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the san Francisco Museum of Art, located in Civic center has recently presented one of the most significant comprehensive and timely exhibitions of art to be presented anywhere. Aside from introducing rare examples of paintings, sculpture, architecture, textiles and applied arts from the great continent of Asia. Over

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5000 years of historical development has been covered by this exhibit because we consider this exhibit of such outstanding cultural and human interest. We have recorded some of its highlights on film for you and for others to enjoy. Thanks to the cooperation of Dr Grace McCann morley,

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director of the museum. You'll not only see the magnificent Asian treasures but learn something of their origin, their history and their meaning for us in the west dr molly. How did you happen to put this exhibition together? Just two years ago, I started on a trip

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through Asia on a cultural mission for our government at that time I saw so many of these things in their own place. I realized the immense diversity of the cultures of Asia and at the same time I realized how what we needed to know about Asia

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and I thought these art objects for a good key to the place and the people they represent. This was your booth of an idea and how physically from how many different sources did you have to gather them? Well, we called on something over 50 lenders but

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the major lenders were the great collections, public collections in the United States boston. The metropolitan Cleveland Kansas city Seattle and Honolulu with a collection of art material like that, Is it possible to divide it into divisions or sections? Oh yes! In order to make it have

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sent you know to have a chronology and to illustrate the idea one must and there are four major divisions and then the contemporary section where all is focused on what this means to us. And if you and I were to start out to look at those

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four sections, where should we start? I think I'd like to start right here after all, this is the oldest section. This had dates through all about two, the second century of our tie of our era, the second century after christ that's ahead of buddha and it

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is serene and it represents well with styles we call Gandara for example, you have other characteristic illustrations of that style which is really the meeting of Western form in art expression and the eastern thought, this head looks like a warrior has a mustache. You don't expect

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that of an indian peace. Well, it recalls perhaps a girl and it is of course a follower of the buddha. And then you have the third example that I like to call to your attention very especially that standing figure. Why dr molly? Are there so many

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interpretations of the buddha? Well, you see the buddha is a very great religious leader born In the 6th century before Christ as a great print, he decided to leave his life of luxury and go forth in meditation and to teach his people some hundreds of miles

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to the south at approximately same time, a different style was developing which is represented very well by this flying angel. It concerned the life the buddha sometimes, but very often the figures of nature spirits, angels and the like that were in the popular religion. Different aspects

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of the style developed for example that head of the flying angel also to the left and the nature spirit. They're a fragment only finally another head of the buddha salam, strong, powerful and last of all that magnificent example of an architectural bracket representing a make your

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spirit once more and dating from the very beginning of our era. The south indian bronzes for example, which Mr Humphrey who designed the installation of the exhibition is arranging Continue the same style though they date from five or 600 years later. Mr Humphrey as a contemporary

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artist. What is your reaction to an opinion of an antiquity of this sort? An extremely interesting to us to the sculpture because they show so clearly to and two different definitely different ideas about sculpture. one, our idea of the western idea in which sculpture is an

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arrangement of farm of the in which the proportions of farm dramatized and accent the purpose of the sculpture in this case the dam and the movement of the band. Let me show you. The other idea is the one in which sculpture, the eastern idea is

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which one of which his sculpture is an arrangement of symbols. Each symbol signifies some aspect of the religion, which makes makes the purpose of the sculpture such as the figure on the far right with the forearms where they arms the additional arms for instance, it would

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simplify demonstrate power additional more than human power. And again the symbol imagery in each one of the hands that marks a different idea within the meaning of his particular office. Oh they figure out that the at the top of the group where the a portions of

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the man's, the figure's body are so perfect. The arms are stronger, the shoulders are wider, the legs are slimmer and longer because the man is again a perfect human being and more than perfect human being. Or we might do point to the lotus bud in the

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hand of the deified queen. Down in the At the bottom here with two figures where the load is blood is a symbol of immortality. Of the perfect life song. Mr Humphrey. What if any is the significance of the very beautiful black and gold tapestry behind the

