Editing Asian Art Museum (San Francisco)

{{Short description|Museum in San Francisco, California, U.S.}}
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{use American English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox museum
| name            = Asian Art Museum of San Francisco –<br>Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture<ref name=name />
| logo            = Asian Art Museum (San Francisco) Logo.png
| image           = File:Terracotta Warriors Exhibition San Francisco 2013.jpg
| image_size      = 
| caption         = 
| map_type        = San Francisco County
| map_size        = 
| coordinates     = {{coord|37.780276|-122.416577|display=inline,title}}
| established     = 1966
| location        = 
| type            = [[Asia]]n [[art]]
| visitors        = <!-- Please cite a reliable reference -->
| director        = [[Jay Xu]] (2008–present)
| curator         = 
| accreditation   = 
| publictransit   = 
| architect       = '''Building (1917):''' [[George Kelham]]<br>'''Museum interior (2003):''' [[Gae Aulenti]]
| website         = {{URL|http://www.asianart.org}}
| embedded        = {{infobox |child=yes
 |label1      = Area
 |data1       = {{convert|185000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} 
}}
}}

The '''Asian Art Museum of San Francisco – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture'''<ref name=name>[http://www.asianart.org/about/about "About"] Asian Art Museum website. Quote: "Strategically located on the Pacific Rim and serving one of the most diverse communities in the United States, the '''''Asian Art Museum of San Francisco – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture''''' is uniquely positioned to lead a diverse, global audience in discovering the distinctive materials, aesthetics and intellectual achievements of Asian art and cultures, and to serve as a bridge of understanding between Asia and the United States and between the diverse cultures of Asia." (emphasis added)</ref> is a [[museum]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]] that specializes in [[Asia]]n [[art]].  It was founded by [[Olympics|Olympian]] [[Avery Brundage]] in the 1960s and has more than 18,000 works of art in its permanent collection, some as much as 6,000 years old.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Asian Art Museum {{!}} Collection|url = http://www.asianart.org/collections/collection|website = www.asianart.org|access-date = September 2, 2015}}</ref> Its logo is an upside down letter [[A]], which also looks like a letter [[V]] with a line through it.

==History==
The museum origin stems from a donation to the city of San Francisco by Chicago millionaire [[Avery Brundage]], who was a major collector of Asian art. The Society for Asian Art, incorporated in 1958, was the group that formed to gain Brundage's collection. The museum opened in 1966 as a wing of the [[M. H. de Young Memorial Museum]] in [[Golden Gate Park]]. Brundage continued to make donations to the museum, including the bequest of all his remaining personal collection of Asian art on his death in 1975. In total, Brundage donated more than 7,700 Asian art objects to San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Asian Art Museum - Asian Art Museum |url=https://about.asianart.org/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=About |language=en-US}}</ref>

Despite Brundage's professed goal of creating a "bridge of understanding" between the U.S. and Asia, a deeper insight into his actions revealed that he held [[racism|racist]], [[sexism|sexist]], and [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] beliefs that entirely contradicted the mission and values of the museum. In 2020, the museum removed a statue of Brundage from its lobby where it had stood for five decades, and launched a thorough re-examination of his controversial legacy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About the Asian Art Museum {{!}} Asian Art Museum|url=https://about.asianart.org/|access-date=2021-08-29|website=About|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.artforum.com/news/asian-art-museum-contends-with-racist-legacy-of-patron-avery-brundage-83266|title=Asian Art Museum Contends with Racist Legacy of Patron Avery Brundage|website=www.artforum.com}}</ref>  Museum director Jay Xu wrote that Brundage "espoused racist and anti-Semitic views."<ref name="auto"/>

The museum was awarded the [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Japanese Foreign Minister]]’s Commendation for their contributions to promotion of cultural exchange through art between Japan and the United States on December 1, 2020.<ref>[https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press6e_000255.html Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2020 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]</ref><ref>[https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/100120947.pdf Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2020 (Groups) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]</ref>

[[Jay Xu]] is the museum's director.<ref name="scgl">{{cite news |last1=Cheng |first1=Scarlet |title=ART; The view from an East-West angle; Asian Art Museum's Shanghai-born Jay Xu has visions of a grander landscape. |work=Los Angeles Times |date=23 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=At This Museum, Education Staff Prove More Vital Than Ever During Pandemic|url=https://hyperallergic.com/563185/asian-art-museum-education-covid-19/|date=2020-05-12|website=Hyperallergic|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref>

