War and peace and in between
2 October 2009 – 14 February 2010

The hoardings in front of the Art Gallery may look like a new construction or conservation project, but are in fact the work of Japanese-born artist Tatzu Nishi. Since the late 1990s, Tatzu Nishi has been creating out-of-scale and out-of-place encounters in public spaces around the world. He has transformed street-lights, parked cars and monuments into outsized objects within domestic environments. Public statues are re-imagined as coffee table ornaments or are perched improbably in bedrooms and living rooms. Some works have become functioning hotel rooms and cafes where visitors can spend time and relax.

The artist works under a variety of names – from Tazro Niscino, to Tatsurou Bashi, to Tatzu Oozu and now Tatzu Nishi. In Sydney, he is reinventing two sculptures that stand on Art Gallery Road outside the entrance to the Art Gallery of New South Wales: The offerings of peace and The offerings of war. These sculptures, created in 1923 by English sculptor Gilbert Bayes, will be transformed by Nishi’s War and peace and in between into surreal new spaces that visitors can enter and experience.

The work is commissioned by Kaldor Public Art Projects to coincide with the exhibition Kaldor Public Art Projects: 40 years.

IMAGES: Tatzu Nishi (Japan b. 1960) War and peace and in between under construction; Drawing for War and peace and in between
 

PORTRAIT OF A SIKH PRINCE

Amongst the many states of pre-Independence India, the state of Jammu, situated in northwest India, near Kashmir, was well known for its cultural achievements. Outstanding amongst its paintings are the graceful portraits of the various Sikh princes and their courts who ruled Jammu for some centuries. This portrait, of an as yet unidentified sitter, embodies all the subtlety and refinement that characterises Jammu portraiture. The portrait shows a seated man, his posture indicating he is a nobleman. His clothes are rendered with the utmost finesse, and the lack of detailed landscape serves to focus all attention on the sitter.

IMAGE: INDIA, Rajasthan, Jamnu, Portrait of Sikh prince 1700s, opaque watercolour on paper; 22.8 x 14 cm (sight). Gift of Michael Hobbs 2009
 

Silk ikats of Central Asia from the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
2 July – 11 October 2009

This exhibition displays exotic and colourful robes and textiles, wall coverings and jewellery, mainly from Uzbekistan, a land of nearly 30 million people. Central Asian ikats were almost unknown to the rest of the world until as recently as 20 years ago. The term 'ikat' is derived from the Malay word for ‘to tie’ or ‘to bind’, and is used to refer to the complex process of dyeing and binding the textile. The more colours and the more intricate the patterns, the more admired the ikat. The rich colours are obtained from natural resources: yellow comes from saffron, black from the skins of pomegranates, red from crushed cochineal insects, and indigo from the indigo plant imported from India. While the origin of the technique of ikat dyeing is uncertain, we know it was practised in China, India and Egypt by at least the 7th century. In Central Asia, ikat robes were highly esteemed icons of status, used as gifts to thank or honour guests.

Watch a video of curators Jackie Menzies and Christina Sumner introducing the exhibition >

Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur
29 October 2009 – 26 January 2010

Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur is a rare opportunity to view a unique type of Indian royal court painting ranging in date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The 54 paintings on display have, remarkably, not previously been seen outside India – until this exhibition. The paintings are on loan from the royal collection at the Mehrangarh Museum Trust in Jodhpur, which was set up by the current maharaja, Gaj Singh II, in 1972. Garden and Cosmos explores the two distinct styles of painting which flourished over the period represented in the exhibition – on the one hand the ornate style depicting the temporal pleasures of courtly life and the verdant forests where scenes from the epics took place (‘Garden’) and, on the other, the metaphysical paintings concerned with philosophical speculation and the origin of the universe (‘Cosmos’).

IMAGE: Exhibition: Silk ikats of Central Asia from the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
 

To regularly check Asian events, visit the listing on the Asian art website.

ARTS OF ASIA LECTURE
Gender, nation and the politics of dress in 20th-century Philippines
Mina Roces, senior lecturer, School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales
Tuesday, 8 September 1–2pm
Domain Theatre, lower level 3

The iconography of the People Power 1 Revolution in 1986 was dominated by the images of two powerful women: First Lady Imelda Marcos, resplendent in her terno (national dress with butterfly sleeves), and opposition presidential candidate Corazon Aquino, the widow in yellow. In the ‘snap election’ that served as a prologue to this event, political colours were displayed literally in one’s choice of coloured clothing. Wearing yellow meant you were pro-Aquino, pro-democracy and anti-Marcos, while red and blue meant you supported the dictatorship. This lecture examines the politics of dress in 20th-century Philippines, exploring simultaneously the imbrication of dress, politics and gender.

