Current Exhibits at The Met -- the Old, the New, the In Between

The Met always has an expansive collection worth seeing, but two in particular, both currently on display, piqued my interest.  The first is "Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties," and the second is "Rei Kawakubo / Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between."  To make our lives even easier, they are located right next to each other on the same floor (2nd floor, Tisch Galleries).

Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C. - A.D. 220)
At The Met Fifth Avenue, April 3 - July 16, 2017

This exhibit features nearly 170 objects from ancient China, including rare ceramics, sculptures, paintings, and textiles, but perhaps the most exciting (at least to me) are the terracotta warriors.  The Terracotta Army (兵馬俑) is a large collection of unique terracotta sculptures depicting the armies and palace attendants and performers of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), the first emperor of China.  These life-sized clay sculptures were created with the intent to be buried with the emperor and to protect him in his afterlife.

The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 by workers digging a well outside of Xi'an and is one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the world.  The workers found thousands of clay soldiers, each with unique facial expressions and positioned according to rank, lined up in trenchlike, underground corridors.  There are soldiers with different types of weaponry as well as horses and chariots -- in a nutshell, it was a replica of Qin's actual army.  There are three main pits with the Terracotta Army, and in other nearby trenches, there are non-military figures, such as court officials, acrobats, and musicians.  Most of the site remains unexcavated, including Qin Shi Huang's actual tomb, as workers soon discovered that the terracotta sculptures lost their color and turned gray after being exposed to the air.

The Met dedicates one room of the Age of Empires exhibit to the terracotta warriors, which include actual items from the site as well as replicas.  It's not quite the same experience as being in the actual trenches in Xi'an, but this is much more geographically friendly and still quite enjoyable.

    

One other interesting item on exhibit is the burial ensemble of Dou Wan, who was the wife of Prince Liu Sheng of Zhongshan during the Western Han dynasty.  The burial suit is comprised of small jade plaques, each shaped, fitted, and strung together with gold wire.  It represents the completion of a magical transformation of a deceased's body, as the jade suit protects the body and soul, enabling the deceased to attain immortality.




Rei Kawakubo / Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between
At The Met Fifth Avenue, May 4 - September 4, 2017

The opposite of ancient is modern...very modern...Kawakubo.  Rei Kawakubo is a Tokyo-based designer known for her avant-garde designs and extremely unconventional (perhaps unwearable) clothing that challenge our notions of beauty, taste, and fashion.  Since founding Comme des Garçons in 1969, Kawakubo has consistently redefined and challenged fashion and aesthetics.  This spring 2017 exhibit is the Costume Institute's first exhibit dedicated to a living designer.

The Art of the In-Between features nine expressions of "in-betweenness" in Kawakubo's collections: Absence/Presence, Design/Not Design, Fashion/Antifashion, Model/Multiple, High/Low, Then/Now, Self/Other, Object/Subject, and Clothes/Not Clothes.  Kawakubo's designs explore and reveal the spaces between these dualities, questioning our arbitrary definitions and offering possibilities for innovation.

But all that said, I'll still be the first to admit that I don't always understand modern art.  The backdrop and explanations certainly help provide more context, and I can appreciate the intent, creativity, and art behind the designs; however, conservative, boring me had a hard time seeing the designs as wearable clothes.  (Would you wear any of these??)  Then again, I feel that way about a lot of runway, couture designs.  I guess that's why I don't work in fashion.

              

The Met: Masterpieces of Chinese Painting Exhibit

I've always been drawn towards Chinese history and art.  There was something so foreign, yet so familiar about it at the same time.  I still remember my tenth grade world history class, where we studied chapter after chapter of European history, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, from monarchies to revolutions, from religions to philosophies; when we finally arrived at a chapter on Chinese history, I was so excited to learn about the different dynasties and emperors and everything important that happened in one of the world's oldest civilizations, except it was one of the shortest sections in the textbook.

Now don't get me wrong; I would visit the Louvre everyday and live in Versailles or Schonbrunn if I could.  But there's something about Chinese history and culture that speaks to me on a different level, even though I was born, raised, and educated in the U.S. (unless you count twelve years of weekly Chinese language classes...that sounds like a lot; I guess it should count).

Anyway, I like to make side visits to the Chinese sections of museums when I can, and I try to make it a point to see any special exhibits, which The Met often has.  (Another reason why The  Met is my favorite museum, at least in NYC!)  Currently The Met is showcasing Masterpieces of Chinese Painting over two rotations, the first of which ended in April, but the second will be on view through October 11.  There's a wide range of styles and works from different dynasties, including some pieces from emperors and empresses.  I've included a few of my favorite pieces below.


"Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru" by Huang Tingxian from Northern Song dynasty (920 - 1127)
黃庭堅《廉頗藺相如列傳》



This is a very long handscroll (over 71 feet long!) telling the story of how the king of Qin (秦昭王) offered the king of Zhao (趙惠文)15 cities in exchange for a very valuable jade disk called He Shi Bi (和氏璧).  As Qin was stronger, the king of Zhao was concerned that if he sent the jade, they might be cheated and receive no cities in return, yet if they refused, Qin might attack.  They ultimately decided to send Lin Xiangru (藺相如) as an envoy with the jade.  As predicted, Qin showed no intention of giving the cities to Zhao after receiving the jade, but Lin Xiangru was able to outwit the king of Qin and return the jade back to Zhao.

I was particularly excited to see this scroll and read the story (rather, the portion that was displayed), as I had just finished watching Legend of MiYue (羋月傳), which referenced this exact story!  (MiYue was China's first Empress Dowager, and she was also the mother of this particular Qin king.)


"Night-Shining White" by Han Gan, from Tang Dynasty (618-907)
韓幹 《照夜白圖》

This painting by Han Gan, a leading horse painter of the Tang dynasty, is a portrait of one of Emperor Xuanzong's horses.  It's been made famous by all the seals and inscriptions added to the painting by later owners (including other emperors of later dynasties).


Frontispiece "Capturing the Deer" written by Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912); original painting from either Northern Song (960 - 1127) or Jin (1115 - 1234)  dynasties

Emperor Qianlong (乾隆, reigned 1711 - 1799) is one of my "favorite" emperors.  He brought the Qing Dynasty to its height, and there are certainly no shortages of him as a character in many Chinese period dramas today!  And he clearly also has beautiful calligraphy.

Scrolls depicting Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tours

Emperor Kangxi (康熙), whose reign was the beginning of "High Qing" and prosperity (also Emperor Qianlong's grandfather), is my other favorite Qing dynasty emperor.  The two of these emperors were known for their "inspection tours" to different areas of the country.  I'm so impressed by the attention to detail on these paintings, which give a bit of insight into daily life of a Chinese city during the 18th century.  Here's a zoomed in picture: