SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, June 23, 2016 (The Independent): For 75 years the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has pursued a mission that includes collecting, displaying, and educating the public about the arts of Asia. Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent demonstrates the impact that an innovative curatorial concept can have on the educational component of this project. Rather than trust the traditional triad of period, location, and style in organizing this large survey (more than 150 objects), the team behind Puja and Piety has chosen instead to employ an approach that focuses on puja, the acts of worship and propitiation that are common to Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cultures. Objects and images from many different times and places within the Indian subcontinent are displayed together to illustrate different types of devotion, from Buddhist stupa circumambulation to Hindu feast day processions to the daily worship conducted within Jain homes at private household shrines.
Puja and Piety shows at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (1130 State St.) through August 28. Call (805) 963-4364 or visit sbma.net.