Curator's Circle
2003 Past Programs

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Dr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon | Dr. Guido Goldman
Dr. Robert D. Jacobsen | Ma Weidu

Dr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon Sponsored by the William Sharpless Jackson Jr. Endowment Fund Ding Ware Pillow China, Song dynasty (960-1279)

Conversation: "Collecting Chinese Ceramics—From Tourist to Trustee"
Dr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon are avid collectors of Chinese art. Their interest stems from a 1978 trip to China, where they found a nephrite jade water buffalo at the Friendship Store in Shanghai—a popular tourist stop at the time. Their interest in collecting Chinese art began with the purchase of this Qing dynasty sculpture. Since then, Marvin and Pat Gordon have attended courses and programs at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and made three subsequent trips to China. In a conversation with curator Ronald Otsuka, they explain how they formed their enviable collection of Chinese art by educating themselves through study, travel, and participation in museum organizations. The Gordons, who focus on collecting Chinese ceramics of the Song dynasty (960-1279), also enjoy having Chinese paintings, furniture, and sculpture in their home.
January 15, 2003

Workshop: "Chinese Ceramics of the Song dynasty—Pointers for Collectors"
Discussing objects from their collection, Dr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon share lessons learned over decades of collecting. They attended classes and lectures in their pursuit of knowledge, and they visited galleries and auction houses in their search for Chinese art. Marvin and Pat explain how purchasing their first Chinese object as tourists in 1978 led to what has become a lifelong pursuit. Now established as collectors of Song dynasty ceramics, they tell why they chose that specific field and reveal their reasons for focusing on a particular media and time period.
January 16, 2003

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Workshop: "Collecting Ikats—An Irresistible Addiction"
Dr. Guido Goldman shares insights into his renowned collection of Central Asian silk weavings. He purchased his first ikat in the 1970s, after spotting it in the second-story window of Artweave Textile Gallery in New York. Attracted to its energy and powerful presence, Goldman wanted the experience of having it in his home. He soon developed an irresistible addiction to collecting ikats. In 2001, the Denver Art Museum exhibited Ikat: Splendid Silks of Central Asia from the Guido Goldman Collection. In this workshop, Goldman reveals his personal approach to collecting these breathtakingly beautiful silk textiles.
March 13, 2003

Conversation: "Ikats—Textile 'Paintings' of Central Asia"
Dr. Guido Goldman collects Central Asian ikats with vibrant colors and kinetic designs. Although he thinks of them as textile "paintings," their stunning patterns are actually created by woven threads. Useful as well as beautiful, ikats were an integral part of the lives of Central Asian peoples. Intended to recreate the atmosphere of a lush garden, they were used as curtains, wall hangings, pillow covers, and garments. Goldman was initially attracted to the pictorial qualities of silk wall panels and hangings. Later, he incorporated garments into his holdings and acquired a number of outstanding velvet coats. In this conversation with curator Ronald Otsuka, Goldman describes how his interest in ikats developed over the years and explains why he is attracted to this particular aspect of Asian art.

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Dr. Robert D. Jacobsen Sponsored by the William Sharpless Jackson Jr. Endowment Fund Imperial Dragon Vase, China, Ming dynasty, 1400s

Conversation: "The Art of Acquiring Art—The Chinese Art Collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts"
Robert Jacobsen, curator of Asian art, began to systematically enhance the existing collections of Chinese art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1996, with the support of life trustee Bruce Dayton. Collecting in several areas simultaneously—classical hardwood furniture, painting and calligraphy, ceramics, early metalwork, Buddhist art, early lacquer, and literati objects—approximately 730 objects were purchased by the spring of 2002. This rather aggressive approach took advantage of the exuberant Chinese art market, as well as the buoyant investment markets of the late 1990s. In an illustrated conversation with Denver Art Museum curator Ronald Otsuka, Jacobsen discusses the working relationship he enjoyed with philanthropists Ruth and Bruce Dayton, their basic collecting strategies, and how they addressed the needs of the museum in fulfilling their mission.
May 14, 2003

Workshop: "Classical Chinese Furniture-Art in Context"
In this illustrated discussion/workshop, Robert Jacobsen reviews aspects of collecting furniture and examines the aesthetic relationship between furniture and traditional Chinese architecture. By late 1996, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, had collected a significant group of classical Chinese furniture, with the support of Ruth and Bruce Dayton. Today, the collection includes around 120 examples of hardwood and lacquer furniture dating from the late 1500s through 1700s. Wishing to display the Chinese furniture in architectural context, the institute purchased a late Ming courtyard-style house and an eighteenth-century scholar's studio, including its enclosed rock garden, in 1995. The reception hall from the house, the library, and a commemorative doorway were dismantled, conserved, and shipped to Minneapolis, where they were permanently installed in the institute's new Asian galleries that opened in 1998. Furniture, literati objects, paintings, books, and Taoist art are displayed in the library and its garden, while the reception hall is a setting for grand public furniture, professional painting, and examples of the Confucian underpinnings of ancestral worship.
May 15, 2003

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Ma Weidu Sponsored by the William Sharpless Jackson Jr. Endowment Fund Window panel (detail) China, Zhejiang province

Conversation: "Collecting Chinese Country-Style Furniture"
Ma Weidu describes "country-style furniture" (xiangcun jiaju) as furnishings with a distinct regional character, produced primarily from locally obtained materials (Doar Orientations June 1997, 69). In north China, it was described disdainfully as "firewood" furniture. Chinese furniture dealers traditionally regarded heavily knotted wood as inferior to the highly prized, even-grained hardwoods. In contrast, collectors from Western countries looked for furniture with an abundance of knots, causing Chinese merchants to deride their taste. When this furniture eventually sold for high prices in America and Europe, their popularity with Chinese collectors began to grow. In a conversation with curator Ronald Otsuka, Ma discusses the evolution of the market for country furniture and the unique role his museum plays in presenting it to the public.
September 17, 2003

Workshop: "Ins and Outs of Chinese Doors and Windows"
Ma Weidu believes that doors and windows make a building useful. An architectural structure is impenetrable without them, both literally and figuratively. In 2002, Ma published Classical Chinese Doors and Windows (Zhongguo gudai menchuang). In his book, he describes the construction, evolution, and aesthetic significance of Chinese doors and windows. At his workshop, Ma shares his insights into collecting these architectural elements and reveals his outlook onto the future preservation of China's architectural heritage.
September 18, 2003


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