Integrating Southeast Asian
Visual Art Into Your Classroom
Paul Pass
A Cultural Perspective on Southeast Asia
August 10, 2013
Who here is NOT
interested in
Southeast Asia?
Preaching to the
choir…your job =
getting others
interested!
My presentation









About me
Asia Society Texas Center
About Asia
About Southeast Asia
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) & tools for looking
Southeast Asian visual arts
Projects for classroom
Notable collections in United States
Recommended resources
Paul Pass








Asia Society Texas Center (2011 – present)
World Affairs Council of Houston (2010 – 2011)
Congressional and Embassy internships (2009)
MA, Indiana University
BA, Miami University
Conducted over 55 presentations on Asia
Asian art, culture, history, and politics generalist
Studied Asia and Europe for past ten years
About Asia Society Texas Center

NYC HQ: 1956 by John D.
Rockefeller III

Texas Center: 1979 by Barbara
Bush and Roy Huffington

Arts, culture, business, public
policy, education programs

Prepare Asians and Americans
for a shared future

One of 11 Asia Society offices
around the world
How do I become more involved
with Asia Society Texas Center?

Visit us


Become a member


Memberships start at less than $4/month
Come to our programs


Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am to 6 pm
Arts + culture, business + policy, education
Bring your students

Free individually-designed school tours
Weavers’ Stories from
Island Southeast Asia
November 7, 2013 – February 9, 2014
What is Asia?



Cultural concept
Ancient Greek and Roman definition based on
rivers, seas, and mountains
Boundaries



Traditional regions: East, Central, South, Southeast
Asia Society includes Iran, Oceania and Pacific
Other definitions: Middle East (Southwest or Western
Asia) and Russia east of Urals
Why care about Asia?






60% of global population
Over 2.8 billion people in the world speak an
Asian language
Asian economies make up about 27% of global
GDP
China, India, and Japan are world’s second to
fourth largest economies (PPP)
Since 1980s, US trades more across Pacific
than Atlantic
Birthplace of Buddhism, Christianity,
Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Shinto,
Sikhism, and many others
Southeast Asia











Brunei
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Vietnam
www.wikitrave l.org
Why study about Southeast Asia?







Communist countries opening to outside world
Confluence of almost all major religions
Historical and contemporary crossroads between
China and India (former partial name = Indochina)
Indonesia as largest Muslim country in world
Late 19th/20th centuries ties with US through
Spanish-American + Vietnam Wars
Singapore as Asian Tiger
Tiger Cubs: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Thailand
Major Southeast Asian Religions
Listed with significant presences

Buddhism


Christianity


Brunei, Philippines, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
Hinduism


Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia, Singapore
Islam

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand,
Timor-Leste
www.wadswor th.com
http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/snyderd/mwh/projects/ppc/images/serelig.gif
Selected characteristics of
Southeast Asian art






Emphasis on epic tales and mythical creatures
Influence of trade on visual art in SE Asian history
Links to Animism
Playful Sinification of Vietnamese art
Religious syncretism
Traditional materials: palm leaf, sandstone, some
limestone, volcanic rock, wood
What a piece of art tells us










Answers question: who am I?/who are we?
Ancestry and ethnic background
Artist’s influences
Clash or merging between two or more cultures
Folklore, belief systems, religious influence
Historical developments
Interaction with physical environment through
materials utilized
Political leanings over time
Styles across time and space
Traditional versus modern versus contemporary
Art in your classroom:
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)








Think deeply, foster cognitive growth, apply knowledge
Go beyond the first “four seconds”
Observation: What do I see?
Drawing conclusions: What does it mean?
Inferences: Why do I say that?
Arguing in evidence: Which clues support my
observations?
Elaboration: What more can I find?
Revision: How else could I see this work? How does
someone else see this work?
Southeast Asian modern
and contemporary art





Emerging, yet still behind East Asian and South
Asian artwork in market
Marc Bollansee: “Last frontier in contemporary art”
Indonesia and Philippines as leaders
Young artists embracing new technology
Local socio-political situations shown in global
context
Comparative cultures project

Sculptures of the Buddha
Buddha #1
Buddha #2
Buddha #3
India
Myanmar
Tibet
When did
5th century BCE
Buddhism arrive?
1st century BCE
7th century CE
Type of
Buddhism
Mahayana
Theravada
Vajrayana/Esoteric
Distinguishing
characteristics
Defined facial
features, monastic
robes
Elongated fingers,
soft facial features
Cord across chest,
vivid coloring
Influences
Hindu aesthetics,
possible GrecoByzantine
Possible Pala
Local Tibetan
Indian, Cambodian belief systems
Angkor
Country
Fiction writing project

Develop critical thinking skills through
narrative based on piece of art

Prompt 1 (complex piece): Student places
his/herself in piece and creates story using
visual cues OR develops poem

Prompt 2 (complex piece): Student imagines
what happened before OR after

Prompt 3 (two simple pieces): Student uses
two pieces’ images as characters in story
Art and photography project
1.
Choose traditional SE Asian devotional artwork
2.
Choose contemporary SE Asian religious news image
3.
Use VTS to compare and contrast the old and new
4.
Use for other global regions as desired
Notable Southeast Asian art
collections in United States










Asian Art Museum (San Francisco)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Freer and Sackler Galleries (Washington, DC)
Honolulu Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City)
Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena, CA)
Seattle Asian Art Museum
Recommended resources on SE Asia














Art Radar Journal
Asian Art Museum education page
Asian Education Foundation
Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions
Education about Asia magazine
Freer and Sackler Galleries
Guggenheim No Country exhibition
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Interweaving Cultures: Islam in Southeast Asia
Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art: An Anthology
Orientations Magazine
Southeast Asia: Crossroads of the World
Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Now
Teaching Asian Art: Content, Context, and Pedagogy
Thanks
Vehishta Kaikobad
Linh Anh Moreau
Pamela Vining and TAGE team
Questions?