Lecture: A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography

This is an Archive of a Past Event

Thursday, March 30, 2017

6:00 pm - Reception 

6:45 pm - Lecture

Cantor Auditorium, Cantor Arts Center

In East Asian cultures, the lingzhi mushroom was believed to be a spiritual organism that thrived only at sacred sites. Drawing from the Cantor’s rich collection of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art, A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography brings together a wide variety of objects (painting, ceramic, jade, lacquer, and works on paper) to examine the dynamic interconnections between humans, natural organisms, and sacred landscapes.

Exhibition curator, Yu-chuan Phoenix Chen, Andrew W. Mellon Graduate Curatorial Research Assistant, and a PhD candidate in the Department of Art & Art History at Stanford University, will discuss the exhibition which ultimately urges us to consider our own longstanding and ongoing relationship with nature. 

Please join Yu-chuan Phoenix Chen prior to his talk at a reception from 6 - 6:30PM on the Geballe Balcony (Second Floor) of the Cantor Arts Center. 

This program is organized by the Cantor Arts Center. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

IMAGE: Yamada Masanao (Japan, b. 1890), Netsuke of Mushrooms, 20th century. Wood. Stanford Museum Collections, 1998.79