Perusing the PMA (Steve Lang)

pe · ruse

-verb (used with object) -rused - ru · sing

1. to read through with thoroughness or care

2. to read.

3. to survey or examine in detail

I visited the PMA to look at their Tibet gallery. It was small but nice and had some interesting features. As mentioned in the MET entry, they are actively using laminated cards in the galleries to explain iconography and the science behind conservation and dating techniques:





They also had a few maps on the wall. One showed where Tibet was located. I really liked the smaller map in the left corner, showing you where the larger map is within Asia. This is good for locating the geographical closeness of Tibet to India and China but also shows site specific locales that may be important to the context of the objects.



Another map on the wall took a small excerpt from a painting and broke it down, identifying what the images were within the actual painting itself.



There was also a Tibetan charm on paper with a number of objects in front of a deity. The text panel tells you that these objects are on the altar as well. I enjoyed the fact that they had a pictorial representation of the object, followed by an actual example of that object. This way you can get an idea of what the image represents in real life. I think this is important because often times the painting of the object doesn't capture the detail and beauty of the object itself. I am particularly interested in how artists portray objects in different mediums, so this was a welcome feature.





As mentioned in the Reading Public Museum entry, they also had a little area stocked with books and a video for learning more about the objects in the gallery itself. I am a fan.

Asia Society (Steve Lang)

Here is 29-64-248 at the Asia Society. Things went smoothly, so there is nothing really to report. I thought I would just show a photo of one of our pieces in situ. On another note, I recommend checking out the Reading Public Museum. I went and saw the Degas and the Art of Japan exhibit which was very good. I liked the events that they tied into the Degas exhibit, not only at the museum itself but also at surrounding Universities and institutions in the Reading area. One thing that I LOVED, was a little area with books related to the exhibit. There were books about Degas and Japanese Prints, and various sources to learn about some of the things you were looking at. They set up a table and chairs and had books all over the place, from children's books to art catalogs, to how-to guides. They also had a video running that talked about how you make an exhibit and what went into the planning of this specific exhibit. The curator talked about who they had to hire to hang the pieces,the configuration of the catalog and how much shipping and packing adds to the cost. They probably did this because you had to pay extra to see the exhibit and wanted to educate the public that "it's not just about putting stuff on a wall."

I was also impressed with their range of collections as all of our sections were well represented. They got their start at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and had a little display about the history of the museum. They also had an animatronic curator, we need one of these. Who is most robot-like......



"Oh, hello, I didn't see you come in, welcome to the....."