New San Angelo Museum Exhibit Entices Renowned Artist

Ben Livingston, a renowned Austin artist, knows a thing or two about art. When he heard about a new Chinese Export Porcelain exhibit opening at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in San Angelo this past Friday, he said he couldn't wait to come to the city.

Not only did Livingston rave about the Voyage Across Cultures exhibit, but he also commended SAMFA and said artists across the state of Texas have a lot of positive things to say both about the museum and Howard Taylor.

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“I am so impressed that Howard Taylor has the vision to bring in a show like this,” Livingston said about the exhibit.

Overall, the exhibit’s opening was a bright spot of San Angelo on Friday night and many people joined Livingston to rave over the immaculate artistry of the Voyage Across Cultures exhibit.

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The pieces in the exhibit were hand-crafted porcelain pieces that tell an important history of the trading between different countries. This exhibit is another example of the different cultural influences collected over time by trade.

Livingston added, “I'm enjoying thinking about how this was a strange kind of cultural colonization by osmosis in a way, by creating a new industry for the Chinese, of imposing by commission our western design and form, for mass production and huge profit to not only the aristocratic, but created a whole new bourgeois market.”

In the fourteenth century, Chinese porcelains were considered to have great rarity and value. The pieces that appeared in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries were mounted in gilt silver, which emphasized their value and preciousness. At the time, porcelain was not a main export from China. Though the porcelain was only a small part of the trade, they were stowed on the lowest levels of the ships to have ballast and because the pieces were impervious to water.

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Livingston also added, “Just like today's outsourcing, Chinese mastery of porcelain over European's metal and glass work must have been way cheaper to produce - especially en masse, which, I believe, because of that, was a brand new concept.”

The Chinese were unfamiliar with common things as candlesticks or mugs, but the demand for the porcelain pieces went up in Europe, so models were sent to the Chinese to be copied. Because the demands for these products were so high in Europe, factories began to be built to make porcelain pieces in Europe, so the trade was on a severe decline.

The market for these porcelain pieces went back up after different areas of the world became interested in collecting these pieces as well, like America in 1784. During the last decades of the century, Chinese export porcelains were collected by connoisseurs and art museums, it’s an indication of a new antiquarian interest in America’s past.

“We are an encyclopedic museum and all forms of art are important.” Museum Director Howard Taylor said. “We want to educate our community of the different cultures.”

Overall, these are beautiful pieces and each has a special story to tell. Chinese culture is one of the most ancient in the world and it is a treasure to have them to see in our community. This is a great addition to the museum and it will be in the museum until March 27^th.

Next Saturday, Feb. 13^th, the museum will hold a family day and it will be a Lunar New Year celebration. SAMFA staff encourages the people of San Angelo to learn how different cultures celebrate the New Years with interesting displays, cuisines and more. Admission is free.

Note: Below Ben Livingston graces the music scene at Miss Hattie's Friday evening.