I think anti-congratulations are in order here, for this is the longest lapse I’ve ever had in updating. Apologies to my readers, all two of them (hi mom, hi sis). I don’t even know where to begin on what’s happened since November.

But I did find this particular monk from the famous Songshan Shaolin Temple in Henan, China (by way of Shaolin Temple USA SF and Fremont) rather charming. He and his band of merry monks performed an astonishing set at MATCHA a couple weeks ago. My obnoxious photo-taking warranted an intimidating glare:

But then…he slowly raised his “gun”

The imperceptible smirk gave way to a hammy, playful, almost flirty smile. Endearing.

It was disarming. A nice, calming moment that sorta helped re-align everything that night.

I’m still at work getting personal stuff sorted as I leave tomorrow for Seoul! They announced my five year anniversary at the staff meeting this morning. Coworkers were sweet and kind bestowing me with congratulations through out the day. It made me feel warm and fuzzy. Was it bad that I likened the five years to a (dysfunctional) longterm relationship? But I meant it in a good way.

One of my job’s perks is not only working with interesting people, but meeting “famous” ones too. For the samurai exhibition media preview, I obnoxiously sidled up to the former Prime Minister of Japan Morihiro Hosokawa for a photo (his family collection comprises the exhibition). I wasn’t planning on it but the opportunity was too ripe.

I can’t comment on his political career, though I know it was a gutsy, distinctive, and short-lived one. It’s impressive that he was the first Japanese leader to publicly acknowledge that World War II was a “war of aggression, a mistaken war.” After his PM stint, he escaped the madness for a quiet, rural, peaceful life with nature and art (pottery), and is now a celebrated ceramicist. Some of his pieces are in the samurai exhibition.

From what I know about Hosokawa, I really dig him. You know how sometimes, people just strike you as chill, peaceful, and loving life for all its beauty? They’re not encumbered with drama or baggage? He seems to be one of them. Since he hails from a line of incredible renaissance men (artistic, poetic, overachieving samurai), maybe it’s just in his blood. He emulates vibes of goodness. This morning, our director said that when he “retired,” he tossed out all his ties, which is why during all the samurai exhibition opening events, he wasn’t seen wearing a single one.

This is a quick piece that sums him up real well, written around his last visit to the museum. In it:

“There’s a phrase in classical Chinese and old Japanese, seikou udoku, which means when the sun is shining, till the fields, and when it is raining, engage in reading,” Hosokawa said through an interpreter. “I was attracted to this type of life from my youth.”

Also — he reminds me of my grandpa. Kinda looks like him and everything.

Hey kids, do you like museums? Did you know that the Asian Art Museum has a blog? Not like, just any ol' blog, but a pretty dang good one, with lots of fresh updates written by all kinds of passionate people that work there.

You might think I'm just shilling for this pseudo-new bundle of joy of ours, but in all sincerity, it's all quality AND quantity, and you do learn a lot of cool stuff. Do you know what it takes to actually assemble and display a real samurai armor? Or that there's a umbrella with a sword handle? That our Bhutanese monks went to a baseball game (and Disneyland)? That our own director dressed up as a samurai for a staff meeting? Or how about the fact that before even the former main library was built (it's the building the museum is in now), they burned tons of opium pipes on the site? Sometimes the posts are enlightening, and sometimes they're just silly.

Take this video, for example. We worked hard to bring you the best in hammy, silly entertainment, all in the name of good humor and samurai exhibition promotional buzz. Please watch it, and go here to watch the other two companion video clips. They're super short! If you watch the other two, leave a comment so I know you were there!

Posted via email from ELECTRIC ANT ZINE BLOG

testing a new flickr app, seeing how it works. so far i dig it.

btw, gimme some love and spread the word about our upcoming samurai exhibition. it’s gonna land this summer. we’re going gangbusters in promoting it and trying out new “guerilla” marketing tactics, such as “spot the samurai.” i sweated overseeing the production of a homemade custom samurai armor and having it get here in time for its debut last thursday. it was painful but now rewarding. what do you think?

props to derek for being the first to pop the armor’s cherry. he was an excellent sport! if you scroll the photos you’ll see he was being perfectly, charmingly hammy. i still laugh when i peek the pictures.

via flickr.com

For our Bhutan exhibition — which, btw, is chockful of stunning eyecandy — we have two visiting monks from Bhutan (super sweet fellows) who protect the sacred art by praying for it, twice daily. There’s also a colorful altar to which they contribute offerings (photo shown). All the art in the show is religious and still in active use in temples and monasteries. It took years working with the Bhutanese government to allow these precious artworks to go abroad. They’ve never left the country, let alone their homes. So yeah, it’s a big deal.

Here’s a snapshot of one of the offerings made by the monks. Traditionally made from flour and (yak) butter, these are created from sculpey.

I really really love the one on the right because it’s so Woodring! Am I right? It feels so familiar.

A word on Himalayan Buddhist art in general — not only is it beautiful, meticulous, and painstakingly detailed, it appeals to my morbid sensibilities because of the sometimes gory motifs: severed heads, human skins, flames of wrath, evisceration, etc — all for enlightenment purposes.

Try to see this show if you can. And if you do, take the time to check out the facial expressions on the sculptures. I love them.

To all the artists in the hizzouse, I'm asking you not only as a friend, cohort, and supporter of the arts, but also as a desperate museum professional, to please help spread the word about a design contest we're hosting. Deadline is March 13, 2009!

The Asian Art Museum is counting on talented designers to come up with a provocative, compelling creative treatment for MATCHA — our popular evening mixer program that unites art and culture with cocktails and mingling. Geared toward the younger crowd, this is a thriving Thursday evening event offered at a discount price.

The winning design will be used prominently in the MATCHA marketing campaign, which entails but is not limited to print ads, posters, online banners, postcards, club cards, t-shirts, website, e-blasts, etc. Prizes include $500, membership to the museum, guest passes for friends and family, MATCHA swag, a conceptual and visual challenge, and good exposure. More importantly, the winner would be part of a vibrant, fun, educational program from the largest museum in the western world devoted exclusively to Asian art!

For details, guidelines, and more, please visit (yup, it's Posterous!):
http://asianartmuseum.posterous.com/

Questions? Shoot them over to: jyin[at]asianart[dot]org

I'm hoping that I can count on you to share this with all of your friends and family. I know y'all are in the know and have a ton of creative pals. THANK YOU!

Posted via email from ELECTRIC ANT ZINE BLOG

i wasn’t gonna document this until i saw how appropriate the trash “tableau” seemed. after all, i’m garbage and/or trashed (not in the inebriated sense)

Posted via email from ELECTRIC ANT BLOG

while shoveling mushroom bread pudding and beef down my gullet at the work holiday party last night, my colleague yukino tapped me on the shoulder and i turned around — stuffed mouth trying to contain spewing crumbs — to face her and this young asian fellow.

he looked really, really familiar, and if she didn’t introduce james jean so quickly, i still would’ve recognized him as one of my favorite artists of all time.

the next few minutes entailed a frenetic one-man freak show (starring me) that cycled over and over again in a shrill excited voice: “you are one of my favorite artists ever,” “my friends and i all think you are the absolute best; some of them are cartoonists and illustrators!,” “i’ve been following you forever!,” and “i bought two recess series prints from you at APE a few years ago! i dream of owning the entire series one day!!!” he was graciously demure and patient with my wild ranting!

suspend your belief, but i don’t like idolizing people (and there are maybe five people in this world i’d wait in line to meet). even the coolest folks are human beings like you and me, just way luckier. however, james jean is a true hero to me in so many ways. if you’ve ever seen his sketchbook you would gasp endlessly and die from sheer astoundment and admiration, and then you would want to gouge your own eyes out and crawl under a rock to die, frustrated that you were never born with even a nano-fraction of his talent.

also, he’s a very kind, gentle man, a taiwanese-american, and sickeningly young and accomplished.

so the big Q: why the heck was he there? well, yukino is way involved in the totoro forest project; she was one of the principle organizers of this incredible endeavor to save the forest in japan that’s succumbing to urban development. the forest inspired my neighbor totoro. a bunch of artists, some from pixar / academy of art, some of whom are illustrators, cartoonists, etc, banded together to make sweet totoro-related art and auction it off to raise $$$.

