SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Museum of Art will unveil a fresh installation of some of the finest examples from its important Binney Collection of South Asian paintings during the month of March when the Origins of Mughal Painting opens on March 26. This special display traces the rapid evolution of the mature painting style of the Mughal dynasty in India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The month also features the debut of the "Not-So-Silent Film Festival," which will screen family-friendly classic silent films with live musical accompaniment by the Teeny-Tiny Pit Orchestra. The series opens on March 23 with the 1920 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring John Barrymore.

And lastly, SDMA is pleased to introduce a major up-and-coming star in the world of classical guitar, the Australian-born Karin Schaupp, who will bring her remarkable talents and energy to the Museum's Hibben Gallery on March 24.

For more information on the Museum's performances and lectures, call (619) 696-1966. To purchase tickets, please call Ticketmaster at (619) 220-8497. Museum members receive the discounted price for each of the events listed. Programs and artists are subject to change.

Museum hours
Tuesday-Wednesday, Friday-Sunday: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.;
Thursday: 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Admission to the galleries
Adults, $9; seniors (65+), young adults (18-24), military and students with ID, $7; children (6-17), $4; 5 and under free.

Gallery tours
The Museum's docents offer free public tours of the galleries on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., and on Fridays and Sundays at 1:00 and 2:00 p.m.

SDMA offers free admission for school groups and youth organizations with advance reservations. Call the education department at (619) 231-1996 for more information.

Water's Café @ SDMA
Open Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Reservations are not required. For more information, call the café at (619) 237-0675.

EXHIBITIONS

Opening

Origins of Mughal Painting
March 26-August 28, 2005
Mughal painting is one of the most celebrated of all Indian painting styles. At its height between 1556 and 1658, artists of the Mughal court workshop created pictures that are unique in their combined attributes of naturalism, stylization, and internal vigor. The depth and breadth of the San Diego Museum of Art's renowned Binney Collection makes possible this new installation of approximately 20 images that examines one of the lingering mysteries in the history of Indian art: how such a distinctive and sophisticated style as that of the imperial Mughals arose so quickly.

Continuing

Human Presence: Works from the Museum's Collection
December 4, 2004-July 17, 2005
This two-part exhibition of the Museum's contemporary collection examines the role of the human body in art, both as subject matter and as an instrument of perception, to express shifting notions of the self. Part I: The Singular Body joins a selection of three-dimensional sculptures of the human body and animal forms in the galleries with works on view in SDMA's sculpture garden and court. In Part II: Through the Geometry of Color, the geometric paintings and works on paper displayed draw visitors' awareness to their own physiological reactions to pure form and color.

Tastes in Asian Art
November 6, 2004-May 1, 2005
Some of the most significant works in SDMA's extensive Asian collection, including many visitor favorites, form part of this new exhibition in the Museum's Asian Court. Bringing back well-known works, while introducing new and rarely exhibited objects, this fresh concept for displaying the Asian collection highlights the diverse tastes of different social groups—the imperial ruling class, scholars, warriors, and common people—and features a separate section dedicated to religious art.

Line and Color in European Painting
October 23, 2004-September 4, 2005 -NOTE NEW DATE!
The newest installation of the Museum's collection of 19th through early 20th-century European art explores the two predominant approaches to pictorial representation that guided, and often divided, artists throughout the century: one that focused on color and another that relied upon line. The exhibition surveys the major European trends of the era including academic art, Romanticism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and German Expressionism.

Closing

Past in Reverse: Contemporary Art of East Asia
November 6, 2004-March 6, 2005
Past in Reverse showcases 22 cutting-edge Chinese, Japanese, and Korean artists who use contemporary approaches to express their respective cultural and artistic heritages. Working with both traditional techniques, such as calligraphy, and new technologies, like digital imaging and video production, the artists reveal the viability of incorporating longstanding traditions into contemporary art.

Visions of the Great Goddess: The Divine Female in South Asian Art
August 28, 2004-March 13, 2005
The cultural and artistic significance of goddess imagery in South Asia is the focus of the current installation of paintings from the Edwin Binney 3rd Collection. The works in this exhibition feature Devi, the Great Goddess or the First Cause of Things, in four aspects: as a great power, as a bestower of fortune, as a beloved, and as a human saint. By presenting both the most powerful and often fierce aspects of Devi as well as the less potent, human manifestations, viewers can fully experience the compelling dynamism and visual power of the Great Goddess.

