, Cambodia, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Shrines and Storerooms: A Curator’s Ideal Trip to CambodiaWith Forrest McGill

Chasing Phantoms: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Phantoms of AsiaWith Kelly Bennett

When: Thursday, June 7Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pmPlace: Education StudiosFee: $10 (after Museum admission)

How do you install contemporary works amidst the traditional objects and historic setting of an institution like the Asian Art Museum? How do you fit 31 contemporary artists’ visions into a cohesive space? Kelly Bennett will discuss the process of installing the unpredictable contemporary pieces of the Phantoms of Asia exhibition in the traditional space of our museum. She will also discuss the challenges of working with the living artists and the creative process that erupted around the merging of inspiration, egos, and emotions of those artists.

As the newly appointed Exhibition Manager at the Asian Art Museum, Kelly Bennett coordinates the installation needs of each exhibition. Kelly received a BFA in Photography from the University of Houston and an MA at the University of Buffalo in Arts Management. She has worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Houston Center of Photography, the Blaffer Gallery, and the art museum at the University of Houston – and she has also collaborated with museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Modern Museum of Art, and the Sungkok Art Museum in Seoul Korea.

Choi Jeong Hha's Breathing Flower 2011 Fabric, LED's, motor-11 meters

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TIDBITS

Souk’s On!

It’s back! Our Fall fun and fund-raising event is confirmed for the weekend of October 27th and 28th, 2012 at the Firehouse in Fort Mason. We’ve started to receive donations and anyone wishing to contribute items for the Souk may either contact Committee Chairman Richard Beleson directly at rbeleson@gmail.com or contact the Society at saa@asianart.org. We will be happy to arrange pick-up and provide you with a receipt for tax purposes.

Look through your treasures for those items that deserve a new home, then come to the Souk and select new treasures for yourself! We welcome quality Asian paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, ethnic clothing, jewelry, basketry, small furnishings and decorative objects valued at $25 or more. We’re also looking for volunteers to help with organizing and staffing the Souk so please let either Richard or the Society office know if you’re available.

The Society Is Now a Vendor of CSA Travel Protection Insurance

It is now quite easy to buy any travel protection insurance by using the CSA policies which are detailed in a brochure Jim has in the SAA office. Each time you use CSA the Society earns a commission which goes into our general fund. Also you can sign up on-line at csatravelpro.com or you can call an agent at 1-800-834-8853. Please use our “Producer Code” of 20100719 so that we get credit. There is a wide range of coverage available, from emergency medical insurance to complete trip cancellation policies.

The $7,000 raised from the Book Sale helps fund the Museum Library. Thanks for your support!

ContactInformationSociety for Asian ArtAsian Art Museum200 Larkin StreetSan Francisco, CA 94102

Phone: 415-581-3701Fax: 415-861-2358

Email: saa@asianart.orgWeb: www.societyforasianart.org

April 17: Annual Spring Dinner Celebrating the Year of the Dragon$60 Members$65 Non-members

April 28: Curator Tour of the Himalayan Pilgrimage Exhibit w/ Julia White $15

May 3: Shrines and Storerooms w/ Forrest McGill $10

May 10: Annual Meeting and ReceptionComplimentaryPlease RSVP

May 11: Adrian Wong - Installation Artist and Phantoms’ Geomancy Consultant$15

May 19 - 24: Minneapolis Trip$950 Per person $465 Single-supplement

June 7: Chasing Phantoms: Behind the Scenes w/ Kelly Bennett $10

June 9: It’s Not All Curry - Part II w/ Nazneen Spliedt$30 Members$35 Non-Members

June 16: Art & Meaning of Himalayan Thangkas w/ Jeffery Durham$45 Members$55 Non-Members

August 24 - December 7: Arts of Asia Series Fall 2012$150 Members$175 Non-Members

Paid Programs Fee Quantity Sub-Total

REGISTRATION FORM

Name____________________________ E-Mail ________________________ Total ________________

Address __________________________________________________ Zip Code ___________________

Visa MC Discover _______-_________-________-________ _____\_____ ___-___-___ Card Number Expiration Date CCV# (3-digit # on back)

________________________________________________________ Signature

How to RegisterTo Register you May:

1. Print this registration form and send it with a check to: SAA, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

OR

2. Print this registration form and fax it with your credit card information to: 415-861-2358

Registration is required for all programs unless otherwise noted. If a program becomes fully enrolled, your payment will be returned. Refunds are granted for cancellations up to one business week before the event and take one or two weeks to process. SAA does not issue tickets or confirmations. You will be contacted ONLY if your registration cannot be completed.