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figures. The tapestry is a because they design painted in gold and color representing the meet maids of krishna. They one of the principal Indian God figures notice the richness of the pink and the richness of the gold. A great example because the gold is real gold

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leaf. It depends uh means of such perfect from that. They've held their Glow in their color since the 18th century dr morley. These branches remind me very strongly of the sculptures and ankle. What the quiet right marjorie they should. After all the influences of art and

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religious ideas spread from India eastward. two encore, which is one of the great monuments of the indian style. It's southeast asia religious ideas and styles of India spread eastward through cambodia, eastward and outward through china all the way to java. In the end, the of course

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is marked here by this early 8th century figure from Angkor, The more graceful 10th century example. And finally you have the buddha's head from Borobudur in java. Not the differences in treatment of the hair for each place put its own impression on the ideas and styles

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it followed. Coming back to cambodia. Uncle what the great funeral monument of the late 12th 13th century is the supreme example of decoration and sculpture. It's great towers reared against the sky and all its courts filled with votive figures and divine dancers. In low relief we

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have in the exhibition here some fragments from the stone worlds and stone doorways of Angkor and adjacent tombs and temples that illustrate exactly these various styles. For example, you have here a sculpture in low relief in sandstone voted figures bearing offerings to the temple which probably

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come from Uncle Rod itself. And here an example of another temple in which it is interesting to note the frontal treatment but the side view of the feet, the sculpture you see wanted to preserve the surface of his wall and avoid breaking it by any Uprooting

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objects. And finally, there a left a little high as it should be because it is a little of the door is the hindu god Indra, Seated on his three headed elephant, surrounded by exuberant foliage and executed in a most richly colored sandstone of a rosy tone

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which makes the temple for which it comes extremely famous sculptures of hindu gods are everywhere in the temples of encore and all the places nearby fish new hair representing the restrained art of the 9th century is silver and serene. While two centuries later we have this

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more graceful figure expressing movement, very highly decorated and with a sophistication not found in earlier piece? Well, finally the 12th century we come two delicious the elephant god. The sober feeling of the block is in his decorative and ponderous form very successfully representing the sculptural idea.

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Dr morley. We've seen two of the four divisions you mentioned India and its extension into cambodia. What will a third one b the far east china and japan. And here we have the fisherman's guard from japan block it too. But in wood this time I think

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he's wonderful. Doctor molly. Do you have any idea who carved him or when like so much a folk sculpture? It is anonymous States I think from the 17th century and is considered a masterpiece of japanese folk sculpture. See how humorous he is. He certainly is and

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so is his neighbor from Korea. Yes that's a temple figure. And he had a girl companion once Probably from the 18th century. And it's a good example of popular sculpture in geor mood. Is this shadow puppet made of buffalo hide? It is elaborately decorated and arranged

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so it can execute certain typical motions. It is manipulated behind a sheet or screen and the shadow tells the story of battles of gods and heroes against demons. Most exciting tales that have a vitality and interests for the Spectators. That's very charming. Almost an enemy of

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cartoon of Asia. But tell me Doctor marli, how did the art of India get to the far east? It went across central Asia to china And by the 6th century of christian era you find such things as the Steeler or votive tablet with the image of

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the buddha surrounded by figures telling stories of the buddha with a band of donors at the bottom. But over the buddha's head a band of decoration that is distinctly chinese in style combination therefore of the indian religious idea and the remains of a native tradition of

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decoration. And then to find equally early a figure from the caves of long men. Why a cage? Well the chinese remembered I'd heard because they visited uh India in that distant time that the indians had carved there Buddhist and other temples in K. And stone hillside.

