Dragons, Demons and Gods

          

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art contains paintings, artifacts, calligraphy furniture, sculptures and much more. The theme for my exhibit is Dragons, Demons, and Gods. Countries like Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and India will be emphasized on the presentation lineup. I chose this theme for my exhibit because of my fascination and appreciation of dragons, demons, and Gods specifically the powers they have and unique looks that people draw them in. Specifically, my love for dragons and my interest in Demons and Gods goes back to when I was a young child of eight. I'll start by discussing an ancient jar from China named, "Jar with Dragon Headed Handles ". Sculpted during the 7th century, this piece is a yellowish coloring with a white strip on the base of it. The jar also has two dragon heads as handles as the title states. The next artifact is a Korean named, "Rafter Finial in the Shape of a Dragon Head and Wind Chime ". This bronze artifact was created during the 10th century. The third item of this brief presentation is the "Clothing Box with Decorations of Dragons". This delicate box seems to have been created and passed down from 1392 through 1910. It has a brown color to it with two dragons on the top cover.

         What these works of art do for me is simply further my love for this kind of art and design because in almost any game or anime, I find myself seeking out anything having to do with a dragon, demon or even a god like being for me to cheer for. Every single sculpture and artifact you'll see is from Asian culture. More comparisons that the works of art I chose will  have something to do with dragons, demons and a type of god.Finally, here's a lineup of artifacts and sculptures that I've chosen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       TangDynasty "Jar with Dragon  Headed Handles"   (618-907) Gallery 205                         
                                                                                                                 




















Goryeo dynasty "Rafter Finial in the Shape of a Dragon Head and Wind Chime" (918–1392) Gallery 233


                                                                                                           

 

Joseon dynasty "Clothing Box with Decorations of Dragons"                
(1392-1910) Gallery 233

The Hans Syz Collection, Gift of Stephan B. Syz and John D. Syz" Bowl with Dragon" (1995) Gallery 201

 

                                   












Qing Dynasty "Zhong Kui with Demons" (1644-1911) Currently not on Display

Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage "Netsuke of Oni Weeping Beside Giant Arm of Demon" (19th century) Currently Not on Display

                                         

















Gift of Mrs.Russell Sage "Netsuke in the Shape of a Demon" (19th century) Currently Not on Display






















Friends of Asian Art Gifts, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bruckmann, Mr. and Mrs. Perry J. lewis, and Anonymous Gifts "The Goddess Durga Victorious Over the Buffalo Demon, Mahisha" (9th Century) Gallery 247

Gift of R.H Ellsworth Ltd,.. in Honor of Douglas Dillon " Standing Shiva or Temple Guardian" (10th Century) Gallery 249

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts "The Sun God Surya in His Chariot with Wives and Attendants" (2nd and 1st Century B.C) Gallery 234

"Performance at the Whitney Museum"

               During my trip to the Whitney Museum, I was introduced to the "ritual of rented island" exhibit that featured a historical show consisting of artists who participated in the New York performance art scene from 1970-1980. Most work found in this exhibit were created by artists that referred to important social, political and cultural forces of the time. American imperialism, the war in Vietnam, sexual-gender inequality, american pop culture and its commercialization. Overall a unique experience compared to the other museums and art galleries I've visited thus far.

              During my first encounter in this exhibit, I came across this black and white video taping of approximately 64 minutes in length named "Claim". In the video Vito Acconci is performing a mass hypnosis on himself in his basement. Vito Acconci is blindfolded, seated on a chair at the front of the stairs while holding two metal pipes and a crowbar at the same time talking to himself aloud. What I get out of this particular piece from the exhibit is that it can possibly have some sort of social reference to it, by showing people how he hypnotizes himself for three hours and eventually starts to believe the things he says. He mentions the Vietnam war as a kind of mechanism relating to this piece. All I know is if I had walked into a basement with someone chanting the same insane lines over and over again I'd probably call the cops or get him/her help immediately.

           
              Secondly, I saw a black and white video of Julia Heyward who was a performance artist. She was performing "Shake!Daddy!Shake!" at the Judson Memorial Church. She is also known for other songs she's created like "It's a Sun!". Her songs usually related to her past of her life and relationships as well from the south. I would also consider her art performances under the social category because of how people in general can most likely relate to her music. Julia Heyward also had a different way of displaying her audience by splitting them up with boys being on one side and girls being on the other side to ironically stress the social roles of men and woman. Had I attended any of her performances I'd probably wouldn't think right then and there how much of an influence she might possibly be.

             For the last piece I came across in this exhibit, i saw a digital video of nothing more than the Statue of liberty from afar. The artist recording this historical landmark is Laurie Anderson. There wasn't a whole lot of information on this piece as to why it was even recorded in the first place. It's simply just a digital video of the statue of liberty from a long range distance while you see the water calmly ripple back and forth and the birds fly across the screen gliding over the water. Obviously the Statue of liberty stands for many things and freedom is one of them. This can relate to anything political, referring to perhaps the immigrants who came to these lands and seek new life as well as a fresh start, only to be deemed castaways by certain politicians who don't agree with them occupying american soil.

              Concluding my field trip at the Whitney  Museum, I have definitely seen some different art films, clips, and model creations that caught my attention. While it wasn't my best experience as compared to the other art galleries or museums, maybe in the future i can explore some other exhibits and floors to change that a little. Perhaps my favorite piece from this exhibit is the "Claim" Excerpts due to the eerie and disturbing vibe from that video alone.

Vito Acconci
"Claim"
video recorder
September 10,(1971)

Julia Heyward
"Shake! Daddy! Shake!"
Recorder
(1976)

Laurie Anderson
"Untitled"
Digital Recorder
(2013)