Block Museum Buddhist Art Exhibit Asks: What's the Cost of Collecting?

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
By Sheryl De Vore

ILLINOIS---Beginning in the 6th century, Buddhist artists in Kashmir, called a paradise on earth, created fine works including ivory carvings to adorn their temples. Called “Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies,” the exhibition unveils layers of spirituality, art and the complicated culture of collecting. “When we look at these objects in a museum, we don’t think about how they got here. It’s not always pretty, but just because it isn’t pretty, should we ignore it? This exhibition is part of a larger movement to understand how collecting has taken place in the West and at what cost to us, and at what cost to the people who produced it.” Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston [link]