Annual Report

President's Report for 2010-11

The Society for Asian Art has been doing a wonderful job serving our 650 members. In my first year as President I have been fortunate to have inherited an active group of individuals: the SAA Board, whose names have been listed on the past pages, and some of whose reports appear below. Our board is a "working" board and there is no board member without an assignment.

Thanks to these dedicated people we were able to plan nearly 100 (one hundred) events: lectures, study groups, dinners, trips and more. We were able to add funds to our corpus, even after making some generous donations to the Asian Art Museum.

We have promised an unprecedented $125,000 as lead sponsor for the upcoming Maharaja Exhibition, we gave generously for the sound system in Samsung Hall (which is still not perfect), we paid our last installment of $50,000 for the Museum endowment fund and we donated nearly $25,000 to the C. Lam Chun Museum Library. These donations are only possible due to you, the members of the Society, because it is your continued attendance of our events, your membership dues and generous donations that has made this all happen.

In November we published a Board resolution to reaffirm our support for the Asian Art Museum while expanding our education programs in Asian art and culture.

Thank you,
Ehler Spliedt

Committee Reports

Educational Programs

Arts of Asia
The theme of the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 Arts of Asia lecture series was "Asian Traditions: Connections and Innovations" with Pat Berger, Professor of Art History at University of California Berkeley as instructor of record. There were 14 Asian Art Museum and outside scholar speakers in the Fall and 15 in the Spring. A total of 178 Society for Asian Art members bought series tickets to the Fall lectures and 150 bought series tickets in the Spring. The audience typically numbered 150 to 200 and the lectures were held in Samsung Hall.

We sponsored lunches for guest speakers in the Peterson Room and were joined by 8 to 12 guests for each luncheon, including AAM curators and staff, SAA office manager and directors, Docent Council members as well as other interested docents and SAA members.

The Arts of Asia committee meets to discuss the upcoming programs with Director of Education Deb Clearwaters and Chief Curator Forrest McGill to chart the course. Planning for the Fall 2011 lecture series is almost completed for August 26 until Dec. 9, 2011. It is tentatively titled: "The Art and Culture of South Asia: Beliefs Made Visible." Forrest McGill is the instructor of record. The Arts of Asia is co-chaired by Peter Sinton and Linda Lei.

Study Groups
The Study Group Committee organizes workshops on Saturdays about four times a year. This year began with a visit to the Legion of Honor. Karin Breuer, Curator in Charge, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, lectured on Japanese Print Making. This was followed by walk-through of the exhibition entitled: Japanesque: Japanese Prints in the Era of Impressionism. Thomas Murray spoke about and showed us many Indonesian textiles from his collection in anticipation of the AAM's Bali exhibition. Forrest McGill, Chief Curator of the AAM, gave our March Study Group on Fakes and Problem Pieces in Southeast Asian Art. The group heard a lecture, followed by an in-depth examination of eight "problem pieces" from the AAM collection. Dr. Kim Cordella, will be speaking about the history and concepts of Islam including key concepts in Islamic Art, using works from the museum's collection.

The Study Group Committee is chaired by Phyllis Kempner along with her invaluable committee members: Sheila Diehl, Barbara Levinson and Carolyn Young.

Literature and Culture of Asia
This year the "Literature and Culture of Asia" series presented two six-week sessions. In Fall 2010, Prof. John Wallace, U.C. Berkeley, concluded the third segment of The Story of the Stone (also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber), the 16th century Chinese classic novel by Cao Xueqin. In the spring, the series turned to West Asia in a course entitled "Contemporary and Modern Persian Literature," which included the novels Savushun and Missing Soluch, along with several short stories. The course was taught of Prof. Wali Ahmadi, also from UC Berkeley.

Judy Fraschella is the Chair of the Literature and Culture Committee. Committee members are Vince Fausone, Barbara Liddell, Elinor Cullen, Anne Kahn, and Jeanne Newman.

First Thursday
We had only 7 lectures in fiscal year 2010/11 due to the limited Museum opening hours on Thursdays. They encompassed a variety of subjects of both general and specific interest to both the layperson and scholar of Asian art and culture. They were meant to whet the appetite of those in attendance. Contemporary Asian art as well subjects that coincide with the Museums special exhibitions are created. The lecturers are professors, independent scholars, AAM Curators, Registrars and Conservators. The Committee is chaired by Coral Reiff.

Member Events

The Member Events Committee, chaired by Annie Dorsey, currently has 12 people who conceive and organize a variety of events for the enjoyment of Society's membership. Events this year included scholarly lectures, exhibition walkthroughs, visits to private collections and galleries, and purely social dinners out on the town at local Asian restaurants. There have been approximately two events per month during fiscal 2010-2011.

Off-site visits included a lesson in Parsi cooking with Nazneen Spliedt; a visit to the beautiful home of Ann Kahn with a talk on appraisal by Cynthia Shaver; a holiday party at the loft of Walter Gorman and David Maxim; an afternoon at the home of Bill and Mary Kim; a Year of the Rabbit dinner at the Empress of China; and more. The roster of lecturers included Tamin Ansary, Deborah Stein, Jihye Myung, Betty Seid, Andy Ferguson, Kathy Foley, Adriana Williams and Alexander von Rospatt, among others.

