The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) in California is showcasing images of various Hindu deities in an exhibition “Arts of South and Southeast Asia”, which will run through January 31, 2019.
Exhibits include 6th century sandstone and 1300-1400 granite sculptures of Lord Shiva, 1100-1200 stone sculpture of Lord Vishnu, 11th century sandstone sculpture of Lord Ganesha, 11th century bronze sculpture of goddess Sri Devi, 1000-1100 sandstone sculpture of goddess Chamunda, 750-800 sandstone sculpture of four mother goddesses, 11th century copper alloy sculpture of Saint Sambandar, 10th century stone sculpture of Navagraha, etc.
Commending SDMA for exhibiting Hindu artifacts, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada 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.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.
SDMA, located in Balboa Park of San Diego, whose initial inspiration arose in 1915, boasts of 18,000 objects dating back to 5,000 BCE, including some nationally renowned collections like Spanish old master paintings of Zurbarán, El Greco, and Goya. Roxana Velásquez and Harvey White are Executive Director and Trustees President respectively of SDMA, whose mission includes “cultivate curiosity”.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.