MARCH EVENTS CALENDAR

March 2, Wednesday
5:30 p.m.
CONCERT Jazz in the Park: Jeff Hamilton Trio
Outstanding jazz drummer Jeff Hamilton brings pianist Tamir Hendelman and bassist Christoph Luty back to SDMA for another night of energetic, swinging trio music. Jeff has performed with the likes of Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, and the L.A. Four. Named Best Jazz Drummer of 2004 by Modern Drummer Magazine, he is celebrating a new CD on Azica Records, The Best Things Happen.
$14/$17, James S. Copley Auditorium

March 4, Friday
10:00 a.m.
LECTURE "Impressionism and Imagination"
Charlotte Eyerman, assistant curator of painting at the Getty Museum, speaks about the rise of Impressionism and the role of convention, tradition, and imagination in its emergence.
$10, James S. Copley Auditorium

March 6, Sunday
2:00 p.m.
CONCERT Old Masters of Music and Art: Nota Bene
The Nota Bene trio for early music, featuring Marianne Pfau (baroque oboe and recorder), John Lutterman (baroque cello), and Jonathan Salzedo (harpsichord), performs a lively selection of baroque music in the Museum's Hibben Gallery.
Free with museum admission

March 8, Tuesday
11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
LECTURE Meet the Masters: Dale Carolyn Gluckman
In Asia, as in the rest of the world, dress plays a vital role in defining one's identity. This lavishly illustrated lecture, presented by Dale Gluckman, curator of costume and textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, explores the fascinating subject from a pan-Asian perspective.
$17/$20 ($10 students)
(Evening session is preceded by wine and light hors d'oeuvres at 5:30 p.m. An optional catered lunch is available for the morning session for $35/$38)
James S. Copley Auditorium

March 10, Thursday
6:00 p.m.
GALLERY TALK "Human Presence"
The current thought-provoking exhibition of the Museum's contemporary collection is explained by Lucia Sanroman, SDMA's project assistant for contemporary art. Part of the Insight Gallery Talk series.
Free with museum admission, meet in rotunda

7:00 p.m.
CONCERT Westwind Brass: "Jazztet"
Enjoy selections from Westwind Brass's latest CD, Jazztet, featuring the original American art form of jazz. From Dixieland to cool jazz, audiences will delight in music by such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Guiffre, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk.
$12/$15 ($7.50 w/ student ID), James S. Copley Auditorium

March 11, Friday
10:00 a.m.
LECTURE "Ceci n'est pas un musée: Distance and Resistance in Franco-American Cultural Exchange"
Derrick Cartwright, SDMA's executive director, explores the tensions, both historic and recent, that surround American cultural interventions abroad. In particular, he will consider appetites for and resistance to American presence in French high-culture spaces.
$10, James S. Copley Auditorium

March 13, Sunday
2:00 p.m.
GALLERY TALK "Human Presence"
See description for March 10.
Free with museum admission, meet in rotunda

March 18, Friday
10:00 a.m.
LECTURE "The Horse as Hero: George Stubbs and the Equestrian Tradition in European Art"
Malcolm Warner, Ph.D., senior curator at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, speaks about the horse as a recurrent image in art and how the emphasis shifted towards the horse as hero in its own right with the work of George Stubbs (1724-1806).
$10, James S. Copley Auditorium

March 23, Wednesday
7:00 p.m.
FILM Not-So-Silent Film Festival: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)
Starring John Barrymore, this early film version of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel still stands as the best. The live score, featuring unusual vintage instruments, is provided by Scott Paulson's Teeny-Tiny Pit Orchestra and the Geisel Library Bassoon Quartet. The main feature film is preceded by classic slapstick shorts of the silent film era beginning at 6:30 p.m.
$5/$7 ($4 children) James S. Copley Auditorium

March 24, Thursday
7:00 p.m.
CONCERT Chamber Music at the Museum: Karin Schaupp, guitar
Recording artist Karin Schaupp is one of the most outstanding young guitarists on the international scene, performing widely as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and festival guest. Her magical presence and possession of her craft have inspired contemporary composers to write works especially for her. Surrounded by masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque painting in the Museum's Hibben Gallery, Schaupp will interpret works by Albeniz, Barrios, Charlton, and Dyens, among others.
$18/$20 (includes same-day admission to the Museum), Hibben Gallery

The historic San Diego Museum of Art provides a rich and diverse cultural experience for more than 400,000 annual visitors. Its nationally renowned permanent collection includes Spanish and Italian old masters, South Asian paintings, 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures, and works by contemporary artists. The Museum also offers an extensive year-round schedule of supporting educational and cultural programs.

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