TALK> Art History at Lunch (CUHK) by Zhao Jinchao, "The Gongxian Caves and Contemporary Northern Henan: Steles and Statues of Gongyi-Zhengzhou Area in the First Half of the Sixth Century"

Virtual workshop series, Art History at Lunch (CUHK) by Zhao Jinchao, "The Gongxian Caves and Contemporary Northern Henan: Steles and Statues of Gongyi-Zhengzhou Area in the First Half of the Sixth Century" (鞏縣石窟與六世紀河南北部的佛教藝術: 以佛像與石碑為例)

Speaker: Zhao Jinchao 趙晉超 (NYU Shanghai/Fudan University)

October 29, 2021 (Friday) at 1-2:15 PM (Hong Kong and Beijing), 2-3:15 PM (Seoul and Tokyo), 3-4:15 PM (Sidney), 5-6:15 AM (GMT); 

October 28, 10-11:30 PM (PST); 7-8:30 PM (Hawai’i)

Zoom Meeting ID: 913 2308 0481 (Passcode: 904206)

https://t.co/8F7Bf8ocT6?amp=1

Abstract: 

As part of the recently launched research project (PI: Minku Kim, CUHK Fine Arts) on the rubbings from the Gongxian Buddhist Cave Temples in the Bei Shan Tang 北山堂 Collection of the Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, this presentation centers on the Cave Temples of Gongxian with a special interest paid to the parallel assemblage of steles and statues discovered in the nearby areas of northern Henan. The previous model of scholarship in which Gongxian was put under rather cliched comparison with Yungang and Longmen has some critical limitation in bringing forth the unique qualities of Gongxian itself vis-a-vis these two other major sites of cave temples similarly under the imperial Northern Wei (386-535) patronage. The presentation will offer three case studies on this light in attempt to better contextualize Gongxian in the broader historical milieu, highlighting the instances of uneven correlation between Gongxian and nearby sites especially in terms of iconography and style. It also aims to provide a further reflection on the intriguing dynamics of image production and veneration as practiced in sixth-century northern Henan by pointing to features distinctive to the cave-temple sites and individual free-standing sculptural works, respectively.

(This workshop will be conducted in English.)

The workshop series is co-sponsored by the Department of Fine Arts and the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. For more information about Art History at Lunch, please visit the website: https://www.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/~fadept/?page