Distance: Asian Art Museum, Zuni Cafe, Japantown
Hung Yi (Taiwanese, b. 1970), Dragon Fortune, 2014, enameled steel
Ciwt often feels as cluttered as this whimsical (and very cute) dragon when she goes to the Asian Art Museum. Every piece of art she sees is usually attractive on the surface for its form and material (from jade to bronze to marble to ceramic) but then she realizes she has to sort of know the history of the country, its spiritual belief system, customs and more to really understand what she is looking at.
This Fortune Dragon, for instance, is associated with the Lunar New Year and other auspicious occasions. It embodies traditional wishes for abundance, strength and prosperity. It has been gleefully transformed by the artist by morphing decorative patterns from Taiwanese folk art, Japanese fabric design, pop art and children's cartoons from around the world.
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