All posts by Joan Cummins

Joan Cummins

Joan Cummins is the Lisa and Bernard Selz Curator of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Joan received her Ph.D. in 2001 from Columbia University. Prior to coming to Brooklyn, Joan served as Assistant Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her most recent book is an introduction to Indian painting, published in 2006 by the MFA, Boston. Joan was a Research Associate in Brooklyn's Department of Asian Art from 1991-1993.

Nayika Awaits Her Lover

Split Second: A Curator’s Reaction to the Results

I’ve had a lot of time to mull over the results of the Split Second, so here are a few of my thoughts—roughly one week…

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Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Arts of Asia, Technology
Led by Songhur Balkhi and Lulu the Spy, the Ayyars Slit the Throats of Prison Guards and Free Sa'id Farrukh-Nizhad

Split Second: Why Indian Paintings?

I am listed as a contributor to the Split Second project, but I really wasn’t the brains behind it; I’m just the person who okayed…

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Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Arts of Asia, Technology
Varaha Rescuing the Earth

The Original Avatars: An Introduction to Vishnu’s Earthly Manifestations

The Vishnu exhibition that’s on view here right now includes a large section on the god’s avatars.  The show introduces the idea of the avatar…

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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Arts of Asia

Object of the Month: May 2010: Infinity II (Shinso)

Often as I walk through the Asian galleries, I see people sitting on the bench in front of this porcelain sculpture, just sort of blissing…

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Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
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Arts of Asia

Beautiful Asian Landscapes on View for 2009

Museums are full of small-scale changes of exhibition that are worth seeing but easily missed because they don’t get any publicity. Sometimes it’s as simple…

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Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Arts of Asia, Newly on View, Rarely on View

Purchasing a Major Work of Art for the Collection – part VII

I can’t believe that it’s been more than a year since my last posting on this topic. I guess I got distracted by other tasks….

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Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
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Arts of Asia, Recent Acquisitions

Celebrating Spring in the Japanese Style

Stepping out of the Eastern Parkway subway station this morning, I was greeted by the most amazing sight: the cherry trees in front of the…

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Monday, April 14th, 2008
Arts of Asia

Purchasing a Major Work of Art for the Collection – part VI

The search for an object to purchase in honor of the soon-to-be-retired Curator of Asian Art began more than eight months before I arrived at…

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Friday, October 5th, 2007
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Arts of Asia, Newly on View, Recent Acquisitions

Purchasing a Major Work of Art for the Collection – part V

Armed with the “wish list” and approximate budget I described in my previous entries, the team of curators and trustees who were interested in finding…

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Monday, September 17th, 2007
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Arts of Asia, Newly on View, Recent Acquisitions

Purchasing a Major Work of Art for the Collection – part IV

I have been discussing the process of acquiring a new masterpiece for the collection, and in my first installment, I introduced the object, a bronze…

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Friday, September 7th, 2007
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Arts of Asia, Newly on View, Recent Acquisitions

Purchasing a Major Work of Art for the Collection – part III

Last time I wrote about how we happened to have the money and the initiative to look for a major new acquisition for the Asian…

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Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
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Arts of Asia, Newly on View, Recent Acquisitions

Purchasing a Major Work of Art for the Collection – part II

In my previous entry, I introduced a wonderful object, an Indian bronze of Shiva from the tenth century. I am tracing the way that this…

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Friday, August 17th, 2007
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Arts of Asia, Newly on View, Recent Acquisitions

Purchasing a major work of art for the collection

I have been an art museum curator for almost eight years now, and I can tell you that the one aspect of my job that…

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Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
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Arts of Asia, Newly on View, Recent Acquisitions
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