Though the details may change depending on geography and culture, it remains a celebration of life, especially its enjoyment and goodness. The Pacific Asia Museum celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights on November 8, with free admission all day. Typically, Diwali lasts four days and each day holds its own significance. Day One: Naraka Chaturdasi, […]
China’s ceramic history is renowned, as it is in other East Asia countries such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In the Pacific Asia Museum new exhibit “Reshaping Tradition: Contemporary Ceramics from East Asia,” today’s East Asian ceramicists consider their country’s past, both positively and critically, and re-shape and redefine traditional ceramics with innovations of their […]
The familiar and the iconic. Chinese history and tradition versus our “Western consumer culture.” Blue-and-white ware versus the psychedelic. Vases and moon jars. Contemporary art and traditional aesthetics. “The character of the present.” “Quiet aesthetics.” Opening on September 11, the Pacific Asia Museum presents pre-modern ceramic works exhibited alongside the works by 7 East Asian […]
At an early age Mobeen Ansari contracted meningitis, which “impacted his hearing, eyesight, balance, and ability to detect colors” (issue.com). It seems these difficulties have not held back Mobeen Ansari. In an effort to have the world see his homeland of Pakistan through loving eyes as he does, Ansari photographed Pakistani artists, humanitarians, actresses, and bus […]
Back in June, I wrote an article for the Pasadena Weekly on my great-uncle, Helmuth Hormann, who taught theater history at the famous Pasadena Playhouse drama school from 1949 until 1967. Helmuth, or “Tutti,” as my family knew him, died in 2001, at the age of 92, leaving behind a life of deep creativity, […]
They’re known as “moving art”—trucks and buses that Pakistani owners have tricked out and dressed to the nines. Amazing Stuff writes: “All across Pakistan, this rolling folk art has turned village lanes, city streets, and long-distance highways in a national gallery without walls…a free-form, kaleidoscopic exhibition in perpetual motion.” It is said that “as early as […]
How about a weekend of immersing yourself in the history, art, music, and poetry of Asia and the Pacific Islands? Find the perfect zen for the weekend by attending USC Pacific Asia Museum’s Hatha yoga class during lunch on Friday—beginners are welcome and class is only $10, the cost of a Euro Pane sandwich or […]
On Saturday, January 25th, twenty museums will be open to the public with free admission. Choices include the Autry, the California African American Museum, the Science Center, and locally, the Armory Center for the Arts, USC Pacific Asia Museum, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The Armory is currently showing Home Away, which is […]
The USC Pacific Asia Museum is hosting its 4th annual Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday, January 18th. A crowd favorite, the lion dance will be performed and Taiko drumming will resound thanks to Taiko Center Los Angeles—see below to watch them in Coldplay’s “Princess of China” video with Rihanna. Traditional Vietnamese dance will be […]
Born in Normandy and having spent her childhood years in Limousin and Brittany, artist Valérie Daval now calls Pasadena home. “A unique color and gesture spring from each of us,” she states. Her works can be as large as 9 by 13 feet or as small as 4 by 8 inches, but they all seem to […]
