The days of clicking a link to one of my reviews only to run smack into a firewall -- they're over! The Wall Street Journal has changed the system so that the links provided for an article now by-pass the firewall. You can't go roaming from there, but at least clicking the link won't inflict … Continue reading New, improved links
Author: leeadairlawrence
long-time writer, first-time filmmaker and a late-bloomer blogger... I currently write reviews of Asian and Islamic art exhibitions (most regularly for the Wall Street Journal) and features stories for the Christian Science Monitor, Aramco World and others. The filmmaker moniker refers to "Chaplains Under Fire," a documentary about military chaplains I made with Terry Nickelson. If you're reading this, you already know about the erratic blogs.
The difference images make – and making room for them
There is always more to say about a show or work of art than can fit in an essay or review, and my piece on "The Kimono in Print" is no exception. I was so happy to see that Kate LaVoie, the arts page photo editor, uploaded more than a half dozen images onto the … Continue reading The difference images make – and making room for them
Exploring the South Indian Temple Hall at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Rama after defeating his enemy, the demon RavanaHanuman, the monkey king who helped Rama rescue Sita from RavanaSita, Rama's wifePurushamirukam, "man-beast"Larger than the other reliefs on these slender columns, this portrays the donor, a royal patron here dressed as a simple devotee This is not so much a blog as a supplement to my masterpiece … Continue reading Exploring the South Indian Temple Hall at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Drumroll, please… for Syncretease!
For years, we've been urging my brother to have his collages photographed and launch them into the world through a website. He might say we finally wore him down; we (his wife, daughter and I) prefer to think Dixon finally saw the light. Check out his work, at http://www.syncretease.com
Trees aren’t always just trees
There were some kind of cypress (I think) trees near our home in south India that looked like guests at a cocktail party, one limb reaching out for a drink, another curling back as though to bring a cigarette to the lips. Maybe that's why I get such a kick looking at the inventive depiction … Continue reading Trees aren’t always just trees
A basket made of ivory
So many works, so few column inches... Here is one of many pieces I couldn't squeeze into my review of the Asian Export Art Gallery at the Peabody Essex Museum (which you can read in the WSJ or in my archive). The museum simply labels it, "Basket, 1800-15." What is it, you ask? Why, … Continue reading A basket made of ivory
Ah, my little astrolabe…
On and off for the last year and a half, I've been obsessing on astrolabes. I'd master (or so I thought) one of its functions -- say, figuring out what time the sun will set on a given day. Then I'd give astrolabes a rest, focus on a review or other deadline, and come back … Continue reading Ah, my little astrolabe…
The power of leaving a hand- or footprint.
A couple of people were taken with the notion, mentioned in my review of "Faith and Empire," that by making a foot- or handprint, one creates a permanent link with the object, the way, say, the shroud that wrapped a saint's body becomes a relic. Credit goes to Kathryn Selig Brown, a scholar of Tibetan … Continue reading The power of leaving a hand- or footprint.
Portraits in bronze
One of the many treats in "Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism" at the Rubin Museum of Art are two bronze portraits of lamas. We see so many idealized Buddha and bodhisattva figures, it's easy to forget that the sculptors were also capable of expressing people's individuality. Meet lama Change Rolpai Dorje … Continue reading Portraits in bronze
Sri Lanka, the ‘jeweled isle’
For personal reasons, I'm not traveling these days but I managed to make one exception: a same-day round trip to LA to spend exactly 2 1/2 hours at LACMA in order to see "The Jeweled Isles: Art From Sri Lanka." The first article on art I ever wrote for the WSJ was on a 1993 … Continue reading Sri Lanka, the ‘jeweled isle’
