Category: Arts

Movie Review: How an American Became a 'Revolutionary' in Mao's China

Mao Zedong signs Sidney Rittenberg's copy of the Little Red Book at a gathering of Party leaders during the Cultural Revolution. (Personal Collection of Sidney Rittenberg)

Arts

Asia Society Associate Fellow Jeffrey Wasserstrom reviews the new documentary about Sidney Rittenberg, an American who was also once a full-fledged member of the Chinese Communist Party.

July 9th by Jeffrey Wasserstrom | Comments

Preview: Pakistani Singer-Songwriter Arieb Azhar Gives New Life to Old Texts

Arts

A look at some of the cultural context behind Pakistani singer-songwriter Arieb Azhar's music, ahead of his July 3 performance in New York City's River to River Festival.

July 2nd by Vivek Gupta | Comments

Gallery: Kimia Ferdowsi Kline Gets Back to the Garden in 'Chahar Baagh' Paintings

Arts

Inspired by a recent stay in India, Iranian-American artist Kimia Ferdowsi Kline unveils her Mughal garden paintings this week in Nashville, TN.

June 22nd by Vivek Gupta | Comments

Interview: New Film Documents Removal of Kathputli Artists' Colony in New Delhi

A Kathputli colony puppeteer in New Delhi. (Joshua Cogan)

Arts The forthcoming 'Tomorrow We Disappear' investigates the city's destruction of the Kathputli colony of magicians, artists and puppeteers in New Delhi.

June 20th by Vivek Gupta | Comments

Re-Reading Pearl Buck's 'The Good Earth'

Pearl S. Buck's 'The Good Earth' was published in 1931 and awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1932. Buck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.

Arts

The 1931 novel has its faults, but it deserves a spot on the bookshelf of anyone heading to the Chinese countryside for the first time who wants to know a bit about the history of Chinese peasant life, writes Maura Cunningham.

June 18th by Maura Cunningham | Comments

For Western Press, Afghanistan's Heritage Takes a Backseat to Business

Workers excavate a 2,000-year-old archaeological site discovered in Mes Aynak, Afghanistan in August 2010. (Joanie Meharry)

Arts

The Wall Street Journal glosses over the cultural significance of a 2,000-year-old site that sits alongside a copper mine in Afghanistan.

June 15th by Nadia Rasul | Comments

Interview: The Story Behind 'Poetry of the Taliban'

A young Afghan boy smells a flower in the Oshay Bazaar, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, April 26, 2011. (DVIDSHUB/Flickr)

Arts

Two Kandahar-based researchers have complied an anthology of poems by the Afghan Taliban exploring a wide range of themes from "unrequited love and bloody vengeance" to "religion and nationalism, even a desire for non-violence."

June 8th by Nadia Rasul | Comments

After 'Initial Assault on the Senses' the Real India Lingers in 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'

Judi Dench in 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.'

Arts

The new movie 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' begins on a voyeuristic note but eventually digs much deeper.

June 6th by Vishakha N. Desai | Comments

Interview: M.A. Farooqi Wrestles with Big Themes, Emerges Triumphant in New Novel

Cover art for 'Between Clay and Dust' (2012) by Musharraf Ali Farooqi. (Aleph Book Company)

Arts

Multitalented Musharraf Ali Farooqi brings an indelible new story to life in his latest novel — and meanwhile resurrects some of South Asia's grandest old stories in his translations.

May 30th by Jeff Tompkins | Comments