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We're easy ways to create a temple and the direct carving could very easily be worked in the living rock. This elongated, graceful figure is a superb example of this sixth century cave sculpture, but perhaps one understands better the solid quality of stone. By contrast with these

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be the kings, Japanese figures in wood About 1000 years more recent and all expressive of movement and a fluid evolution of forms in space. Doctor molly. What in eastern art has most strongly influenced our western artists. It's painting of course and this example illustrates some of

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the characteristics of art of the far east which has appealed greatly to us here in the west. The humor. So in the the the kings in the folk art is here repeated in another form at the same time. There is a graphic expressiveness which appeals to

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us very much today. This japanese hand scroll illustrates essentially the same point. It has humor. It isn't a sense for guard. It tells the story of along those demons who invaded another land and were defeated and then became friends with their recent enemies. Like most painting

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in the far east, there is a play between the illustration and the fee that is to say the writing the poem in this case, the story that is inscribed on the scrolls. This is a hand scroll that is to say it is unwound and lingered over

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red actually very much as we here in the west read a book and it unfold at arm's length, very much like this to tell its story. This is a long and complicated tale and there's no use going into too much detail essentially. We see first the

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demons consulting together and planning an attack on another land while the people of that land are peacefully going about their business and then the demon encourages the boil of fire to fall upon them. He's there in a landscape inviting the powers of evil to help him

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and the people resisting his attack gray and perform various ceremonies toward off the danger. The forces of good aroused. They start pursuit of the long nose demon and before long he is not only fleeing but he has been captured and he's trust and carried off surrounded

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by menacing figures. And then finally he asked forgiveness and in the end he is reconciled with his captors and all turns out for the best. These look more familiar to me dr Murray. Why? Well, I suppose you've seen more of them. The hand scrolls are not

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rare, I would say, but they're less exhibited in museums perhaps and also less used in homes. However, all the characteristic styles, all the peculiar a contribution that painting of the far east represents and its inspiration for artists today. Yes. Found as much in the scrolls that

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hang as in the scrolls that are unwound and this one in particular. Yes, I think this is a good example. You know we associate the characteristic handling of flowers and knotted branches with far Eastern painting. This chinese example is a miracle of economy and of directness

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very rich in its use of gradations of tone and giving a sense of color with black and white on a tone background. And how about this 1? This one too is characteristic and possibly even closer two. What are artists are seeking in much of their painting?

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That is a directness of record. It is of course a landscape in which a poet, a wise man sit and it is expressed with a direct and extremely eloquent line. These two are Japanese 16th century examples with all the qualities we look for in painting of

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the far east, the expressive line, greatest economy for example, the tired horseman with his little retainer up behind him. Oh! The landscape with its towering mountain and little houses barely indicated its shadowy trees and there dramatic pulling the whole composition together, that strong splash of ink,

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a comparable effect of drama. Yes. Worked out in a contemporary painting by an american. That one side which john Humphrey is standing now. Mr Humphrey. Is it true that the artists of the pacific coast have been more strongly influenced perhaps by the oriented than any others.

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Yes, I think it is many for many reasons they climate our way of our more casual way of life have all characteristics that are quite similar to those of japan and of china. A very good example of it is the ceremonial depleting by Maurice graves, their

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ceremonial earned taking the form of bird because first place the mm in the title is a an excellent example of a true chinese ceremonial and and also the medium the painting is not watercolor which is which is so close to the out of the chinese and

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japanese painting and makes of the artists. It one who has to say in exactly words or exactly breast strokes, precisely what he's going to say with the first stroke only he can't make a mistake. That's certainly true of this painting of Maurice crepes dr morley. How

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important do you consider an exhibition of this sword in helping to further east west relations? It is I think very important after all, art is a very direct language. It doesn't depend on the barriers of speech. It communicates directly between peoples. It is a record of

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a people's past, represents their heritage and also expresses their reaction to be present. It is a link. Thank you very much. Dr Grace McCann Marley for helping us to film this completely informative close up of art in Asia and the west and to those of you

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who will share this visit to the san Francisco Museum of Art with me. I hope you two have enjoyed it. This is Marcia trimble saying thank you for viewing and goodbye