Archaeologist at Large: Exhibitions

Bound for Glory @ The Photographers Gallery

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 12:25:49 GMT

Taken over sixty years ago, these colour photographs
offer a fresh perspective on one of the most important
periods of recent photographic and social history.

In 1930s & 40s America one third of the population
were ‘ill clothed, ill housed and ill-fed’. Until now the
grinding poverty of the time has been epitomised by
the iconic black and white images of Dorothea Lange,
Walker Evans and others, so these colour images by
Marion Post Wolcott, Russell Lee and Jack Delano
have an almost shocking immediacy and freshness
bringing to life the human cost of the Depression.

Taken over sixty years ago, these colour photographs
offer a fresh perspective on one of the most important
periods of recent photographic and social history.

In 1930s & 40s America one third of the population
were ‘ill clothed, ill housed and ill-fed’. Until now the
grinding poverty of the time has been epitomised by
the iconic black and white images of Dorothea Lange,
Walker Evans and others, so these colour images by
Marion Post Wolcott, Russell Lee and Jack Delano
have an almost shocking immediacy and freshness
bringing to life the human cost of the Depression

During this time, photographers were employed by
the FSA (Farm Security Administration) to garner
support for President Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal
by revealing the poverty of primarily rural America.
The initial black and white images were intended to
educate the wider population about the problem. Then
from 1939 colour photographs were taken to show the
improvements the New Deal had made, whilst
acknowledging that there was still work to be done.
These startling images were made possible by the
newly developed Kodachrome colour film.

The Depression was eclipsed by the horror of WWII,
and the colour FSA images were to remain half
forgotten in the Library of Congress. Having been
rediscovered, their importance and significance is
now beginning to be more widely understood. This
exhibition is a unique chance to see them alongside
better-known black and white work.

German rail chief bans exhibition on Holocaust transport trains

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:03:14 GMT

Plans for a major German exhibition documenting the way the Nazis used trains to send thousands of Jewish children to the gas chambers have been blocked by the head of the state-owned rail network. That has provoked a furious row with Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

The exhibition, "11,000 Jewish children - with the Reichsbahn to death", was conceived by the German Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld. It has already been shown at railway stations through France where its display of identity cards and other items belonging to child Holocaust victims received wide acclaim.

More @ http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1932740.ece

Discovery launches King Tut craze

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:54:06 GMT

by Anna Hampton

Daily Lobo

Emily Teeter said Tut-mania didn't begin until after museums started exploiting ancient Egyptian artifacts with traveling shows.

Teeter, an Egyptologist at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, gave a lecture titled "Tutankhamun: How His Treasures Changed Our World," Thursday in the Hibben Center. She discussed the global impact of the discovery of King Tut's tomb.

She said the tomb's discovery changed people's expectations of the museum experience and the government and businesses' function in the exchange of artifacts.

In 1976, Cairo allowed 55 of the tomb's pieces to leave Egypt and be revealed in several cities around the United States.

Teeter was an assistant curator of that show.
"This was the museum exhibit that spawned the term 'blockbuster,'" she said.
Teeter said the event changed the way the U.S. government dealt with art.
The government took the initiative to ensure the safety of artifacts and to repair ties with Egypt after the Cold War, Teeter said.
The exhibit's unveiling in the United States brought museum memberships to capacity, and some people were even turned away, she said.
One museum had 15,000 members join because of the Egypt craze, she said.
Museums that didn't charge admission began using merchandise in museum gift shops to take advantage of the increased crowds, she said.
"Museum gift shops were no big deal before King Tut," Teeter said. "Now, people will go to museums and not even go into the gallery."
Teeter said the tackiest King Tut merchandise she has seen was a Tut bobblehead doll.

After the exhibit opened in 1976, increased tourism helped cities profit, and corporations sponsored the exhibits as a form of advertising.
There was little to no corporate sponsorship before the discovery of Tut's tomb, she said.
When the exhibit returned to Cairo two years later, paranoia erupted from Egypt concerning the safety of loaned objects, Teeter said. People wanted the artifacts to be preserved, so the Egyptian government canceled many shows at the last minute, she said.
Reliance on private and corporate-sponsored shows is dangerous because it undermines the academic atmosphere at museums, she said.
There is an increasingly popular trend for museums to book exhibits based on financial gain, she said.

"At this point, we start seeing Egyptian widgets packaged for profit," Teeter said.
Traveling ambassadors don't come cheap - the fee for some Egyptian exhibits is about $5 million, she said.
The event was sponsored by the New Mexico chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt.
David Corwell, a member of the chapter, said he will use the information in the lecture to help him write a children's book about ancient Egyptians.
"This provides a perfect opportunity to learn more about the topic," Corwell said.
He said it's good New Mexico has a chapter of the Egyptian research center.
"You can participate in lectures that would normally be available only in larger cities,"

Titanic relics to emerge from secret warehouse

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:21:31 GMT

First Atlanta exhibition: After decades in the deep, many items from the star-crossed shipwreck will be displayed here

Details @ http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2006/10/24/1025lvtitanic.html

Treasures of Tut to shine in Chicago

Sat, 13 May 2006 12:13:43 GMT

Tut's tour continue's its sell out tour, eat your heart out Bono!