Mina Roces is the author of Women Power and Kinship Politics: Female Power in Post-War Philippines (Praeger Publishers, 1998) and co-editor of The Politics of Dress in Asia and the Americas (Sussex Academic Press 2007). Her lecture is part of the Arts of Asia lecture series, Decoding dress, which meets Tuesdays 1-2pm until 27 October.

TOURS
• Silk ikats of Central Asia: Daily 11am, Wednesdays 7.15pm
• Arts of Asia: Daily 12noon 
• Gallery highlights: in Cantonese, Tuesdays 11am
• Gallery highlights: in Mandarin, Thursdays 11am
• Gallery highlights: in Japanese, Fridays 11am

SILK IKATS FILM SERIES
Along the Silk Road
26 August – 7 October
Wednesdays 2pm and 7.15pm
Sundays 2pm
Domain Theatre, lower level 3

The five former Soviet Central Asian republics – Turkmenistan, Tadjikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – are linked by geographical proximity, yet each is possessed of its own unique culture and distinctive national cinema. As culturally rich as they are cash poor, the films produced throughout this region are hand-crafted wonders, rich in artistry and poetry. This film series highlights cinema from the Central Asian region as well as other major centres on the Silk Road including Southwest China.

The series will include Ardak Amirkulov's 1990 historical epic, The Fall of Otrar/Gibel Otrara, about the intrigue and turmoil preceding Genghis Khan's systematic destruction of the lost East Asian civilization of Otrar, Without fear/Bez strakha (1972) by Uzbek filmmaker Ali Khamraev, which tells the story of an Uzbek Red Army officer who, in the 1920s, is charged with the task of modernisation of his local village, and Man Follows Birds/Chelovek Ukhodit Za Ptitsami (1975) also by Ali Khamraev, in which a young boy gets a brutal education under the open skies of medieval Uzbekistan.

Full program>

SILK IKATS LECTURE
Colours of ikat: A history of weaving and dyeing
Sachio Yoshioka, master dyer and weaver
Tuesday, 6 October 1–3pm
Domain Theatre, lower level 3
From the fifth generation of a family of master weavers and dyers in Kyoto, Japan Professor Sachio Yoshioka is a world authority on natural dyes and ancient textile techniques. In 1973 he established Shiko-sha, a specialist publisher for Japanese art and craft. He took over the helm of his family’s dyeing workshop in 1987, a business founded in the 1840s. Under his direction the studio has revived a number of weaving and dyeing techniques from the Nara (710–7940) and Heian (794–1185) periods using organic dyes. He acknowledges Japan’s long textile traditions have roots in the Silk Road arriving from the Chinese mainland via Korea. In that sense, he says, ‘Working with plant colours and dyeing techniques, I feel there are no barriers between cultures.’
The lecture will be delivered in Japanese with English translation
Free. No bookings required

GARDEN AND COSMOS LECTURES
Thursday, 29 October 3–4pm
Domain Theatre, lower level 3
Materials and techniques of Indian miniature paintings
Mike Wheeler, senior paper conservator, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Free. No bookings required

Saturday, 28 November 2–4pm
Domain Theatre, lower level 3
Two curators delve into the spiritual background of the North Indian paintings on display in Garden and Cosmos. The first lecture considers paintings depicting the narratives of the Hindu deities Krishna, Rama and Durga and the second, the depictions of the Absolute or Brahman as conceived by the Nath yogic order patronised by Maharaja Man Singh (reigned 1803-43).
• 2–3pm Gardens for divine play: worship in the palaces and gardens of Jodhpur and Udaipur. Carol Cains, curator South and Southeast Asian art, National Gallery of Victoria
• 3–4pm Perfected beings: Maharaja Nan Singh and the Naths. Jackie Menzies, head curator Asian art
Free. No bookings required

