Reflections of the Buddha - The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

Foreword & Acknowledgements
Reflections of the Buddha celebrates the tenth anniversary
of The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. With the opening
of its building by Tadao Andō in 2001, the Pulitzer
initiated a series of exhibitions and programs intended
to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the
arts and architecture. With the building in mind, curators
have conceived of exhibitions, carefully selected works
of art from national and international collections, and
thoughtfully displayed them in our galleries. The desire
to create an aesthetically stimulating spatial experience
corresponds with Andō’s own thoughts about designing
the Pulitzer through simple geometric forms and
controlled natural elements:
The proportions of the spaces as well as the openings of the
volumes produce a place where new possibilities may be
stimulated and accommodated . . . The natural light reflected
from the pool heightens sensitivity to the variation of sunlight,
cloud movements, and seasons. Even in a raw urban site,
I wanted to create a space for the contemplation of art and
the cultivation of the spirit. 1
For the past decade, Andō’s aspirations have guided us,
and our visitors have often remarked that they have
found the experience of walking through the Pulitzer and
looking at the art both contemplative and transcendent.
Andō’s appeal for the cultivation of the spirit informs not
only Pulitzer exhibitions but also our public programming
and innovative community outreach, all of which
continue the Pulitzer family’s long-standing commitment
to St. Louis.
For Reflections of the Buddha, the Pulitzer’s senior
curator, Francesca Herndon-Consagra, has excelled in
bringing together a small number of exceptionally
beautiful and important works of Buddhist art. Her essay
in this catalogue explores how Andō’s philosophy of
architecture is partially influenced by Japanese Buddhism.
Yet the works in this exhibition are not just
Japanese or from one particular period. Rather, they cross
many geographic and temporal boundaries, creating an
experience that ties the building and the art together
simply through a connection with a Buddhist philosophy
that is more than 2,500 years old. By aligning this pan-
Asian exhibition with Andō’s own philosophy about
space, Reflections of the Buddha thus moves away from a
traditional museum concept of producing visual didactic
narratives and toward one that is more metaphysical and
experiential.
We at the Pulitzer believe that our exhibitions
should strive to touch the human spirit, which is the
wellspring of inquiry and human discourse. Accordingly,
we have supported several exhibition-related curatorial
Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Chair
initiatives as a way to nurture greater dialogue about the
works of art in Reflections of the Buddha. These include
symposia, graduate research fellowships at Harvard
Art Museums, and the material testing of and scholarly
publication on Harvard’s Left Hand of a Colossal Buddha
Amitābha (Amida Nyōrai). Other initiatives include
conserving an important thangka from The Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art and providing travel funds for curators to
learn more about works in the exhibition from their own
collections.
All of us at the Pulitzer have relied upon the
generosity of many friends and colleagues to bring this
exhibition of Buddhist art to fruition. We are extremely
grateful for the generosity of Walter C. Sedgwick, Sylvan
Barnet and William Burto, and one anonymous lender.
From Harvard Art Museums, the Pulitzer’s privileged
partner and the major lender to the exhibition, we would
like to thank Thomas Lentz, Robert Mowry, Henry Lie,
Anne Driesse, Penley Knipe, and Melissa Moy. From The
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, we are indebted to Julián
Zugazagoitia, Kimberly Masteller, Colin Mackenzie,
Elisabeth Batchelor, Kate Garland, and Chris Holle. We
also acknowledge with gratitude Brent Benjamin, Philip
Hu, Laura Gorman, and Nancy Heugh from the Saint
Louis Art Museum; Melissa Chiu and Adriana Proser from
Asia Society, New York; Kaywin Feldman, Matthew
Welch, Robert Jacobsen, and Robin Cotton from the
Minneapolis Institute of Art. We are greatly appreciative
of Hiroshi Sugimoto. We would also like to thank Oscar
Muñoz, as well as Marīa Ines Sicardi and Allison Ayers
of the Sicardi Gallery. Many other people offered their
assistance and knowledge to the project, including
Victoria Blyth-Hill, Beata Grant, Danielle Hanrahan,
Denise Patry Leidy, Yukio Lippit, Karen Lucic, Nadine
Orenstein, Gregg Stanger, Christine Starkman, and
Kulapat Yantrasast.
A specialist in Baroque prints, Francesca learned
a great deal from her aforementioned colleagues, and
especially from Robert Mowry, the Alan J. Dworsky
Curator of Chinese Art and Head of the Department
of Asian Art, Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler
Museum, who generously donated his time and expertise
to the project. Bob visited important collections of
Buddhist art with Francesca and advised her in selecting
the most important and beautiful works available for
loan. He not only kindly supported the loan of some of
the most significant pieces from his own collections
but also guided and oversaw the research on these very
works conducted by the Pulitzer’s graduate student
research assistants at the Harvard Art Museums, Phillip
Bloom and Katherine Brooks, who are Ph.D. candidates in
History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University.