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My Masterpieces 2015: USC Pacific Asia Museum
Education Oct 28, 2015
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Instructor Nori Shirasu teaching the basics in Calligraphy Workshop. – Courtesy Photo
By May S. Ruiz
Ensconced in a nondescript corner on North Los Robles Avenue and Union Street in Pasadena is a foundation that holds some of the most valuable treasures in Asian artifacts. It is the USC Pacific Asia Museum, which used to house the Pasadena Art Museum and then became Pacific Asia Museum in 1971. In 2013, University of Southern California (USC) partnered with the institution to become a vital resource for education and cultural heritage.
Enter its handsome arched entrance, however, and you will be transported to another place and time. The transformation is so unexpected – it is breathtaking. The charming courtyard garden with a koi pond, rock sculpture and natural plantings reflecting the changing seasons take center stage while a Chinese Qing dynasty-inspired mansion wraps around it. The Pasadena architectural firm of Marston Van Pelt and Maybury built it as a grand residence in 1924 to exact specifications from California transplant, Grace Nicholson, a pioneering art collector and entrepreneur from Philadelphia.
This historic home also became the center for the arts in Pasadena and was host to several cultural organizations. The first floor served as a gallery where Ms. Nicholson displayed and sold American Indian and Oriental art objects. On the second floor were more galleries, an exhibition auditorium, and Ms. Nicholson’s private quarters.
Today it is the foremost exhibitor of Asian art collections in Southern California. It is also the destination for Pasadena sixth graders’ My Masterpieces field trip, where specially-trained docents conduct tours and hold workshops.
Nori Shirasu’s Sumi-e Workship bamboo painting. – Courtesy Photo
Michael Fritzen, Head of Education and Public Program for USC Pacific Asia Museum, who took over this post five months ago, is ably assisted by Program Specialist, Becky Sun, in planning an interactive and hands-on two-hour visit.
He says, “Our My Masterpieces Program for the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD)/Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF) is focused on the inquiry method. Students are asked questions about the pieces they see; they aren’t just dragged through the museum and told massive amounts of facts. They stop, look and reflect about a particular artifact. Aligned with the state Common Core standards, this visit is aimed at enhancing students’ classroom discussions in their World History course. We ensure that what they see and experience adds depth to their understanding of the world, and of Asia, in particular.”
This tour is designed to lead sixth graders along the Silk Road. It moves through the collection, spotlights certain artifacts, and ultimately fashions a coherent historical fabric woven from threads that connect all the different countries in Asia – Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam – as students travel on the Silk Road.
According to Ms. Sun, the tour is divided into two parts. While one docent tours a group of students, another docent involves the students in a hands-on workshop.
She says, “Our workshops are taught by Asian experts in different fields including calligraphy, brush painting, origami.”
Mr. Fritzen adds, “We provide authentic materials for students to employ during the workshop. If they’re working on calligraphy, for instance, they are using brushes, ink blocks, and rice paper made specifically for that art form. The work they produce will match what they see in the museum – it will have the look, smell, and texture of the original art. The art activity makes what they see in the gallery come to life and gives them a better understanding of what the artist went through to make the product. We try to create an experience that cannot be replicated in the classroom so that they leave with lasting memories of their visit.”
Some of the fans made by students in the Fan Workshop. – Courtesy Photo
“My Masterpieces introduces Asian art and culture to kids from all over Pasadena who have never had occasion to visit the museum; it helps them understand why a particular tapestry or sculpture is unique and preservable,”continues Mr. Fritzen. “We hope that the visit inspires enthusiasm and passion in young people so that they later become visitors, members, donors and collectors of art. The field trip includes a family pass for six people. That students actually redeem those passes proves that it makes a deep impression to them.”
Through their programs and events, USC Pacific Asia Museum follows its mission and vision unique to the museum – to further intercultural understanding through the arts of Asia and the Pacific Islands.
According to Mr. Fritzen, the museum recently featured a Harvest Moon Festival, which showed how this is celebrated not only in China, but also in Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The institution endeavors to showcase countries which are not usually at the forefront because they do not have enough representation.
With that in mind, USC Pacific Asia Museum will host in December a show featuring the art and culture of the Philippines. It may be the first time others will learn about this group of islands in the Pacific beyond the nightly news report of the country being in dire need of assistance, after being hit by devastating typhoons. Maybe it will help engender public interest in the countless natural wonders unique to the Philippines – beautiful coastlines, white sandy beaches, majestic mountains, lush countryside, exotic foods and warm people.
If USC Pacific Asia Museum were to enlighten even just one mind about the abundant treasures to be found across the vast Pacific Ocean, it would have served the purpose it has set out for itself.
(USC Pacific Asia Museum is located at 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. $10 general admission; $7 for students with valid ID and seniors; free for children 12 and under)
Students in Pagodas Workshop hold up their drawings. – Courtesy Photo
May S. Ruiz’s My Masterpieces is a series celebrating education in the arts. To read the next entries, please click below:
