The San Francisco Citizen

Well it’s on over at the Asian Art Museum. The fantastic new show is Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul.

Now it’s got its fair share of bling, more than enough to hold you until King Tut hits town in 2009, but all these golden treasures come with a story. Read all about it over at the National Geographic and look at some high resolution photos here. And see what San Francisco Art Examiner Marisa Nakasone thinks about it here.

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Pair of pendants depicting the “Dragon Master” (Tillya Tepe, Tomb II). 100 BCE–100 CE (or 100 BC-100 AD, if you swing that way). Gold, turquoise, garnet, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and pearl, National Museum of Afghanistan, ©Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

There’s a whole series of related programs and events, including An Evening of Poetry and Music tomorrow and a showing of The Kite Runner movie in November.

And don’t forget about Target First Free Sundays at the Asian. It could be a good way for you to spend a rainy day weekend?

See you there!

It looks beter in person. Check it out.

The whole thing runs through January 25,  2009. 

$12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for youth 13–17, and free for children under 12. Thursday evenings after 5 pm admission is just $5 for all visitors except those under 12 and members, always free.

The museum is in the Civic Center area: 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

It’s open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with extended hours until 9:00 pm every Thursday.

It’s on! It’s fantastic. It’s you. It’s Power and Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty running through September 21, 2008 in the first floor Lee, Hambrecht, and Osher Galleries at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum. Take a look at the show here and learn more about it here, courtesy of kultural kommissar Kenneth “you need me” Baker.

You see, all this stuff isn’t merely decorative, it actually means something. That’s why the  heavy accompanying book costs $18 to ship from Amazon - this whole show is just chock-a-block full of culture. To wit, check out cover boy Prince Zhu Youyuan in his ceremonial uniform. His shoulder patches represent the moon and the sun, and you can also see green dragons blue vessels, green algae, red fire, white rice, blue axes, and blue bows. Dude’s got more icons than an iPhone 3.0. Click to expand:

Click on this one and see that they played golf in China back in the day, LPGA style. Court ladies in the inner palace, by Du Jin (active middle 15th century). Handscroll, ink and colors on silk:

Ming bling wasn’t just muddy red or brilliant blue on white - we’ve got a whole palette here:

So what’s your move? Get on over there before it closes next month. The only rational way to beat the crowds on August 3rd, 2008, Target First Free Sunday, would be to get in line before they open at 10:00 AM. But then you’d miss the opportunity to get in on the docent tours offered on all non Target Sundays at 10:30 AM,  12:30 PM and 1:30 PM.

Here’s what you do if you go on a day when you actually have to pay admission: Arrive early to check things out on your own and then take the free one-hour tour with a docent like Anthony Pan:

There’s lot’s of stuff to learn at The Asian’s best show ever. See you there!

Whatever you do, don’t strip it down and take off the paint. You look good in pink.

Get your Schwinn steel cruiser frame with steel springer fork and Shimano 7-speed rear derailleur with SRAM grip shift right here at Target. Some assembly reqd.

The Asian Art Museum special exhibition Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty really packed them in yesterday. Target First Free Sundays might have had a role, but this thing appears to be popular even on days when you can’t get in for free. And remarkably, Kenneth Baker likes it!

The line to get in yesterday went down Polk, Grove, Hyde (pictured), and McAllister. It was phenomenal, perhaps 500 people waiting? The museum is claiming 10,000 people dropped by on Sunday.

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See you there!

The first two days of ChihulyPalooza in Golden Gate Park were well attended, despite the admonishment of New Republic Art Critic Jed Perl:

Everybody rushes to the Museum of Modern Art and the De Young, two overblown buildings with sporadically important collections, while the most beautiful museum in the city–the Legion of Honor, in which masterpieces by Watteau, Le Nain, and Seurat have been given a thrillingly elegant installation- -is hardly ever mentioned.

