by Elise Johnson, Assistant Registrar

One of the works included in Reflections of the Buddha is an accordion-fold scroll on loan from Harvard Art Museums. This gorgeous manuscript focuses on the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, commonly known as the “Goddess of Compassion”. The text and images within the scroll illustrate the calamities and dangers from which the deity will save any worshipper who cries out her name, as well as the diverse forms that Avalokiteśvara can take in order to make the Buddha’s teachings understood to any aspiring believer.

The scroll is an extremely long piece. Composed of 112 leaves, the work reaches a length of over 45 feet when completely laid out. As you can imagine, this size makes it difficult to display the entire manuscript at any one time. Thus, throughout the exhibition period at the Pulitzer, we will rotate the segments that are on view, allowing the returning visitor the opportunity to see different sections of text and image. In addition, since the scroll dates to the 15th century and is made of indigo-dyed paper, the work is vulnerable to light. Rotating the pages provides the added bonus of not exposing one segment of the scroll for too long of a period of time.

The first pages of the sutra have been on view since we opened the exhibition in early September. This Wednesday will provide visitors with their first chance to examine the subsequent leaves of the scroll. Here is a sneak peak of one of the scenes: Read the rest of this entry »

Monks from the Mid-American Buddhist Association chant on Vesak Day. Listen to them and members of other Buddhist temples at the Reflections of the Buddha opening reception.

As you readers may have noticed, there hasn’t been much to read here recently, but I assure you the Pulitzer staff and its partners have been busy the past three weeks. Much has happened since Dreamscapes concluded with KDHX DJs emitting dreamy sounds throughout the galleries. Everyone has been developing programs, events, catalogues, docent trainings, and community connections as part of our next exhibition, Reflections of the Buddha.

As I write this, senior curator Francesca Herndon-Consagra is working with art handlers and registrars to configure awe-inspiring statues and thangkas in relation to the Ando building (quite a humbling experience, they might say). These works date from the second to the twentieth century and were created in Afghanistan, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Tibet. If you would like a sneak peek, visit the Reflections of the Buddha web catalogue holding page and download the gallery guide. Witness the works in person by attending our opening reception next Friday, September 9, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Since Reflections of the Buddha showcases  works born from the culture and philosophy of Buddhism, the Pulitzer decided to partner with Buddhism specialists in the St. Louis community and beyond for several programs and events. As a complement to the opening festivities, at 6 p.m., members of the Buddhist Council of Greater St. Louis will share an opening chant, featuring examples of Buddhist traditions living in the St. Louis area. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve visited stylus at the Pulitzer or if you’ve spent time perusing the web catalogue, chances are you’ve encountered the Mexican jumping beans that are a part of Ann Hamilton’s installation. In a previous post, I discussed how these little seed pods are actually filled with the larva of a jumping bean moth. In order to avoid overheating, which could dehydrate and kill them, the larvae snaps its body in an attempt to roll to a cooler surface. This accounts for the “jumping” behavior that is observed by gallery visitors.

In their natural habitat in the mountains of Mexico, the seed pods are regularly exposed to rain. At the Pulitzer, in order to keep the beans healthy and hydrated, they are also “watered.” This process involves heavily spraying the beans with distilled water and then allowing them to air dry. Watering the beans restores their weight and helps to extend their lives.

To complete the process, every three weeks Courtney (our Visitor Services Manager) and I pour the beans onto a surface covered first with plastic and then with kraft paper.

Read the rest of this entry »

Seven months after the close of The Light Project, the solar energy system used for Spencer Finch’s installation Sunset (St. Louis, July 31, 2008) is on view once again! This time, the system is on loan to the Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT), powering an interactive exhibit in EarthWays: Living the Green Life. The eight solar panels are mounted on the roof of the Brookings Interpretive Center, adjacent to MOBOT’s famous Climatron:

The rest of the system–including batteries, inverter, and charge controller–is on view within the Brookings building.