Upper Category Member Events
Another successful year was observed by the committee for Upper Level supporters at the $100 Contributor or $250 Donor level. The Society hosted "Conversations" in private homes for small groups, offering the opportunity for informal, free flowing discussions with our scholars and curators. Each event was sold out and was enjoyed by the guest speakers as well as the Society members, allowing the speakers to interact with the attendees on an individual basis. The evenings featured scholars from Harvard (Eugene Wang), Princeton (Robert Bagley, Andrew Watsky), the Cornell Museum of Glass (David Whitehouse), UC Berkeley (Lew Lancaster) and the Asian Art Museum's own HJ Kim Han, Associate Curator for Korean Art.

The committee is co-chaired by Jeanne Dorward and Carolyn Young.

Travel

This year the SAA travel committee is composed of fifteen members, board members and SAA members. Robert Speer is the Travel Chair, with Teri Sandison as Co-chair. The travel committee is attempting through the internet sites to keep posted of future exhibits of interest at various American art museums with Asian art collections.

Foreign Travel
China (Exploring Sichuan and Hunan) Dr. Jay Xu, Director of the Museum, was the scholar who lead the trip from October 13-October 30, 2010. Time was spent at the Shanghai Exposition. The response of attendance for this popular tour was excellent. Linda Lei, committee chairperson for this tour, was the representative for the SAA on this tour.

Syria and Jordan (An Archeological Adventure) Dr. Geoff Emberling was the scholar who lead the trip. He is a curator at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. This fully subscribed tour took place from March 30-April 19, 2011. Teri Sandison was the representative for the SAA on this tour.

Domestic Travel
Seattle was a successful trip with special thanks to Mimi Gates (local hostess) and Sheila Dowell, committee chairperson. The tour took place starting on November 4 - 8, 2010. Elizabeth Green Sah was the SAA representative.

Philadelphia will be an exciting trip due to the excellent and extensive planning of Anne Adams Kahn and her committee. The tour will be from May 24-28, 2011.

Symposium

Two symposia were held this financial year, both were full day events and both were held at the museum in Samsung Hall. The first, on November 6th, was in conjunction with the special exhibition; Japan's Early Ambassadors to San Francsico, 1860-1927 and was chaired by Bob Oaks. We had a modest turnout of about 70 people. The second was a symposium coinciding with the opening weekend of Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance, held on February 26th. We had a sold out crowd of over 200 with speakers from the Netherlands, Bali, Canada and the US, chaired by Susan McCabe and Coral Reiff.

Publications and Public Relations

Newsletter
Shelley Sorani and Judy Fraschella continued their tenure as co-editors of the newsletter with the goal of making the newsletter more readable and useful. They hope to keep the look fresh and focus on subjects of importance to Society membership. Newsletter readers can find listings of current and upcoming events on page 2, giving them an overview of Society events which are then divided by category and headed with banners for easy reference. Major categories include Arts of Asia lectures, Member Events, Travel, Study Groups, First Thursday lectures, the Literature and Culture series and other events. The Newsletter in its entirety, including inserts on travel and interesting speakers, can also be found in color on-line. Judy and Shelley look forward to comments, suggestions and contributions from the membership.

Lotus Leaves
Bob Oaks continued as editor of Lotus Leaves and has published two issues this year. The fall 2010 issue included an article by Qamar Adamjee, the museum's assistant curator of South Asian Art, on the iconography and history of the museum's recently acquired Zoroastrian silver bowl. The second article in that issue, by Shelia Blair of Boston College and Virginia Commonwealth University, focused on trade between Eurasia and Mongol Persia beginning in the thirteenth century.

The spring 2011 issue, coinciding with the museum's Bali exhibition, includes articles by Cornell University historian Kara McGowan on objects in the exhibition, cultural anthropologist Jill Foresheet on Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and Bob Oaks on the museum's Vicki Baum collection of Balinese art.

Publicity
Emily Huang continued in this role dedicated to disseminating clear, accurate and timely release of publicity materials for the Society.

Library
In the past year we have continued our support of the Museum Library with a monthly donation of $ 1,500, for a total of $ 18.000. Anthony Pan and Dorothy Gregor have been exploring further support programs for the Museum library. Ehler Spliedt with a small group of volunteers organized the annual Society Book Sale which netted over $8,000 in March 2011.

Development and Outreach

Membership
Recently the main annual event for the Membership Committee has been to hold a regional reception and membership drive. Each year we alternate among several regions in the Bay Area including San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula and the North Bay. This year our reception we will be held in the North Bay at the Larkspur home of long-time SAA members. North Bay members are invited to bring their friends who might become SAA members. The reception will be on Sunday, June 12 from 2 to 4. Our program will include a chance to view our hosts' Asian art collections. Merrill Randol Sherwin chairs the Membership Committee

Our membership numbers continue to remain healthy, but we would love to have more Asian art enthusiasts join us. Please think of others you would like to introduce to our great diversity of opportunities to learn through symposiums, lectures, workshops and travel.

