It's mind-boggling to stand in front of this monumental calligraphy piece in the grand entrance hall of the Metropolitan Museum, created this year by Taipei-based artist Tong Yang-Tze, at her age of 82.

I hope my new article does justice to Dunhuang Cave 257, where narrative paintings, I argue, subvert traditional power dynamic between male viewers & female subjects. Here, male characters—young monk, beautiful stag, Buddha—are subject to the intense gaze of a female audience.

Virtual tour link↓