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Traditional Buddhist robes on display at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
EUGENE -- (Feb. 1, 2008) -- From Rags to Riches, a display of Japanese Buddhist robes (kesa) from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art collection, are on view now through April 13, 2008 at the museum, 1430 Johnson Lane, University of Oregon campus.
The kesa on view in this installation exemplify the variety and richness that monastic "rags" eventually assumed in Japanese Buddhism, and also bear testimony to the enduring symbolic power of the humble garment devised by the Buddha nearly 2,500 years ago.
According to traditional accounts, the Buddha is said to have instructed his disciples to wear garments patterned like a rice field divided by furrows, and fashioned from soiled and discarded cloth. Patched together after the material was purified and re-sewn, these shawl-like outer robes, called kasaya, were intended as a symbolic manifestation of the vow of poverty.
In Japan, these garments are known as kesa and are crafted out of luxurious brocades and silks, while still preserving the patchwork garment's original evocation of poverty and austerity.
From Rags to Riches complements the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art's winter exhibition, Buddhist Visions. Buddhist Visions brings together more than 80 works of art from antiquity to the present that demonstrates the richness and diversity of Buddhist visual culture as it has evolved over more than two millennia.
Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and high school students. Free admission is given to ages 13 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and university faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 541-346-3027.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Debbie Williamson-Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu
Erick Hoffman, 541-346-3162, erickh@uoregon.edu
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