Dr. Melody Rod-ari

About Dr. Melody Rod-ari

Dr. Melody Rod-ari is Contributing Editor for Southeast Asian art. She earned her M.A. from Boston University and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research examines modern and contemporary Thai Buddhist visual culture. She is currently Assistant Curator of Asian art at the Norton Simon Museum and Editor for the American Council for Southern Asian Art. Beginning in August she will join the faculty of art history at Loyola Marymount University.

Aerial view, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150 (photo: Peter Garnhum, CC BY-NC 2.0)
This temple remains the largest religious monument in the world. Once a Hindu shrine, it is now used by Buddhists.

A-level: Angkor Wat

West niche, c. 6th-7th c C.E., stone, stucco, paint, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, Buddha destroyed 2001 (photo: Carlos Ugarte, CC BY-NC 2.0)
These colossal figures presided over the Bamiyan Valley for over 1000 years; the Taliban demolished them in 2001.

Bamiyan Buddhas

Aerial view, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150 (photo: Peter Garnhum, CC BY-NC 2.0)
This temple remains the largest religious monument in the world. Once a Hindu shrine, it is now used by Buddhists.

Angkor Wat