Point of View

Opinions from visitors and professional colleagues are extremely valuable to the Asian Art Department. "Tell Us What You Think" cards in the Asian art galleries solicit comments from museum visitors. Guest-book journals invite families and individuals to share their personal reactions to their museum experience. People tell us about their favorite things in the collection, and favorite objects are regularly featured in On & Off the Wall, the Denver Art Museum members’ magazine. We want to hear from you, too, so please contact the Asian Art Department with your comments. Selections are posted here for others to read.

Westword Best of Denver 2007, Best Asian Art History Lesson
Japanese Art from the Colorado Collection of Kimiko and John Powers
October 7, 2006 – July 8, 2007
"Aspen-based collector Kimiko Powers and her late husband, John, were connoisseurs of the old school. They were broad in their interests; as a result, they amassed some of the finest works of art available. Ron Otsuka, the esteemed curator of Asian art at the Denver Art Museum, made friends of the couple over thirty years ago, and he convinced them to put their collection of more than 300 Japanese masterworks on long-term loan with the DAM. Some of these pieces make up Japanese Art from the Colorado Collection of Kimiko and John Powers, and while many may look modern, they are actually hundreds of years old. This show is the best of the trio that inaugurated the DAM’s new wing—and it’s open for a few more months" (Westword: March 29, 2007).
To Japanese Art Exhibition

Favorite Object: Dedication Panel for Fountain at a Sufi Shrine
"When asked to name my favorite piece, I felt like a sultan in his harem. How could I choose when I love each one with all my heart? But then, I realized that one stands above all others. It is the white marble dedication panel for a fountain that comes from a Sufi shrine in northern India. I gave this object in memory of my husband Paul, a geologist who mapped much in the Colorado-Utah deserts and understood the value of water. The inscription gives the names of the reigning monarch, the saint in whose honor the fountain was built, the patron or donor who funded the fountain, the architect who built it, and the poet who constructed the chronogram—a calligrapher’s code based on each letter of the Arabic alphabet having a numeric value. The end of the inscription reads: ’The building of Sheikh Mawdud.’ The numerical value of these words adds up to the Islamic year 1033, or AD 1625/6." (Bj Averitt, volunteer staff aide for the Asian Art Department, On & Off the Wall: March-April 2005)."

AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers Competition
June 2004
Since 1922, the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) has held an annual juried competition for the best in book and book cover design. The exhibition catalog for Full Frontal: Contemporary Asian Artists from the Logan Collection was among the awardees in the 2004 50 Books/50 Covers competition. Designed by Aufuldish & Warinner, the Full Frontal catalog is included in the publication and exhibition 365: AIGA Year in Design 25, and copies of Full Frontal are entered into the collections of the Butler Library at Columbia University and the AIGA archives at the Denver Art Museum.
To Full Frontal Exhibition

Favorite Object: Shadow Puppet
"The conservation and mounting of the Indian shadow puppets was a really "fun" project, which is why it is special to me. In 1985, the museum was given five shadow puppets form Andhra Pradesh in southern India. The puppets came into the museum rolled and folded and so stiff that no one could even see them. To straighten them out, we placed them one by one in a closed Plexiglas chamber and used high humidity to slowly relax the skin. Then we sandwiched each puppet between layers of acid-free blotters and gently weighted it down to flatten. After some experimentation, we devised a technique to sew each puppet down to rigid support. This meant that we could show them from either side if we wanted. I’d love to do a whole exhibition about puppets one day" (Carl Patterson, Conservator, On & Off the Wall: May-June 2004).
To Shadow Puppet

American Association of Museums: Winner of the 2004 Museum
Publications Design Competition
April 26, 2004
The Denver Art Museum was selected as a winner in the 2004 Museum Publications Design Competition. Within the category of institutions with budgets of more than $500,000, judges awarded an Honorable Mention to the exhibition catalog Full Frontal: Contemporary Asian Artists from the Logan Collection, designed by Aufuldish & Warinner. The competition is featured in a special section in the July/August 2004 issue of Museum News.
To Full Frontal Exhibition

Westword Best of Denver 2004, Best Little Big Show—Group
Full Frontal: Contemporary Asian Artists from the Logan Collection
October 18, 2003 - May 23, 2004
"The stock-in-trade of Ron Otsuka, the respected curator of Asian art at the Denver Art Museum, is traditional works. However, he was drafted into doing contemporary-art duty when Vail collectors Vicki and Kent Logan made a gift to the museum. Otsuka's compelling, extremely bold Full Frontal: Contemporary Asian Artists From the Logan Collection looks at recent cutting-edge art done in China… Though there are only about a score of pieces in the fifth-floor show, the exhibit…covers a lot of previously unexplored aesthetic ground" (Westword: March 25, 2004).
To Full Frontal Exhibition

Sublime Moment: Crossing Bridges
June 30, 1994
"Life is full of mundane films, sort-of-interesting lectures, and low-key performances—but every once in a while something very special happens. One such amazing event was 'Crossing Bridges: Similarities and Differences in the Works of Two Potters.' The two potters, one American and one Japanese, were old friends. The Japanese potter, Takashi Nakazato, masterfully pulled one lovely bowl, vase, or cup after another from a damp pile of clay on a potter's wheel. I watched, entrhalled to see the clay take shape before my eyes. The other potter, American Malcolm Wright, fielded questions from the audience. With great good humor, precision, and eloquence, he told what the advantages were to both the American and Japanese way of learning and practicing this art form. How human, plain-spoken, and courteous these two skilled artisans were to each other and to those of us watching and listening" (Patterson Williams, Co-Dean, Education/Master Teacher, Asian Art, On & Off the Wall: January-February, 1996).
To Bridge of Fire Exhibition



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