Watch, Read, Listen

News, stories, features, videos and podcasts by The Huntington.

Temples in the Cliffside: Buddhist Art in Sichuan

Thu., March 31, 2022

In her new book, Temples in the Cliffside: Buddhist Art in Sichuan, Sonya Lee argues that centuries-old religious monuments can be part of the world’s sustainable future. This talk focuses on the transformation of cave temples from religious centers into tourist destinations in southwest China, where venerable sites such as Leshan, Nankan, and Baodingshan have become entangled in some of the most consequential economic, political, and religious trends in Asia today.

Videos and Recorded Programs

From Darkness to Light: In Conversation About Joseph Wright of Derby's "Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump"

Wed., March 30, 2022

In response to Mathew Craske’s prize winning recent biography of Joseph Wright of Derby, Huntington curators Joel Klein and Melinda McCurdy discuss Wright’s iconic painting, Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump (1768) in the exhibition, “Science and the Sublime: A Masterpiece by Joseph Wright of Derby,” in the context of older traditions of European art and of the history of science.

Verso

Pretty in Pink

Tue., March 29, 2022 | Sandy Masuo

At this time of year, flowering fruit trees are in the spotlight for their showy displays of pink blossoms, but there is a lot of competition throughout The Huntington’s gardens. Although many trees share the pink color palette, if you look closely, you’ll see that each one is distinctive.

Verso

Lily Lee Chen, Mayor of Monterey Park

Tue., March 22, 2022 | Li Wei Yang

On April 13, 1982, Lily Lee Chen was elected to the city council of Monterey Park, a city in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County that had become one of the first “suburban Chinatowns” in the United States. In 1984, Chen made history by becoming the first female Chinese American mayor in the nation.

Verso

Charles Yu in Conversation

Tue., March 15, 2022 | Cheryl Cheng

For The Huntington’s 2022 Founders’ Day celebration, a conversation was held on March 2 between acclaimed writer Charles Yu and Huntington Trustee Simon K.C. Li. They discussed Yu’s experiences writing in multiple genres, the role of fiction in constructing identity, and current U.S. dialogues about identity and race.

News

News Release - The Huntington Acquires Eve Babitz Archive

Thu., March 10, 2022

The collection spans from 1943 to 2011, documenting the professional and personal life of the LA author and cultural figure through manuscripts, original works of art, journals, photographs, and correspondence

Verso

Behind the Scenes with Sonya Levien

Wed., March 9, 2022 | Natalie Russell

The life of Sonya Levien (1888–1960) reads like a rags-to-riches fairy tale. But it is also a story of fortitude, feminism, and the ability to balance personal, family, and financial ambitions.

Videos and Recorded Programs

In Conversation with Ourselves: Wright of Derby’s "Air Pump" as a Modern Moral Subject

Wed., March 9, 2022

In this lecture, renowned art historian David Solkin shows how Joseph Wright of Derby constructed conflicting messages out of an eclectic mix of elements drawn from different pictorial traditions in An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump and asks us to consider the artwork's relevance today.