THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Jon Hurdle
PENNSYLVANIA---The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s renowned collection of South Asian art had a problem: Despite a dazzling array of artifacts that thrilled scholars and absorbed curators, it made no sense to the general public. The result is the reimagined, re-lit and in some places rebuilt series of galleries that reopened on Oct. 2 after an 18-month, $2.7 million makeover, the first for 40 years. The approximately 200 objects on display in the new galleries are presented in two major themes: “Art and the Divine” and “Art, Power, Status,” showing how different civilizations have used art to relate to God and to assert wealth and power. [
link]
Philadelphia Museum of Art: South Asian Art Galleries (Reopened Oct. 2, 2016); 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA; 215-763-8100; philamuseum.org
 |
| A shrine hanging, from the 18th century. Credit Sabina Louise Pierce for The New York Times |
