So, this is very exciting. Dany chan oh yes, exciting. Robert so, what are we going to see first . Dany we are actually going to the beginning of the exhibition, and this is the Perfect Place to begin because its where we make the connection between asia and the summer of love. Robert so, this is where visitors should start their tour. Dany yes, it should be. Robert so, this is the reason why people should start here . Dany yes, so, this photo shows an iconic scene during the summer of love, when a young man inserts a flower into the tip of a rifle at a protest for the vietnam war. Robert thats really when the flower became such an important symbol, huh . Dany yes, that was when it entered the american mainstream, the idea of a flower as a symbol of peace and love. Robert now, in this exhibit, how do you connect it to the asian culture . Dany well, that idea of the flower as a powerful symbol of peace and love actually began 2,500 years ago, with the life story of the buddha as seen in this painting right here. Robert ah, whats this exhibit called . Dany this painting is called the buddha triumphing over the demon mara. Robert and whats it showing . Dany well, it depicts the moment in which he will eventually achieve enlightenment. So, in the center sits the buddha to be. Then from the right, you see the demon mara and his forces attacking the buddha, trying to put a stop to the enlightenment. And you can see each one of them are holding frightful weapons. So, the buddha to be calls forth the earth goddess to witness his resolve, and she creates a flood and washes away the demon army. So, on the left side, you see the aftermath, all of the demons weapons have been transformed into blossoming lotuses. So, this signifies their defeat and, upon this victory, the buddha attained his enlightenment. Robert is that almost, in a way, the start of the flower as a symbol in asian culture and art . Dany yes, and in both instances, both in 50 years ago and 2,500 years ago, we see the flowers of peace and life rendering useless the weapons of war and death. Robert coming up, we show the beauty and reveal the hidden meanings of the six significant flowers of asian art, and why their importance endures to this day. So, stay with us. Robert and welcome back to Asian Pacific america. We are here at the flower power exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and we are now going to take a closer look at the six flowers that are featured in this exhibition. Dany, thank you very much for conducting this tour for us. Dany youre welcome. Robert where are we going to start . Dany we start with the lotus. And the lotus blossom is arguably the most important flower in asia. It appears in both religious and nonreligious artworks, and its celebrated across several cultures as a symbol of transcendence. Robert culturally speaking, why is it the first . Dany because the lotus blossom, as you may know, it blossoms out of muddy waters, but yet still remains pristine and pure. And so, many asian cultures have turned that into a symbol of purity, of transcendence, and we see that theme running through much of asian art. Robert what do we see as far as this exhibition when it comes to the lotus . Dany sure, so, the exhibition isthis, the lotus section, is organized with religious artworks from buddhism and hinduism. And this artwork right here is a great example of the lotus symbolizing transcendence. So we have the deity parvati seatingor sitting on top of a lotus blossom. So, this represents her transcendence. But then above her are two elephants standing on lotuses, pouring water over her. And so, this is also symbolizing her powers of fertility and creation. Robert so, whats this display thats right next to it . Dany this is a nonreligious painting of the lotus blossom. So, this chinese painting features the beautiful lotus blossom in various stages of blossoming. Now, in china, the purity of the lotus blossom, you know, growing out of muddy waters, it became a symbol of the incorruptible politician, who remains pure in the middle of all of this muck and mess in politics. And so, it was a verya favorite symbol of confucian officials in china. Robert so, what flower is next . Dany the next flower is the rose, and its represented here by this grand mughal floral carpet and this intimate portrait of a Mughal Indian prince. Robert okay, so you have one big, grand display, and you have one small display. You prefer people to kind of look at the small display first, right . Dany yes, because if were going to talk about flower power, this display is it. So, in the princes left hand, hes carrying a rose. Its long been a symbol of love in persian culture, but in this context, it also symbolizes perfection, refinement, and elegance because, if you notice, his right hand is also holding a sword. And so, here we have, again, the flower and the sword. But in this context, it represents the ideal aspects of a ruler. He has both cultural sophistication and military might. Robert where did this display come from . Any history of the artist . Dany it doesnt have an artist, but it was made in the imperial mughal workshop. And what i love about this display is the fact that these portraits really allow you to step up close and look at everything in detail. And fortunately for anyone who has poor eyesight, we will be offering a magnifying glass so you can see the detail of the flower. Robert so, whats the next flower in this flower power exhibit . Dany the third flower is the tulip, which is represented in this exhibition by three paintings and this gorgeous ceramic dish. Robert what about this ceramic dish . Dany well, the tulip was native to central asia. And so, for turkeys ottoman empire, the tulip became its icon, its brand really. Its native to that area, but its been cultivated a lot. And then the flower itself traveled and was traded into europe, where it caused a dutch sensation that you may have heard of, tulipomania. But in the artworks, ottoman tulip artworks were traded into europe, and the europeans themselves then appropriated