The system is fully installed and functioning at the Garden (in fact, it’s running the nearby vending machines as well as a misting fan). It serves as a concrete example of how solar power can be used as an alternative energy source. All in all, the MOBOT exhibition is designed to help visitors learn about the various green products, ideas, and technology that will help protect the Earth’s future.

This show is just one of the many activities organized to celebrate MOBOT’s 150^th anniversary. Further information on related exhibitions, lectures, concerts, and events can be found on their website. Also, be sure to check out yesterday’s Post-Dispatch article highlighting the Garden’s 150 year history.

COMING LATER THIS WEEK: COULD YOU BE THE NEXT OWNER OF THIS SOLAR SYSTEM???

On Tuesday, Assistant Registrar Elise Hall and Community Engagement Manager Lisa Harper-Chang spoke to an Art and Civic Engagement class, at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. In addition to sharing their work experience and how they got their start in the art world, Elise and Lisa explained ways in which the Pulitzer reaches out, not only to its community partners but also to general Grand Center visitors. Although they mentioned Staging Old Masters and Let’s Look, they centered on the The Light Project and The Community Light Project as examples of community engagement.

The class professor, Mel Watkin, had e-mailed Visitor Services to see if a staff member could speak to her class about specifically The Light Project. The class was made of Seniors, with specializations in areas such as Library Science, Art History, Graphic Design, and Theater.

“They were very enthusiastic and asked a lot of really good questions,” said Elise. 

With a PowerPoint presentation of around 100 images, Elise reported working behind the scenes as a registrar, noting chief details such as the selection of artists and art sites, the insourcing of workers, and the securing of equipment (scaffolding, fencing, projectors, wiring, solar panels, an ice cream machine, sprinkles, etc). Can you imagine keeping track of that? She also emphasized the importance of working with a variety of local consultants: structural engineers, ironworkers, projection specialists, and dairy experts among others.

“I didn’t know anything about solar paneling, so I had to find the best possible authority on that topic.”

Lisa described the public’s overall reaction and the implementation of The Community Light Project. The latter involved partnerships with four neighborhood schools, Washington University, and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Elise said the UMSL experience was positive for her; it gave her the opportunity to teach as well as to reflect and process all that went into that massive enterprise in the fall of 2009.

A photo from Elise’s PowerPoint presentation

Never did I think that my Pulitzer registrarial career would involve extensive research on soft-serve ice cream machines. Nevertheless, I have recently found myself scouring the internet and speaking with a variety of distributors for just this purpose: to secure the best possible commercial grade ice cream machine that can function on the lowest possible energy requirements. No, the Pulitzer is not adding a cafe to its repertoire. The ice cream machine will be used by one of the artists in our upcoming Light Project, the four-part outdoor installation which opens in Grand Center on September 4th.

There are many, many more details that will soon follow when the LP website catalogue launches (look for it in early August), but as a teaser, I’ll offer you this: renowned Brooklyn artist Spencer Finch will be presenting a new installation that uses solar panels to transform sunlight into ice cream. The panels will power a soft-serve machine, and the ice cream will be given away to visitors at no cost. The color of the ice cream will play a key role in the conception of the piece, but you’ll have to check back in to learn more about those details!

In the meantime, feel free to admire the machine that we have selected:

And, coincidentally, find time this weekend to celebrate National Ice Cream Day (July 20th). Who knew such a holiday even existed? A special event detailing the history of the ice cream cone will be held at the Missouri History Museum this Saturday, along with free samples!

The time between exhibitions is a good time for the registrars to catch up on ongoing departmental projects. Elise and I have just completed the final training session for our new database, The Museum System. We continue to add information to object records and experiment with various reports. We are looking forward using the exhibitions module of The Museum System for the first time for our fall exhibition, Ideal (Dis-) Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer. The other project on which we have made progress is clearing out crate storage. When works of art travel, they are usually packed in crates. Over several years we saved our own used crates – to the point where crate storage was so crowded we actually could not walk around in it. We made a survey of the crates to determine which were still travel-worthy and kept just those.