Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 8217 CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS AND FACULTY I’ve been talking with Smith’s incoming professor of Asian Art, Yanlong Guo, who is from an archaeology background, and we’ve been discussing representation of material culture—metals, ceramics and stones, for example— and future projects oriented to the material sciences. In building the collection and planning for exhibitions, we are also keeping in mind the multidisciplinary interests at Smith. Thus my conversations are not limited to art faculty, but are also with those teaching languages, literature, history, anthropology and even science. It’s wonderful to collaborate with colleagues in this way. I’m eager to engage students in new ways as well. Last year I reached out to the Unity organizations and had conversations with members of the International Students’ Organization, the Asian Students’ Association, EKTA, CISCO and others. They gave great feedback on how we can work together. There are other resources on the Smith campus I want to partner with, such as the special library collections, and I’m very interested in long-term collaborations involving the Five Colleges. In June I had the opportunity to visit contem- porary artist Xu Bing at his Beijing studio, and he invited me to stay and observe a talk he was giving as part of a summer program for a sizable group of Chinese- born students studying in the U.S. As I listened, I was struck by just how crucial it was for them to know about their native culture, and more importantly how crucial it was for college students at large to be able to switch between interpretive frameworks. It gave me great per- spective on the needs here at Smith, where the student body is more diverse than ever. When I have class visits, I can really feel the interest and enthusiasm for Asian art across demographics, and at the core of my mission is to support teaching and learning in a way that will benefit every student. Knowing that the museum has committed significant resources to this work is very exciting to me. CONNECTING WITH ALUMNAE Our collection has a deep history and alumnae have always played a very valuable role in the evolution of our holdings. As I continue to work with our wonderful alumnae collectors of Asian art, I am pleased to welcome acquisitions in areas of our collection we’ve been looking to expand. Through the long-term support of Julia Meech ‘63, we were introduced to the Erik Thomsen Gallery in New York, which donated an exquisite Edo- Meiji period lacquer incense tray (see page 60). A gift of a contemporary Indian work of art from Mona Sinha ’88 and Ravi Sinha, Keep Cooking (Blood Red Series 6), invites multiple interpretations, whether as a striking piece of sculpture on a par with any Western work, or as a global statement on the social-political realities of today’s India (see page 60). Another contemporary work, Trapped-3 by Tayeba Begum Lipi, came to the museum through a partial gift from Cecilia Lee ’87, who first introduced us to the Bangladeshi artist. It is a pow- erful sculpture that speaks to conditions for women and reflects the artist’s personal experience (see page 61). In recent months, we’ve been promised several group gifts covering a wide range of cultures and materials: Japanese lacquerware, Chinese bronzes, Chinese ceramics, classical paintings, modern prints and other decorative arts. There is a lot to look forward to in coming years. CONNECTING THE DOTS One of the wonderful things about curatorial work is presenting historical and current issues in visually compelling ways. A highlight of my work involves a significant early painting in our collection by renowned Japanese artist Sesshu ¯ To ¯yo ¯, Bodhidharma Crossing the Yangtze River on a Reed. This piece proved to be a missing link in understanding the development of the artist, who worked for a time as Sesso ¯ To ¯yo ¯, leading to years of wonder by art historians about whether the art- ists were two different people or one and the same. Last summer, SCMA loaned the piece to the Nezu Museum in Tokyo, where it was featured alongside other important works from both the painter’s Sesso ¯ and later Sesshu ¯ periods—the first exhibition of its kind. I traveled to Tokyo during this time to meet with colleagues from the museum and participate in a study session with leading experts on ink painting as well as young scholars from Japanese and American institutions. It was an exciting coming- together of all the aspects of my work that I hold dear: art, history, education, discourse and collaboration.