i guess, or were inspired by the ottoman tulips and created their own version. Robert i see, so, they almost, in a sense, brought that image with them. Dany yes, they did. Robert and whats next . Dany the next flower is the plum blossom, which in this exhibition, its one of the largest sections. Its represented by ceramics, by lacquers, by paintings. But certainly one of the most popular displays so far has been this row of 12 album paintings by the only historical female artist in the exhibition. Robert and what do these represent . Dany these flowers, each one of them represents a month of the lunar calendar. So theresthe plum blossom is the symbol of spring, the first month, because its the first flower to bloom. And so, its become a popular symbol of spring in china, japan, and korea. Robert even to this day . Dany yes, even to this day. Now, although these 12 flowers represent this set, in china, not every month is represented by the same flower. However, the plum blossom always seems to represent the first month. Robert oh, so of all the flowers, it has quite a bit of prominence. Dany yes. Robert and now, were to the Cherry Blossoms. Dany yes, and the Cherry Blossom has been widely celebrated in japanese art and literature, especially as a metaphor for the transience of life. So, in this exhibition, we have a couple of gloriously gilded screens that features the Cherry Blossom, but this one is my favorite. Its fun, its gilded, you cant ask for anything more. Robert what does it show . Dany it shows typical activities of hanami, or Cherry Blossom viewing, which, as we know, its a National Pastime in japan, but also here in the united states. We have it up in San Francisco, in japantown every spring, and also in dc. So, we see people of all ages going to the parks, and they arethey view the Cherry Blossoms, but theyre entertained by music, dance, and just having a good time. Robert its endured over the years, hasnt it . Dany it has. And really, the concept behind Cherry Blossom viewing, its buddhist inspired. It forces us to realize that there is joy and sorrow in the fleeting beauty of nature and also of life itself. Robert this type of display, the way its laid out this way, why is it done this way . Dany what we wanted to do was to offer the sense of how a screen like this would have been displayed. It was used mainly in wealthy households, wealthy japanese households, and used either for auspicious decoration or for just simply room dividers. But it would have naturally coincided with the season. So, when the Cherry Blossoms are blooming outside, its reflected on the screen inside. Robert so, this last flower really gets a lot of attention. Dany yes, so, the final flower is the chrysanthemum, and we have artworks from china, korean, and japan featuring this beautiful chrysanthemum flower. Robert a whole room full. Dany yes, the entire thirdsecond gallery is for the chrysanthemum flower. Robert whats your favorite . Dany well, iwe actuallyso, there are many themes being represented here. You have the chrysanthemum as a symbol of longevity, cultivating chrysanthemum into strange and unusual blooms. But the chrysanthemum is the primary symbol of the autumn season, and its beautifully reflected here on this japanese robe. And so, it features a design of chrysanthemums and other autumnal plants, but this specific design is called goshadoki, which, during the 18th century, was worn by samurai class women, and it includes literary allusions and other visual puns. And so, what would happen is the women would be dressed in these robes, and then they would play a game with each other. Basically, can you pick out the allusions, can you pick out the puns . Its their way of showing off their education. Robert im not sure that i knew that chrysanthemums were revered so much. Is that the way it is now . Dany yes, in china, people still drink chrysanthemum tea because it is believed to, you know, prolong your life, but it also has other Health Benefits such as lowering your blood pressure. And in japan, it continues to be one of the most popular flowers to be cultivated. Thats why, every september, the chrysanthemum festival is celebrated. Robert when people see all six flowers featured this way, what do you hope that they come away with . Dany i want them to come away with the idea that, you know, flowers are naturally beautiful, and they naturally bring a smile to your face. Robert well, along with its historical perspective, flower power also has many contemporary displays, such as the moving garden, which encourages people to give flowers to each other. Coming up, more on the contemporary displays here at the exhibit. Robert and welcome back to Asian Pacific america. Were now going to shift into a more contemporary focus of the flower as part of the flower power exhibit here at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. To help us do that is San Francisco based contemporary artist megan wilson. Megan, thank you very much for joining us. Megan wilson thank you so much, robert. Robert now, you have a big part of the exhibit here. Tell us, where do we start in terms of looking at it . Megan okay, so we can start here. This project is called the living innovation zone, or liz, and it is a collaboration between the Asian Art Museum, the San Francisco public library, the planning commission, many different city agencies, and it is a way of activating the public space here in the civic center commons. And i was very honored to be asked to be the inaugural artist, and i invited a dear friend, whos a wonderful poet, poet of el cerrito, maw shein win, and she did the poetry for this. Robert the poetrys able to bring some dimension to the flowers like, for example, the stanza, right . Megan yeah. Would you like me to read it . Robert sure. Megan flower instructions. Number one, blanket the streets with plum blossoms. Find loose rose petals on sidewalk. Rest body against warm concrete. Glimmer of the memory garden. Robert that really does have a contemporary feel, huh . Megan doesnt it . And she worked fromshe