Explore how Mia curator Liu Yang’s idea to turn an exhibition of Chinese bronzes into an extra special experience came to life.
Zun wine vessel in the shape of an owl, 13th - 12th century BCE , Bronze Bequest of Alfred F. Pillsbury, 50.46.116 • Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
On February 26, Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin opened at the Metropolitan Opera in New York to great fanfare, but with costumes and sets that weren’t part of the initial plan. That’s because this particular staging of the opera, originally co-produced with Russia’s Bolshoi Opera, premiered in Moscow the day Russia invaded Ukraine just over a year ago. And once the Moscow run wrapped, there was no way the opera’s scenery could travel to New York. So the Met needed to reimagine the costumes and sets—and they tapped Tim Yip, the Academy Award-winning designer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, to do it.
But Lohengrin isn’t the only project of Yip’s in the spotlight this season. Mia Chair of Asian Art and Curator of Chinese Art Liu Yang also worked with Yip on the design of the exhibition Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes, which opens March 4. Here are insights Yang believes will be of special interest to Mia Guides, including those of us who will engage with visitors through the exhibition’s Stop & Chat.
How did you come up with the idea of working with Tim Yip?
When we decided we wanted to do a bronze show, we knew we couldn’t just move pieces from our bronzes gallery to the Target Gallery. How could we present them in a different way? So I was thinking about working with [theater and opera director, designer, and artist] Robert Wilson on Power and Beauty from China’s Last Dynasty, which was an interesting and successful show that people mostly liked. With that in mind, I presented the idea of working with Tim Yip to our director [Katie Luber] and deputy director [Matthew Welch], and they liked the idea.
Shengding food vessel, 6th century BCE , Unknown artist, China, Bronze Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, 2005.92 • Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Pan water vessel, 9th-8th century BCE , Unknown artist, China, Bronze Bequest of Alfred F. Pillsbury, 50.46.82• Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
From there, how did you approach him and get him to accept?
Tim previously worked on an opera based on a famous Chinese novel about the Qing Dynasty titled The Dream of the Red Chamber. It was commissioned by a group of American Chinese here in Minneapolis, a group known as the Chinese Heritage Foundation. They commissioned the composers and musicians as well as Tim, who served as the theatrical set designer for that opera, which premiered in San Francisco [in 2016]. So I reached out to him through the Chinese Heritage Foundation, and he happily accepted the challenge to work with me on the exhibition. It all happened quite quickly.
Celestial Horse 25-220 , Unknown artist, China, Bronze with traces of polychrome Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, 2002.945 • Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Standing Figure, 4th-5th century BCE , Unknown artist, China, Bronze with gold inlay Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, 2003.140-.3 • Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
What was it like to work with him?
Working with Tim has been a very pleasant experience. He is a gentleman, that kind of traditional Chinese type of gentleman. Although he is an internationally renowned filmmaker and artist, he is easy to work with and respects others’ opinions.
How did the two of you bring your ideas together?
I designed a concept and storyline across several galleries that were separate but also connected. I also contributed some ideas for the installation, and he took those and intermingled them with his ideas, and he came up with some fantastic proposals. Although we achieved a lot of them, we couldn’t achieve everything, and he understood.
The experiential idea behind Eternal Offerings was, in part, inspired by Power and Beauty, but what’s the difference between the two exhibitions?
With Power and Beauty and Robert Wilson, it was mostly a juxtaposition of music and lighting with hundreds of works. And although this exhibition will have components like music and special lighting—some synchronized to occur simultaneously—it will also have projections and film elements, as Tim is an expert in that.
Comments