===Relocation===
Until 2003, the museum shared a space with the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. As the museum's collection grew, the facilities in Golden Gate Park were no longer sufficient to display or even house the collection.  In 1987 Mayor [[Dianne Feinstein]] proposed a plan to revitalize Civic Center that included relocating the museum to the Main Library. In 1995, [[Silicon Valley]] entrepreneur [[Chong-Moon Lee]] made a [[U.S. dollar|$]]15 million donation to launch the funding campaign for a new building for the museum.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/CHONG-MOON-LEE-From-the-depths-of-longing-for-a-3020611.php|title=CHONG-MOON LEE / From the depths of longing for a hamburger he couldn't afford and contemplating suicide, this entrepreneur rose to such success he was able to give $15 million to S.F.'s Asian Art Museum|date=November 5, 1995|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref>

During its last year in the park, it was closed for the purpose of moving to its new location. It reopened on March 20, 2003, in the former San Francisco city library building opposite of the [[Civic Center, San Francisco|San Francisco Civic Center]], which was renovated for the purpose, under the direction of Italian architect [[Gae Aulenti]]. [[Lord Cultural Resources]], a cultural professional practice, was also commissioned to undertake a three-part sequence of planning studies for the relocation of the museum.{{fact|date=October 2022}}

The old Main library was a [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux Arts]]-style building designed by [[George Kelham]] in 1917. The new $160.5 million project, designed by Gae Aulenti,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hall|first=Christopher|date=March 16, 2003|title=In San Francisco, A New Home For Asian Art|work=The New York Times|url=https://csusb-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1bp3igm/TN_cdi_proquest_newspapers_432347466|url-status=|access-date=February 19, 2021}}{{deadlink|date=September 2023}}</ref> introduced an indoor sky-lit court to provide a dramatic central core to the museum.  Removing some interior walls, Aulenti created a sense of openness to facilitate visitor movement and the display of the artwork.  The new {{convert|185000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} museum increased the exhibition space by approximately 75 percent compared to the former Golden Gate Park location.

The renovation also brought a seismic upgrade scheme to the building involving [[Seismic base isolation|base isolation]]. Bearings were placed over the foundation system below the building's current slab on grade with a new basement  constructed above the bearings in the process. Furthermore, the superstructure was stiffened through the addition of [[Shear wall|concrete shear walls]], allowing for a rigid lateral load path for all sections of the building.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://forell.com/projects/arts-museums-libraries/san-francisco-asian-art-museum-3/|title=San Francisco Asian Art Museum – How do you protect an irreplacable San Francisco landmark and the priceless art it houses?|date=June 24, 2020}}</ref>

In October 2011, the museum launched a new identity. Designed by the branding agency [[Wolff Olins]], the logo is an upside down A, representing the idea of approaching Asian art from a new perspective.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665119/a-bold-new-look-for-sf-art-museum-in-jittery-economic-times|title=A Bold New Look For SF Art Museum, In Jittery Economic Times|date=September 30, 2011}}</ref>

===Expansion===
In March 2016, the museum announced that it would build an additional new pavilion to its San Francisco Civic Center Building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/Asian-Museum-unveils-expansion-plan-6863702.php#photo-9466523|title=Asian Art Museum announces expansion|date=March 1, 2016}}</ref> The new pavilion will sit atop an existing, lower-level wing on the museum's Hyde Street side; and it will add about 9,000 square feet of new space to the museum's first floor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/struggling-asian-art-museum-set-major-transformation/|title=Once-struggling Asian Art Museum set for major 'transformation'|access-date=June 15, 2016|archive-date=May 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510113411/http://www.sfexaminer.com/struggling-asian-art-museum-set-major-transformation/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The expansion is expected to open by September 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/cultural-architecture/asian-art-museum-expansion/|title=San Francisco's Asian Art Museum Expansion Revealed – Metropolis|last=Edelson|first=Zachary|date=September 26, 2017|work=Metropolis|access-date=October 14, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> In January 2019, Abby Chen was appointed as the Head of Contemporary Art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13847147/curator-abby-chen-to-head-asian-art-museums-contemporary-art-department|title=Curator Abby Chen to Head Asian Art Museum's Contemporary Art Department|date=2018-12-13|website=KQED|language=en-us|access-date=2019-02-09}}</ref>