Well, consider the Legion mentioned, Mr. Perl. Now on with the show:

Director John Buchanan speaking with Dale Chihuly earlier at the preview. Click to expand:

Let’s head outside to see the spectacle in front of the museum. A man controlling his metallic fire animals obscured by propane gas:

The Crucible’s Educational Response Vehicle. Have anvil, will travel:

The thrill of sending a plume of fire skyward the first time:

A bed of nails with a fretful ballerina on top:

And inside the museum, cherubs everywhere:

See you there!

John Buchanan, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, calls it “Chihulypalooza.” Dale himself says that he and Team Chihuly “went all out” to put on Chihuly at the de Young. This thing is huge. It’s the Largest Show He’s Ever Done.

Strike a pose. Dale Chihuly in front of Neodymium Reeds

It all starts Saturday. This weekend is called Chihuly Opening Weekend Sponsored by Target. So admission will be free. But things will get start getting hectic on Saturday so be sure to check out the rules.

You might even be tempted to sign up for a Participating or Family Membership just for the perks. (It’s cheaper than you’d expect and about half the cost of similar memberships at the soon to be completed California Academy of Sciences.)

Download the MP3 (or even a picture enabled M4A) to hear all about it, or wait and then pay a small fee for the Antenna Audio Tour.

The Schedule of Events. On both Saturday and Sunday, you’ll be able to see: 

The Crucible’s Educational Response Vehicle (stations will be set up near and around the vehicle showcasing demonstrations of blacksmithing, arc welding, glass flame working and oxy-acetylene torch cutting - plus they will be pouring bronze!), the Von Stilt Family stilt walkers, and the Chihuly at the Hot Shop documentary.

For Saturday only, you’ll be able to see:

Sideshow Spectacular by $teve Ra$pa Productions (DJ Neon Bunny, extreme jugglers, contortionists, acrobatics, hula hoops, and musical saws and accordions), Japonize Elephants (ten-piece musical ensemble includes glockenspiel, junk percussion, and accordion, along with guitar, bass, flute, saxophone, trumpet, fiddle, banjo, and vocals), and they’ll be hands-on art activities for the entire family, including Texture Tower, Color Collage, and Undersea World Creatures.

And on Sunday, you’ll be able to see:

Blue Monk Combo (jazz ensemble of recent graduates from San Rafael High School), Space Heater Blast Furnace (a combination of woodwind melodies and harmonies with noisy, machine funk), Bellow and Pluck: Rich Kuhns and Seward McCain (an eclectic combo of jazz, tango, Latin styles, and the occasional Beatles selection), Fishtank Ensemble (a unique blend of Gypsy, Balkan, Flamenco, Klezmer, and original tunes), Loop!Station: Robin Coomer and Sam Bass (live sampling and looping), Gregangelo and Velocity Circus, Les Aerials: Trapeze Arts, Foo Foo Ha! (mini circus vignettes and dance routines), Musical Chanteusse Nicolette (performance, side show artist Herbie Hatman entertains with body deyfying feats), Dale Chihuly presenting a one-hour talk about his life’s work with an introduction by Timothy Anglin Burgard, Ednah Root Curator-in-Charge of the American Art Department (tickets no longer available, sorry), and the day will end with book signing with Dale himself).

See you there!

The eleven rooms, in order. Almost all the things here are much taller than you are - they’re huge.  

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Room 1: Glass Forest 3, milk-glass and neon: 

Room 2:

Room 3, Persian Wall:

Room 4, Tabac baskets plus Pendletons:

Room 5:

Room 6, Neodymium Reeds: 

Room 7, Float Boats:

Room 8, Five Chandeliers: Ruby Red, Turquoise Icicle, Orange Hornet and Eelgrass, Chiostro di Sant’ Apollonia, and Palazzo de Loredana Balboni:

Room 9:

The view of Room 11 from Room 10 (the installation you can see through the doorway is 18 yards long):

Room 10, ceiling, looking up:

Room 11, Mille Fiori: