Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan

FAIN: GI-50172-10

University of Chicago (Chicago, IL 60637-5418)
Anthony G. Hirschel (Project Director: August 2009 to January 2014)

Implementation of a traveling exhibition, a website, an international symposium, a catalog, and programs on the sculptures of Xiangtangshan caves in China.

Combining ancient sculptures, ground-breaking scholarship, and contemporary digital media, "Echoes of the Past" tells the remarkable story of the Xiangtangshan caves, one of the earliest and most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in China. Organized by the University of Chicago's Smart Museum of Art in partnership with the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, this extraordinary new exhibition will be presented in four major metropolitan areas across the United States: Chicago, Washington D.C., Dallas, and San Diego.

Media Coverage

Exhibit A: Echoes of the Past (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Madeline Nusser
Publication: Time Out Chicago
Date: 9/29/2010
URL: http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/museums/91220/echoes-of-the-past

Best Bet (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Noah Berlatsky
Publication: Chicago Reader
Date: 9/16/2010
URL: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/fall-arts-guide-2010-echoes-of-the-past-the-buddhist-cave-temples-of-xiangtangshan/Content?oid=2422839

Smart Museum brings Chinese Art Back to the Future (Review)
Author(s): Megan Anderluh
Publication: Chicago Maroon
Date: 10/8/2010
URL: http://www.chicagomaroon.com/2010/10/8/smart-museum-brings-chinese-art-back-to-the-future

Chinese Caves Get 21st Century Facelift (Review)
Author(s): Lauren Viera
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Date: 10/8/2010
URL: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-08/features/ct-ott-1008-galleries-review-20101008_1_caves-xiangtangshan-northern-qi

A Window Opens on What Has Been Lost (Review)
Author(s): Lori Waxman
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Date: 12/24/2010
URL: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-12-24/entertainment/ct-ott-1224-galleries.review-20101224_1_naram-sin-museum-of-san-francisco-parthenon-marbles

U of Chicago project brings life to ancient Chinese relics (Review)
Author(s): Jennifer Hou Kwong
Publication: Xinhua
Date: 1/12/2011
URL: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/culture/2011-01/12/c_13686106.htm

A Digital Visit to the Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Kelly Chen
Publication: Art Beat
Date: 7/11/2011
URL: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2011/07/monday-on-the-newshour-cave-temples-of-xiangtangshan.html

Eye Exam: Digital Buddha (Review)
Author(s): Chris Miller
Publication: Newcity
Date: 1/11/2011
URL: http://art.newcity.com/2011/01/11/eye-exam-digital-buddha/

Fragments at an Exhibition (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Carrie Golus
Publication: Tableau
Date: 3/1/2011
URL: https://tableau.uchicago.edu/articles/2011/03/echoes-of-the-past

Art Historical and Technological Exploration of the Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan (Review)
Author(s): J May Lee Barrett
Publication: Asian Art Newspaper
Date: 6/1/2011
URL: http://www.asianartnewspaper.com/issue/june-2011

CSI Xiangtangshan (Review)
Author(s): Mark Jenkins
Publication: Washington Post
Date: 3/4/2011
URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/03/AR2011030300201.html

Gaining Enlightenment Through Technology (Review)
Author(s): Lee Lawrence
Publication: Wall Street Journal
Date: 6/2/2011
URL: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303745304576357730028210592.html

Exhibit Unravels Mysteries of Ancient Chinese Temples Through History, Science (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Jeffrey Brown
Publication: PBS Newshour
Date: 7/11/2011
URL: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec11/chinatemples_07-11.html

Associated Products

Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan (Catalog)
Title: Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan
Author: Katherine R. Tsiang
Author: Richard A. Born
Abstract: The exhibition Echoes of the Past—co-organized by the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery— draws upon the findings of a multiyear research project headed by Katherine R. Tsiang at the University of Chicago’s Center for the Arts of East Asia. Using such twenty-first-century technologies as 3-D scanning, Tsiang and an international team of technicians and scholars have identified many of the dispersed sculptures from Xiangtangshan in an effort to shed new light on the original beauty and meaning of the cave temples. This exhibition catalog features entries with full-color illustrations of the works in the exhibition as well as six new essays discussing the artistic, historical, and religious significance of the caves and their sculptures and recent research dedicated to their digital reconstruction.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/exhibitions/echoes-of-the-past/
Primary URL Description: Smart Museum exhibition page
Secondary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/echoes-of-the-past-the-buddhist-cave-temples-of-xiangtangshan/oclc/587198890&referer=brief_results
Secondary URL Description: WorldCat.com catalogue page
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, Chicago

Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan (Exhibition)
Title: Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan
Curator: Richard A. Born
Curator: J. Keith Wilson
Curator: Katherine R. Tsiang
Abstract: rganized by the Smart Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Echoes of the Past represents the culmination of this extraordinary research project. It sheds new light on the original beauty and meaning of the shrines, uniting dispersed objects from Xiangtangshan—considered among the finest achievements of Chinese sculpture—with innovative digital components, including a video installation that provides an immersive, kinetic re-creation of one of the most important caves.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/exhibitions/echoes-of-the-past/
Primary URL Description: Smart Museum exhibition page
Secondary URL: http://xts.uchicago.edu/
Secondary URL Description: Research project page

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