==Collection==
The collection has approximately 18,000 works of art and artifacts from all major Asian countries and traditions, some of which are as much as 6,000 years old. Galleries are devoted to the arts of [[South Asia]], [[Iran]] and [[Central Asia]], [[Southeast Asia]], the [[Himalayas]], [[China]], [[Korea]] and [[Japan]]. There are more than 2,000 works on display in the museum galleries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Asian Art Museum - In the Galleries|url=https://collections.asianart.org/in-the-galleries/|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Collections|language=en-US}}</ref>

The museum has become a focus for special and traveling exhibitions, including: the first major Chinese exhibition to travel outside China since the end of [[World War II]] (in 1975), an archaeological exhibition which attracted 800,000 visitors over an eight-week period, and an exhibition on wisdom and compassion opened by the [[Tenzin Gyatso|Dalai Lama]] in 1991.

== Collection highlights ==
<gallery>
File:Bronze Rhino (8216203650).jpg|[[Chinese ritual bronzes|Bronze]] ''[[zun]]'' in the shape of a rhinoceros. [[Shang dynasty]], c.1100-1050 BCE
File:Saturnism.jpg|Buddha dated 338, the earliest known dated Buddha sculpture produced in China<ref>{{Cite web|title=Asian Art Museum Online Collection|url=http://searchcollection.asianart.org/view/objects/asitem/18907/2?t:state:flow=22cf8e19-2c38-4007-80f8-7ac5b1d9483b|access-date=2021-11-08|website=searchcollection.asianart.org}}</ref>
File:The deity Brahma (Bonten), one of a pair.jpg|The deity [[Brahma]] (Bonten), one of a pair. [[Nara (city)|Nara]], c. 730-750
File:The deity Indra (Taishakuten), one of a pair.jpg|The deity [[Indra]] (Taishakuten), one of a pair. Nara, c. 730-750
File:Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara - Guanyin - - Joy of Museums - Asian Art Museum - San Francisco.jpg|The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara ([[Guanyin]]). [[Song dynasty]], 12th century
File:Asian Art Museum SF B60P123+.a-.b.jpg|Ewer with lotus-shaped lid. [[Goryeo]], c. 1050-1150
File:Lidded jar with design of a lotus pond.jpg|Lidded jar with design of a lotus pond. [[Jingdezhen porcelain|Jingdezhen]], [[Wucai]] style, between 1522 and 1566
File:Crowned and bejeweled Buddha image.jpg|Crowned and bejeweled Buddha image. [[Mandalay Region]], c. 1860-1880
</gallery>

==Tea House==
A  [[Chashitsu|Japanese tea house]] is displayed on the second exhibition floor of the museum. This teahouse was built in [[Kyoto]], disassembled, shipped to San Francisco and reconstructed in the museum by Japanese [[carpentry|carpenters]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Japanese-teahouse-tea-masters-to-be-part-of-new-2711218.php|title=Japanese teahouse, tea masters to be part of new Asian Art Museum|date=December 15, 2002}}</ref>  The name of the tea house can be seen on a wooden plaque "In the Mist" located next to the Tea House on the second floor of the museum, The calligraphy on this wooden plaque is based on the calligraphy by Yamada Sobin and commissioned by Yoshiko Kakudo, the museum's first curator of Japanese art. The Tea House was designed by architect [[Osamu Sato (architect)|Osamu Sato]] as a functioning teahouse, as well as a display case. It is a three and three-quarters (sanjo daime) mat room. It is complete with an alcove for the display of a scroll and flowers, an electric-powered sunken hearth used in winter for the hot water kettle, and a functioning preparation area (mizuya) with fresh running water and drain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/artwork/teahouse-asian-art-museum|title=Teahouse at the Asian Art Museum|access-date=June 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809180759/http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/artwork/teahouse-asian-art-museum|archive-date=August 9, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}
*[[49-Mile Scenic Drive]]
*[[List of museums with major collections of Asian art]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Asian Art Museum (San Francisco)}}
*[http://www.asianart.org Official website]

{{Bay Area Arts Organizations|state=collapsed}}
{{Civic Center, San Francisco}}
{{San Francisco Attractions}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Asian-American culture in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Civic Center, San Francisco]]
[[Category:Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums]]
[[Category:Asian art museums in California]]
[[Category:1966 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries established in 1966]]
[[Category:1966 in San Francisco]]