Tennessee art museum develops travelling exhibition on Lord Vishnu

NEVADA - Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville (Tennessee, USA) has organized a ‘travelling exhibition’ titled ‘Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior’.

Center claims that it “will be the first major museum exhibition to focus on Vishnu”.

Opening in February 2011 and presenting approximately 120 paintings and sculptures that were made in India between the fourth and 19th century, this exhibition will serve as a brief survey of Hindu art styles as well as an examination of the Vaishnava tradition, it adds.

Hindus have applauded Frist Center for developing this Hinduism focused exhibition.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

It was a laudable step for Frist Center to provide opportunity to the world to further explore Hinduism and its concepts, Zed pointed out.

According to the Center, the first section of the exhibition will introduce Vishnu in his primary form with subsections dedicated to his attributes, his consorts, and his legends.

The second section will examine his avatars (incarnations), as a group and then individually.

The avatars that are more frequently celebrated in art will be more fully represented in the exhibition, with substantial subsections dedicated to Rama and Krishna.

The third section will show some of the ways that Vishnu has been worshipped, with images of temples and ritual objects.

This exhibition is organized by guest curator Dr. Joan Cummins from Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, New York). (ANI)