james jean of course chipped in with his piece, which our japanese curator bought for the museum!

the museum rules, but now it’s even way cooler in my books because our japanese curator, who’s a total charming cutie, has manifested her good taste in another unexpected way.

so go see everyone’s totoro artwork while it’s still up at the cartoon art museum.

ps – if you check out his recess series, i own “pickup” and “flush”

this morning, on the way to the convention centre hall, i saw a woman taking photos of this huge sotheby’s wall advertisement that features a line up of artwork that would be selling at their auction. she was posing something held in her hand so that it would be included in her snapshots. it was a turtle. initially i thought it was a toy, then it occurred to me as i walked past her that it was probably real.

it’s slow right now, and i’m nursing a milk tea. a thumping house remix of a talking heads song (untz untz untz) is carrying itself through this corner of the fair. at least they switched CDs. the first two days was just one looping disc of french torch songs / bossa nova / mancini tunes. very enjoyable the first five spins.

tomorrow is a public holiday, “chun yeung festival” – for honoring and remembering the deceased, which might explain some of the quietness today. someone speculated though that tomorrow will be busy. we, along with the friends of hong kong museum of art, are the only museums representing. the rest are mostly galleries hailing from all over the world, from korea and taiwan to london and NYC. this is peak auction season too.

apparently the sotheby’s auction of asian art hasn’t been faring well at all — atypical especially for contemporary chinese art sales (the hottest thing). from what i know, some big name artists’ work are on sale too. word on the street is that the indonesian stuff has been selling, probably because of their “lower” price points. at any rate, it’s an ominous telltale sign of the global financial state.

i love the people watching. all ages, all kinds, all styles. glamorous older women with their bold jewelry, men in polished fitted suits, “edgy” hipsters of all ages, lots of spiky short hair (ladies) and ponytails (men), slender calves held up in beautiful heels, handsome man purses, plenty of expats, chunky watches, an array of fun eyeglass frames, fanny packs, distinctly beijing belts and loafers, tees and sandals, adorable children/families. everyone seems to have a genuine interest in art, and some are astute connoisseurs. it’s absolutely fantastic. many people have approached us with a curious disbelief. “you’re from san francisco?…what are you doing here?” many have also come seeking our ming catalogue, which is impressive. i’ve chatted with interesting people (including a tibetan who said matter-of-factly that going to america would never happen for him).

this asian art world is entirely fascinating and foreign to me, and i’m thoroughly enjoying every eye-opening second. it’s such a microcosm.

of the countless endearing things i’ve noticed, one is the sweet affection in couples. even better is that there seems to be a positive correlation between age and tenderness. it’s the 40-50s bracket that exhibits the most hand holding and arm linking.

here’s shanghaiese sf-based artist li huayi and me. charming and lovable. look at that handsome face! his paintings are like ethereal chinese landscapes, but haunting, dark, and fragile

a member of team AAM had his first celebrity sighting, and it’s a BIGGIE!

these cool women came up to the booth wanting to buy the ming catalogue. they were docents with teh HK museum of art. sally quickly took over and engaged them for a solid 15 minutes. she’s so excellent at holding court, it’s almost scary

is there nothing more pure and wonderful than people excited about art and culture?

another fave beverage — this is yuanyang, a strong mixture of HK milk tea and coffee. i needed it, since severe sleepiness set in again yesterday afternoon

after yesterday’s shift and the ensuing cocktail reception, was able to get out for a little and play. ended up in mongkok at the ladies’ market, and walked all the way down to temple market. it was raining, which robbed these markets of some of their usual energy and rowdiness. also went into a couple malls with tiny little stores, tightly focused and tightly packed. definitely destinations to check out if you want to get a feel for youth culture.

and some shots from the evening:

this ludicrous bling reminds me of curse of the golden flower, a la resting on gong li’s ample bosom

one fresh kiwi juice, please

there were open eateries all over temple street, and they were a tad offputting

some older man just tried asking me a question, and i didn’t understand. he simply walked away kind of laughing at me with his friend. oh well.