was working from the inspiration of yoko ono at that time in the 60s, as well as then relating it to contemporary times. Robert yoko ono . Megan yeah. Robert as an artist trying to bring this into contemporary terms, what did you want to try to do . Megan i wanted toespecially at this point in time where we are, i wanted to offer an experience that was an element of surprise, an element of joy, and an element of hope. Robert what do you like about the flower . Is this something that was special interest of yours already . Or as an artist, did you kind of gear yourself to making this kind of presentation . Megan i have always loved flowers, and it actually started with my mother. My parents lived herelived in San Francisco in the 60s. And while they were notthey were not hippies, they were not part of that culture, they were very much influenced by the iconography. And so, as a little girl in montana, my mother did paint a large flower that was very similar to these flowers, on my bedroom wall, and i think that that had a big influence on me throughout my life because i have been doing flowers almost throughout my entire art career. Robert now, you have quite an outside display here. When youre creating for the outside part of it, what do you think about . Megan i think about it being a part of the public commons. And this area, this space is for everybody. And so, i love that everybody can enjoy it, and that it isnt intimidating, right . It isnt an institution that you feel like, should i go in . Should i not go in . No, you just get to be here, and share it, and be a part of it. Robert you can walk on it. Megan you can walk on it, and so that it really is for the public, and i do love that. Robert and coming up, we continue our look at the contemporary vision of flower power with an international flavor. [ light music playing ] youve wished upon it all year, and now its finally here. The mercedesbenz summer event is back, with incredible offers on the mercedesbenz youve always longed for. But hurry, these shooting stars fly by fast. Lease the c300 for 399 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. Summer for the hippies of San Francisco, that the dreamy bohemia of haightashbury will be destroyed, like the beat generation of the 50s, by thrillseekers, tourists, and commercial exploiters. The psychedelic love generation of the 60s may find that it takes more than new words and new drugs to conquer the old order. Robert as we continue with the contemporary displays featured at the flower power exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, we want to remind our viewers that there are many other Museum Pieces to see during the exhibits run. And as we said, ones that are connected in sometimes unexpected ways to each other through the spirit of the flower. For example, flower power includes recent artworks by the exuberant maestro of smiling daisies, japanese contemporary artist takashi murakami, as well as moving images, literally and figuratively, from the japanese digital collective teamlab. And we wrap up our contemporary art segment with ayomi yoshida, a fourth generation printmaker from japan, who uses a team of volunteers to painstakingly attach thousands of woodblock printed Cherry Blossoms on vivid, haunting twodimensional images of trees. Through a translator, we talked to the artist about her eyecatching display and her inspirations, as well as a separate tree image set up near her piece at the museum that allows visitors to attach Cherry Blossoms so they can be part of the artistic process. Robert what was the idea for this . Where did it come from . Ayomi yoshida this exhibition, flower power, deals with six different kinds of flowers. I am from japan, and i am representing japan with the flower sakura, Cherry Blossom. Robert whats your thought about being a part of this project, the San Francisco exhibit . Ayomi whats unique about japanese Cherry Blossom is that japanese people think more about falling of the flower petals instead of just about blossoming. So, thats very unique about japanese culture, and i focus on that aspect of a flower. Robert why do the japanese view it that way . Ayomi as a japanese, we learn fromever since when were young, we learn that life is transient, and Cherry Blossom express exactly that concept. So, even from second day, flowers fall. That kind of thinking told us to live fully every second. Robert why did you make part of it Public Participation . Why participatory . Why is that important for you . Ayomi i think this is really meaningful experience for both visitors and myself because, in a museum setting, usually visitors see already completed art object. However, as for this project, they can participate, and then we can actually create something together, and its about process. After this installation is over, everythings going to be taken away, deinstalled. However, the experience remains, and i would like to let visitors experience that, experience the blossoming flowers, and then also falling petals, and then how its all gone at the end. However, experience is there, what we shared is there. And we all are from different culture, but we do share something important. Robert very rewarding as an artist for you . Has this been a very good experience for you, being part of this . Ayomi yes, yes, very much. Robert and that has been the power of the flower. We hope you have enjoyed our visit to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco for their flower power exhibit, which will be open through october 1. And thats it for our show. Please join us again next week and every week here, on Asian Pacific america. Thanks for watching. John kelly will do a. John kelly will do a fantastic job. A site that no parents want to go through. Offer of the year right there. Good morning and welcome to sunday today. We got a lot to catch up on after an extraordinary week in washington. A failed healthcare bill, brutal fighting with the trump administration. Now President Trump has a new chief of
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