Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Celebrates Opening Of Ink And Gold: Art Of The Kano At The Phila. Museum Of Art
By Dan Wing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Museum of Art held a special ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday night to unveil a new exhibit. Ink and Gold: Art of the Kano is the largest collection of Kano art ever assembled in the United States.
The evening started with traditional Taiko drummers, before officials led friends and supporters of the Museum to the ceremonial ribbon cutting, officially opening up the exhibit. From there, visitors were treated to the largest collection of Kano art works ever assembled in the U.S. Senior Curator Dr. Felice Fischer explains what visitors can expect.
"Gorgeous golden screens with birds and flowers, Chinese Queens and princesses, and tigers and lions galore," said Dr. Fischer.
Nadine Kano is a descendant of the Kano family, and was on hand at the event. She says the massive exhibit features everything the art has to offer, starting with it's origins in the mid-15th century.
"To when it became, what we call a monumental style, which is a more simple, large type of art that was done because there was so many commissions that the artists thought they had to do something they could do more quickly," said Kano.
Kano says an exhibit of this magnitude is something she's always wanted to see in the U.S. She says meeting her Kano cousins at her grandmother's funeral, inspired her to explore the family art and to one day bring an an exhibit of this magnitude to the U.S.
"And so this is a realzation of a dream come true to me," said Kano.
While walking the halls, Kano says she was overcome with a sense of pride.
"To know that this tradition was started in the mid-15th century and to know I'm a part of that, it's mind blowing," said Kano.
The exhibit will rotate, essentially bringing all new works in March, and again in April.