Education About Asia: Online Archives

Web Gleanings: Asian Visual and Performing Arts–Part I

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VISUAL ARTS

Asia, General

The Art of Asia

photo of a sitting statue

URL: http://www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/introduction/

The collections of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese works of art have been added to this site, produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. From this introductory page, one can access the collections by culture,  period, or themes. There are thousands of objects, including 368 ukiyo-e and an extensive guide to Chinese ceramics.

South and Southeast Asian Art

URL: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/te_index.asp?i=12

These pages are part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s prodigious “Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.”In addition to this section of articles about the art of South and Southeast Asia, there are links in the right-side frame to the art of China, Japan, and Korea. All objects cited here come from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

China

Taoism and the Arts of China

URL: http://www.artic.edu/taoism/menu.php

In November 2000, the Art Institute of Chicago opened this exhibition; these web pages contain the essence of that exhibit. Along with the images, the timelines, and a detailed glossary are several lesson plans for elementary and secondary school students.

China: West Meets East at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (video)

URL: http://bit.ly/yI8XJD

This video is part of the “Great Museums” series and lasts for almost an hour. The Metropolitan Museum’s collection of Chinese pieces contains commentary by specialists in Chinese art. The Met has the largest collection of Chinese works outside of China. (There are some advertisements accompanying this video; the YouTube version has advertising as well.)

India

India’s Ancient Art

URL: http://bit.ly/wV0j2d

The National Geographic Society published this article in 2008 about the cave murals in India, painted in the fifth century. Near the top of the page is a link to the photo gallery. There is also an interactive map. Of special note are the panoramic photos of these caves on another site: http://bit.ly/4kznrv.

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

URL: http://www.ignca.nic.in/welcome.html

This site is rich in its offerings. The links on the right side of the home page include hundreds of photos of archaeological sites, digital images from slides of Indian art from collections worldwide, and a large number of essays on all aspects of the arts of India.

Japan

e-Yakimono

URL: http://www.e-yakimono.net/

Although this site is no longer updated, its 452 pages and 4,360 images provide sufficient information to readers who are eager to learn about the contemporary ceramics of Japan. There is a guidebook to more than forty styles of Japanese ceramics, an index of artists and an index of ten years of articles written for the Japan Times. At the top of the home page is a link to the photo tours of works by prize-winning artists.

Japanese Buddhist Statuary

URL: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/buddhism.shtml

The author calls his site a “photo dictionary” for Buddhist statuary. However, it is much more than that. There are guides, timelines, and historic information for hundreds of topics—all easily accessible from the links on the left side of the home page. A guide for students and one for teachers are also provided.

Pakistan

Nafas Art Magazine: Pakistan

URL: http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/countries/pak

The contemporary art scene in Pakistan is featured in these pages, with each article accompanied by photos. There are essays about gallery exhibitions outside of Pakistan, as well as interviews with Pakistani artists.

Pakistan Art Review

URL: http://pakistanartreview.net/index.html

This is a relatively new periodical, published every two weeks in Pakistan. The articles from the current edition, in addition to the archived previous editions, are available on the website. There are also short news articles about the latest exhibitions and general news about the art world in Pakistan.

PERFORMING ARTS

Asia, General

Bibliography of Performing Arts in the East

URL: http://asia-perfo-arts.com/

This bibliography is not web-based, but is a stupendous resource for anyone interested in research on the performing arts. It is organized by Asian country, and each bibliography contains thousands of entries. To help filter the listings, there is a good search mechanism, including a limitation on the publication date.

Asian Theatre

URL: http://www.theatrehistory.com/asian/index.html

The site is organized into three categories: Theatre of China, Theatre of India, and Theatre of Japan. Within each category are several articles pertaining to drama. For example, in the Japan category are articles on Noh, including the full text of a play, a history of kabuki, and an overview of early Japanese drama.

China

Culture ABC—Chinese Opera

URL: http://bit.ly/wPr4Vl

The China Culture Organization has produced these articles (in English) on opera in China. The main page is divided into several sections: Introduction, Peking Opera, Folk Opera, and People. Each section contains at least ten pertinent articles.

India

India Heritage

URL: http://indiaheritage.org/map.htm

This is the site map for all of the pages of the India Heritage site. Site maps do not make navigating the site easy, but for now, it is the only way to access the complete set of pages for the performing arts. The subjects include dance, especially classical dance, and music, both vocal and instrumental.

Indonesia

Wayang Puppet Theatre (video)

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfydro4X2t0

UNESCO produced this video. In approximately five minutes, the video shows and explains the setting, the movements of the puppets, and the musical accompaniments.

Claire Holt Collection of Indonesian Dance and Related Arts

URL: http://bit.ly/yW93Pg

There are almost 2,000 photographs in this collection, donated by Cornell University to the New York Public Library. One can view all of the images by clicking on the link near the top of the main page or searching by keyword (e.g., Bali), which will yield a more limited selection. Costumes, performances, and movements are shown in this collection of photos, taken by Claire Holt, mostly in the 1930s and 1950s.

Japan

British Museum—Kabuki Theatre of Japan

URL: http://bit.ly/yWdJgQ

The British Museum presents this “tour” of Kabuki. There are twenty-four pages, each accompanied by a photo or print. The images help to explore the history of Kabuki, the actors, the layout of the theater, the costumes, etc. In some cases, the commentary focuses on the work of art displayed on the page.

National Theatre of Japan

URL: http://www.ntj.jac.go.jp/english.html

The Japan Arts Council has provided a splendid site for those interested in Japanese forms of drama. The three main sections are Kabuki, Bunraku, and Noh and Kyōgen. Each of these sections has in-depth articles about the history, the costumes, and the setting of these arts.

Korea

Dance/Music: K-12 Resources

URL: http://bit.ly/Aq3Gi0

The Korea Society offers several sets of lesson plans for both primary and secondary school students. Relevant handouts accompany each lesson. There are topics on dance, music, and instruments of Korea.

Pakistan

Pakistan: Dances

URL: http://heritage.pk/category/culture-of-pakistan/dances

Running down the left side of this page is a list of articles about a variety of dance styles in Pakistan. The short articles describe the dance movements, accompanied by a photograph, often of the costumes worn for the dance.