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Egypt, Classical, and the Americas at the Michael C. Carlos Museum
I briefly reviewed this museum in an earlier post and I mentioned how much I loved the way they put this museum together. Big rooms represent the main eras of art while little pockets hold tiny sub-eras. My mother and I went to the section on the Americas first. Art from these places had colored backdrops that varied with each room. The Nasca art had bright and distinct color schemes. This section also had art from the Andes, Moche, Vicus, Recuay, Chimu, and the Inka. On the floor, the museum provided helpful maps to show where each tribe lived. The stamps featured stood out to me in this section. They also had art from Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The Galo and Diquis lived here. They also had art from Honduras, Mesoamerica, with nations such as the Aztec, the Mixtec, and the Maya. Mayan artists created beautiful brush strokes. The art consisted mostly of pottery and types of furniture. As someone who has gone to the Mint Museum and developed familiarity with the permanent collection of South and Central American art, this museum acts as a great companion to it. Click on my link for a list of South American art featured at the Mint.
They had a tiny exhibition on Asian art (South Asian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, to name a few) and they consisted of mostly Buddhist and Hindu art.The Classics section housed art from Greek and Roman societies. By Greek, I mean beyond the Hellenic eras with art from civilizations such as the Minoans. Beyond the Roman Empire, the Roman section had sections dedicated to the Etruscans. On the outskirts of the big rooms, they had little rooms dedicated to early Middle Eastern civilizations such as the Assyrians. In Egypt, this university had all the sarcophagi you can gaze at. The museum had another floor dedicated to other forms of African art, but mother and myself ended up too exhausted to visit. Not to mention we had a four-hour drive ahead of us.
The clever design of the Michael C. Carlos museum
I have visited this museum two times. I especially love the way they handle the Egyptian section. In art history, every era and movement has a little sub-movement tucked in. This gives lovers and scholars alike fascinating (and frustrating) studying. Either these sub-eras receive press or just ignored in favor of the more well-known movements. In other words, how does a museum deal with these nuances? Emory takes on that challenge by designing big halls with tiny rooms that focus on these little movements. Furthermore, they order these rooms of treasures not just by movement, but by geographical location.
A Pilgrimage Complete
I have seen the Dali exhibit at Atlanta’s High Museum and a full report will come (hopefully in the next couple of days).
Going to the High Museum in Atlanta on a personal art history related pilgrimage…
to see the later works of Salvador Dali. I will report back. I shocked a friend of my father’s when I told him that Dali stayed married to the same woman until her death. Seriously, I am still reading Dali’s book, Maniac Eyeball, and the passion he had for Gala burned with an unquenchable fire. An artist that stays with one person until said person dies? Talk about surreal.
