Through May 27, 2013, the Asian Art Museum will have on display 10 figures representing over 7,000 life-size sculpted soldiers found in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Quin Shihuang.

The emperor’s underground burial complex was first unearthed in 1974, revealing an elaborate array of objects and images reminiscent of riches found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. The life-size figures vary in height, uniform, and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Each is unique and was created in an assembly-line style by laborers and artisans. Placement of the thousands of soldiers in the tomb was painstakingly ordered in terms of rank and duty.

The terracotta warriors originally held real weapons like spears, swords and crossbows, which rotted and decayed over time. The military guard came accompanied with horses, cavalry, infantry, and chariots. Details including slight variations in facial features and expressions were enhanced by lifelike paint that was applied in the finishing processes, later faded by time and erosion. Other figures were also found representing musicians, acrobats and other officials.

History remembers Quin Shihuang as a notorious tyrant obsessed with being assassinated. A committed anti-intellectual, he outlawed and burned books as a means of controlling the population. The scholars who wrote them were sometimes burned alive as well. Construction of his tomb and mausoleum started after he began his reign at age 13. Requiring the work of 700,000 men, most of whom were killed, the tomb construction was completed in secret. The emperor spent his later years seeking immortality, and he died in 221 B.C. after ingesting mercury pills which, paradoxically, were intended to make him immortal.

The ruler who sought eternal life and feared assassination is now remembered for his terracotta warriors, a frozen army keeping silent watch over him in the afterlife. The Asian Museum’s warriors present an opportunity to observe an ambitious example of funerary art and the troubled legacy of China’s first emperor.

Terracotta Warriors: Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street (at McAllister), Tuesday–Wednesday, Friday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. & Thursday 10 a.m.–9 p.m., free–$22, 415-581-3500, www.asianart.org

–S. Anderson

Photo: courtesy Asian Art Museum

March 9 through June 2, 2013, the SFMOMA will feature the first major touring exhibition and catalogue in 25 years dedicated to the work of Garry Winogrand. A street photographer from the Bronx, Winogrand became best known for his documentary-style depiction of American life in the 1960s.

While working as a commercial photographer and a teacher, Winogrand wandered the streets of New York City with his 35mm Leica, rapidly taking photographs of the people in his immediate vicinity. Though he shot several rolls of film a day, he didn’t shoot from the hip — Winogrand’s methodology only appeared fast and loose, when in fact he always took meticulous care to frame his composition through his viewfinder, utilizing his prefocused wide-angle lens to aid in the swift capturing of images.

Winogrand’s process of developing film was conversely unhurried. He often let a roll of film sit for years before taking it to the darkroom so he could adequately detach himself from personal memories associated with the moments the photos were taken. The distance created a greater objectivity, and he felt the resulting photographs could be evaluated with a critical eye unspoiled by the emotions affiliated with that instant.

Yet for Winogrand, by all appearances, watching meant far less than doing. He died at the age of 56, leaving behind 2,500 rolls of undeveloped film. It is estimated at the time of his death, he had taken over five million photos and never saw a half million of his own shots. As an artist, he was prolific so he could be intentional; fleeting so he could be deliberate in selecting the form and content that would define his body of work.

SFMOMA’s curatorial research undertaken for this exhibition allows the public to see for the first time the expansive breadth of Garry Winogrand’s photos of post-World War II American life in all its enthusiasm and apprehension.

Garry Winogrand: SFMOMA, 151 Third Street (btw. Howard & Mission), March 9–June 2, Monday–Tuesday 11 a.m.–5:45 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m.–8:45 p.m., Friday–Sunday 11 a.m.–5:45 p.m., free–$18, 415-357-4000, www.sfmoma.org

—S. Anderson