GARDEN AND COSMOS CONCERT
Sunday, 29 November 6–10pm
Grand Courts, ground level
Dr Natesan Ramani, South Indian flute and Manjiri Kelkar, North Indian vocals
Two renowned Indian performers feature on a double bill in conjunction with the exhibition Garden and Cosmos: The royal paintings of Jodhpur. Revered and much-loved Dr Natesan Ramani, a legend in his own lifetime, represents the best of the Carnatic sacred music of South India. He touches the hearts of his audiences with his simple soprano bamboo flute, much as Lord Krishna with his flute moved the hearts of the gopi cowherd girls. The young and golden-voiced Manjiri Kelkar is the first winner of India’s most highly regarded Bismillah Khan Award. In a short time, she has been invited – to the envy of older masters – to all five major Indian music festivals. She has a rare, melodious voice and a fine sense of intonation equally at ease in purely classical sacred and semi-classical romantic forms of Hindustani music.
$65 members $75 non-members (includes exhibition viewing)
Bookings tel: (02) 9225 1878 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (02) 9225 1878      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or book online

FOR KIDS
Free performance
5–9 October 1.30pm daily
On a far, far away mountain
Music and storytelling from across the Himalayas with Bronwyn Vaughn

12–16 October
Stories, myths and legends
Decorative art workshops
Ages 5–8: Mon–Fri 10.30am–12noon $25
Ages 9–13: Wednesday, 14 October 2–4pm $30
Family session Thursday, 15 October 2–3pm $25
(1 adult + 1 child aged 3–5)
Bookings tel: (02) 9225 1740 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (02) 9225 1740      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

IMAGES: Still from Tulpan Dir: Ashkat Kuchinchirekov as Asa 2008 Courtesy Palace Films; Manjiri Kelkar
 

VISASIA MEMBERS TRAVEL, TALKS AND EXHIBITION PREVIEWS

Many VisAsia supporters enjoyed a trip to Brisbane in June to view China Project at the Gallery of Modern Art, American Impressionism at Queensland Art Gallery, Ben Quilty at the St Lucia campus of Queensland University, the wonderful house and private collection of Philip Bacon, along with an afternoon spent visiting several commercial galleries. As usual we enjoyed great company and some good food.

The next event on the VisAsia member calendar is an evening talk by Jackie Menzies, Patrons, passions and shaping our east Asian collection. Her talk will focus on the Gallery’s collection of Chinese, Korean and Japanese art, on display in the lower Asian Gallery and how, mainly through the passions of committed supporters, it has grown remarkably. Hear who these patrons are, and how their particular passions have shaped our collections. This evening, as with all VisAsia evenings, will be supported by wine, food and conversation.

EXTRA SPECIAL: GARDEN AND COSMOS, THE ROYAL PAINTINGS OF JODHPUR
29 October – 26 January 2010

VisAsia and Asian Art fund supporters will be invited to a preview of this extraordinary exhibition of 54 Indian paintings, previously unknown outside India, which comes from the royal collection at the Mehrangarh Museum Trust in Jodhpur.

If you are interested in becoming a VisAsia or Asian Art Acquisition Fund supporter, with the opportunity to join in our lively program of events, please contact Jane Wynter, Benefaction Manager and VisAsia Coordinator. Tel: (02) 9225 1818 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (02) 9225 1818      end_of_the_skype_highlighting email: janew@ag.nsw.gov.au
more information >

IMAGE: Rama’s army crosses the ocean to Lanka from the Ramacharitmanas of Tulsidas (1532-1623) Jodhpur c. 1775; 63 x 125.8 cm, Mehrangarh Museum Trust
 

VISION CAMP VISITS THE ASIAN GALLERY

In August, the Asian Gallery was the scene of touch tours, audio description and hands-on activities for the participants of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training Vision Camp. Seventy students from primary to high school years who are blind or with low vision experienced the textures and smells of the Four Treasures of Chinese calligraphy rubbing ink sticks on ink stones, dipping goat’s hair brushes in water and applying strokes to rice paper. Selected sculptures in the Asian Gallery, including the ever popular Indonesian figure of Ganesha, are approved for use in touch tours where Volunteer Guides describe the features and lead the touching. The tour incorporates all the background on themes and ideas that are part of a standard Adventures in Asia tour.

Part of the Gallery’s ongoing Access Programs, the day served to disprove any notions that if you can’t see clearly the Gallery isn’t for you. Access programs at the Gallery are sponsored by Clayton Utz.

IMAGE: Vision campers explore Ganesha 

Art Gallery of New South Wales Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney NSW 2000
Telephone 02 9225 1744 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              02 9225 1744      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or Toll Free 1800 679 278 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1800 679 278      end_of_the_skype_highlighting  www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au