Advisors

The SAA is very lucky to have a large group of advisors who are professors at the many great universities we have in the bay area or independent scholars. Many of them give us lectures throughout the year. Once a year the board invites all advisors for a pot-luck brunch, where ideas and information is being exchanged, not only with the board members but also between the advisors. This year's Advisors Lunch was held in the Peterson Room of the AAM attended by 15 advisors and 15 board members. Don Meyer heads the Advisors Committee.

Special Acknowledgements

We thank our Office Manager Jim Frank without whose help we would not be able to plan all our activities.

Our deep appreciation and thanks are due to Jay Xu, Forrest McGill, Deborah Clearwater and Paula Rampe for their help and support. We are grateful to Pauline Fong-Martinez and her Visitors Services team, Brenda Cobb-Williams and her Facilities team, John O'Shea and Mathew Walker, Micheal Mersereau of the AV Team for their assistance.

Past Presdient Interview

by Coral Reiff

Richard Heggie

"I have very fond memories of my involvement with the Society for Asian Art. They include good people and fun times." Richard Heggie

When Coral met with the former SAA President Richard Heggie at Cafe Asia for an interview, they discovered a mutual connection as U.C. Berkeley graduates. Over tea, Richard and Bea, his wife of 62 years, graciously shared their reminiscences in tandem to Coral's inquiries.

Richard received his A.B. in 1944. Immediately after graduation, he joined the U.S Navy, serving as a communications officer aboard the Destroyer escort, U.S.S. Wileman in the Pacific. While on duty, "only one torpedo run was required" before the war ended in 1945. After returning to California, he completed his M.A. in International Affairs at U.C. Berkeley in 1948-- his thesis topic entitled "the Development of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia". Also, in that eventful year, he and Bea were married. Fast forward 37 years, Mr. Heggie became Mayor Heggie in 1985--the very first mayor of Orinda after it was incorporated. While Mayor, he was instrumental in making medieval city of the Czech Republic –Tabor - Orinda's Sister City.

In 1948, Mr. Heggie was elected a Vice President of the National Student Association and later served as Assistant Director of the World Affairs Council of Northern California. Although he had no previous experience in Asia, he was sent to Japan as a "student specialist" by the Committee for Free Asia, which became the Asia Foundation. He later worked for the Asia Foundation in Pakistan for two and a half years, Sri Lanka for three years, and India for two. He left the Foundation in 1971 and became Executive Director of the World Affairs Council until 1983 when he retired.

Among his volunteer activities, Richard was President of the California Alumni Association and a Regent of the University of California. He has been President of the Japan Society and the recipient of a lifetime Achievement Award from the Japan Society. He has also served as President of the International Visitors Center, and the East Bay Division of the League of California Cities; as Vice President of the Chinese Culture Foundation and the Oakland Museum Association; and as Chair of the San Francisco Committee on Foreign Relations. He has also served on the California Shakespeare Festival Society Board.

Frequent travelers abroad, Richard and Bea's have collected South Asian and Japanese art. One special memory was their unique experience to sail on the original Queen Mary.

Speaking about his tenure as President of the Society for Asian Art (1973-1975 Mr. Heggie spoke fondly of the first Society fundraising event after the Society succeeded in bringing the Brundage collection to San Francisco. This was a dinner chaired by Frank Stout at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. The event raised almost $11,000 for the AAM Library and established a fine precedent. Several years later during of Alice Lowe's tenure as Society President, quite a memorable event occurred. At a fundraising dinner in a downtown hotel, supported by the Haas family as well as Marjorie Bissinger and other Society luminaries, a live elephant was a part of the festivities. (See Alice's memories of the event below.)

Among Richard's special memories of his tenure as Society President is working closely with members of our Advisory Council including legendary Dr. Katherine Field Caldwell, History Professor of Asian Art at Mills College. Mr. Heggie's term also featured preparations for the Exhibition of Archeological Finds of the People's Republic of China, the first major exhibition to travel outside of China since WWII. During the event he worked closely with George Fitch to place the hordes of visitors patiently waiting to enter the exhibit into seats generously provided by Cyril Magnin.

The Heggie's have lived in the same house in Orinda for 50 years! They have 3 daughters and 2 grandchildren.

Here's what Alice remembered - The Hyatt Regency was holding an Asian Circus event. The elephant trainer had assured the SAA folks that the animal was well-trained and would be fed early to avoid any accidents. At first, the elephant paraded majestically and slowly, but then did its' business right in the middle of the dance floor! Most folks thought it was hysterically funny. Only one or two couples were so outraged that they left. The janitorial staff was unhappy and moaned that this was "not in their regular line of duty." Alice said she gave them each a $25 tip for additional duties. She had it charged off against "unexpected expenses". Obviously, this was an event unique in the history of the Society.