Tiger is Coming!

Today I went to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco where I renewed my membership at the premium level. This will get me reciprocity at a national network of museums and art galleries. I visited their exhibition Seeing Gender in Asian Art. The best part of the show was the video interviews of the young art interns. If I had been exposed to alternative conceptions of gender at their age, how might my life have been different? I ask myself.

I then visited the Korean galleries which have highlighted a series of tiger paintings in honor of the upcoming lunar new year of the Water Tiger. Korean tigers can be leopard spotted, and are often paired with magpies. The tiger has an important role in Korean mythology and folk art, including the origin story of Dangun. I love their expressions. The word for tiger in Korean is horangi. Five baby tigers were born last year to the tiger pair in the Seoul zoo.

Here is a wonderful performance of a song "Tiger is Coming!" by the group Leenalchi that I just love (and here is a lyrics translation)

 

I was tired by the time I got through those galleries so I strolled rather quickly by my favorite Chinese snuff boxes and Japanese ceramics and baskets; I've already seen them but will come back to see them again. The idea is to be able to pop in and out for short visits without feeling as if I have to plow through the entire collection in one visit just to get my money's worth. I'm good for about an hour and then I feel overwhelmed.

Next up: The Contemporary Jewish Museum's Leonard Cohen show, that is ending soon.