You’ll be able to journey to ancient Egypt without leaving the country when King Tut and his treasures arrive in Chicago for an exhibit at the Field Museum from May 26 through Jan. 1.

The exhibit has had two very successful runs in Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and will travel to Philadelphia in 2007, completing its American tour.

More @ http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=285482&Category=23

Cleopatra's gems rise from the deep

Sat, 13 May 2006 12:09:58 GMT

THE lost world of Cleopatra’s palaces has been dug out of the muddy Mediterranean sea bed by a man dubbed the Underwater Indiana Jones.

The results of Franck Goddio’s excavations, comprising 500 priceless finds that shed light on 1,500 years of ancient history, will be put on public view today for the first time.

President Mubarak of Egypt will open the exhibition in Berlin, and it will later transfer to Paris and London and eventually to a specially prepared site in Egypt

More @ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2174545,00.html

Natural History Museum Exhbition

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 13:03:24 GMT

What's on at Tring?

Discover what's happening at our sister Museum, The Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire.

Dogs: Man-Made Friends?
Until Sunday 9 July
From deerhounds to dachshunds and wolfhounds to whippets, no other species has the amazing diversity of size and shape that we see in dogs. Over hundreds of years, humans have shaped 'man's best friend' to suit their needs. This exhibition explores the origins of our domestic dogs and their relationship with us.

American Contributions to Egyptian Archaeology

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 01:17:37 GMT

Last month's official opening in Room No 44 of the Egyptian Museum of an exhibition of American discoveries in Egypt was a high-profile event. It was launched by Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and attended by Frank Ricciardone, the American ambassador in Egypt -- who is showing more interest in Egyptian culture than did his predecessors -- as well as Gerry Scott, director of the American Research Centre in Egypt (ARCE), who demonstrates a more amicable attitude to the press, and Wafaa El-Saddik, director of the museum. The objects on display included pieces chosen from the permanent collection of the museum as well as some recent and impressive discoveries.

More @ http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/790/hr1.htm

Antiquities Ride in style

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:05:51 GMT

Great story about the new exhibition in Berlin, flying on the Airbus Beluga

Every bit as remarkable as the world premiere of the exhibition on “Egypt’s Sunken Treasures,” which is to be shown in Berlin, Germany from 13 May through 04 September, is the manner in which the artefacts will be brought from Alexandria to Berlin: some of them weigh several tons and for the journey they are to be loaded onto the transport aircraft Airbus 300-600ST Beluga, which Airbus is lending for this special cultural undertaking. Having spent thousands of years on the bottom of the sea, the monumental statues, fragments of ancient columns and cult objects will arrive in Germany’s capital aboard an aircraft with today’s most voluminous cargo hold.

More @ http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=165969&src=0#

Exhibition of US role in Egyptian archeology opens in Cairo

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 13:05:22 GMT

New exhibition in Cairo

http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1133480.php/Exhibition_of_US_role_in_Egyptian_archeology_opens_in_Cairo

Napoleon's exploits in Egypt subject of new exhibition

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 10:05:00 GMT

Napoleon Bonaparte is well-known for his military victories, his habit of placing one hand in his jacket and his love for his wife, Josephine.

Bet you didn't know that his 1798 invasion of Egypt helped kick off "Egyptomania" across Europe and fostered the modern study of archeology.

Macon Telegraph | 01/13/2006 | Napoleon's exploits in Egypt subject of new exhibition

King Tut exhibit opens Thursday in Fort Lauderdale

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:25:17 GMT

The King of Bling equals ka-ching, ka-ching

The original king of bling: King Tut exhibit opens Thursday in Fort Lauderdale

Mummy dearest - [Sunday Herald]

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 21:04:57 GMT

Another Story about the Edinburgh Exhibition of Thutmose III's replica tomb.

IN 1817, the showman and engineer Giovanni Battista Belzoni discovered the Egyptian tomb of Pharaoh Seti I in pristine condition. He cast its walls in wax, and took chunks of it with him to London, where he created the world’s first large-scale replica of an Egyptian tomb. In doing so, The Great Belzoni set off a craze for Egyptology in Middle England, while leaving a badly damaged site behind in the Valley Of The Kings.

Belzoni’s replica was not motivated by concerns for conservation. But it did provide an answer to the modern-day question of how to welcome thousands of tourists into the Valley Of The Kings without letting their sweat, breath, feet and hands destroy the very tombs they came to see. Today, new technology is capable of recreating the tombs in every detail, without recourse to Belzoni’s wax and pick-axe.

The first such reconstruction is on show at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre, the sole UK venue of a show which originated last year in Madrid. Outside, it might look like a wooden box, but inside, it’s the burial chamber of Pharaoh Thutmose III. With its stone walls, hieroglyphs and sand-edged floor, the full-scale model puts you deep in the heart of the Valley Of The Kings.

Mummy dearest - [Sunday Herald]

SAVE Britain's Heritage 1975-2005

Fri, 18 Nov 2005 21:18:03 GMT

3rd November 2005 to 12 February 2006

SAVE Britain's Heritage 1975-2005: 30 years of campaigning

The Victoria and Albert Museum Cromwell Road South Kensington

London SW7

The V&A RIBA Architecture Gallery

FREE entry

http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/architecture/SAVE/

www.daregroup.co.uk