黑料不打烊

Marking the beginning of the Foundation鈥檚 tenth-anniversary season, Reflections of the Buddha will offer visitors a unique encounter with Buddhist visual and spiritual traditions, experienced in harmony with the contemplative atmosphere of the Foundation鈥檚 building, designed by master architect Tadao Ando. Each of the twenty-two historic masterworks chosen for the exhibition will be installed to permit the attentive, unhurried viewing for which the Foundation is known. Three related works of contemporary art will add resonance to the experience: a set of photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto conveys the sensation of seeing 1001 sculptures of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara; a video by Oscar Mu帽oz evokes the evanescence of life; and a major work by Ellsworth Kelly, Blue Black, created specifically for the Foundation as a permanent feature of its building, provides a meditative focal point in the exhibition.

According to Francesca Herndon-Consagra, Senior Curator of The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and curator of the exhibition, 鈥淭he title of our exhibition looks back toward a Tibetan elaboration of the legendary origin of all images of the Buddha. It is said that King Udayana commissioned a sandalwood image of the historical Buddha (Buddha Sakyamuni), but the artist could not bear to gaze directly at his brilliance. He could work only from a reflection that the Buddha cast on the surface of a pool. Our exhibition develops the metaphor of this legend by showing how Buddhism has been reflected over the centuries in different cultures across Asia. We also consider how certain forms of meditation seek to call up reflections of the Buddha within oneself, and how the experience of the artworks we are showing, and of the Foundation itself, is literally reflected in the pool that Tadao Ando designed for the center of our building.鈥�

Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Founder and Chair of the Foundation, stated, 鈥淭he decision to begin our tenth-anniversary season with Reflections of the Buddha speaks volumes about our mission. Through its extraordinary loans, this exhibition bears witness to our close, collaborative ties with other institutions. Through its sharp curatorial focus, and the contribution it has made to research and conservation, it testifies to our role as facilitators for scholarship. Perhaps most important of all, through its choice of subject matter, it upholds quietly but eloquently our conviction that art is an illumination, which can transform individuals and the society in which we live.鈥�

Artworks exhibited in Reflections of the Buddha are on loan from Asia Society, New York; Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection; Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum; The Minneapolis Institute of Arts; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Saint Louis Art Museum; Oscar Mu帽oz/Sicardi Gallery; and a private collection. As part of the exhibition initiative, the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts collaborated with the Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum on research and conservation work on the wood sculpture Left Hand of a Colossal Buddha Amitabha, attributed to Kaikei, from c. 1202. The Foundation will hold a series of symposia devoted to issues regarding the research, conservation and display of these objects. An illustrated publication and online catalogue will also be made available.

Other programs, projects, and activities for the tenth-anniversary season will include the opening of an exhibition in spring 2012, which is guest-curated by artist Gedi Sibony; the publication of a book about the production of Ann Hamilton鈥檚 stylus at the Pulitzer Foundation from July 9, 2010 to January 22, 2011; and contemporary chamber music concerts organized by David Robertson, Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony. During Reflections of the Buddha, Robertson鈥檚 selections (performed at the Pulitzer by guest artists and musicians of the orchestra) will speak to the Buddhist experience. Throughout the year, social workers on the Pulitzer鈥檚 staff will organize innovative community engagement programs in St. Louis which are connected to the exhibitions鈥� themes.  Public programming will include curatorial lectures, frame-of-reference series, and workshops.  The Foundation will announce further details on its tenth-anniversary programming in early September.