Tenshin-en Gate at the MFA
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:35 pm
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is a place i visit whenever I get a chance. They have a very good Asian Art section. Outside the museum is a dry-landscape garden called the Tenshin-en (天心園), which means 'heaven-heart garden'. The garden has a gate which is in poor condition and I've tried to contact the MFA on several occasions to see if I could involve myself in re-working/re-making the gate. The garden as such seems to fall a bit between the cracks of the organizational structure at the museum, being neither the full responsibility of the Asian Art Department or the Facilities Maintenance people. So i got nowhere last year after repeated efforts to connect with the right person.
Recently I made contact with an intermediary who was able to connect with the right people there at the garden. It looks like a meeting is being set up for sometime in April, where I will get a chance to engage with the appropriate individuals and see about this gate project. This is very exciting news for me!! Far from a done deal of course, but just to get to the meeting phase is a great opportunity. I'll let y'all know what happens.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures of the gate to give you an idea - this is the 'kabuki' (冠木) style of gate, which translates to 'crown-wood' gate, or a gate with an overhead crossbar. It is a fairly standard gate form, found both at the entrances to gardens and traditional homes. It is not the sort of gate you would see on a high ranking person's home mind you.
Here's the gate, looking from the path at the exterior side of the garden:
Here's the gate viewed from up high, showing the framing on the interior side:
It look better in these pictures than up close. The doors and posts are rotten.
Wish me luck!
Recently I made contact with an intermediary who was able to connect with the right people there at the garden. It looks like a meeting is being set up for sometime in April, where I will get a chance to engage with the appropriate individuals and see about this gate project. This is very exciting news for me!! Far from a done deal of course, but just to get to the meeting phase is a great opportunity. I'll let y'all know what happens.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures of the gate to give you an idea - this is the 'kabuki' (冠木) style of gate, which translates to 'crown-wood' gate, or a gate with an overhead crossbar. It is a fairly standard gate form, found both at the entrances to gardens and traditional homes. It is not the sort of gate you would see on a high ranking person's home mind you.
Here's the gate, looking from the path at the exterior side of the garden:
Here's the gate viewed from up high, showing the framing on the interior side:
It look better in these pictures than up close. The doors and posts are rotten.
Wish me luck!