“From Ancient to Modern: Archaeology and Aesthetics” Exhibition
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
This event has ended.
The highly anticipated exhibition From Ancient to Modern: Archaeology and Aesthetics, opens at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. With some 50 outstanding ancient objects, and more than 100 related documents, photographs, and drawings, this groundbreaking exhibition examines the fascinating process through which archaeological objects are transformed from artifacts to artworks and, sometimes, to popular icons, as they move from the sites of their discovery, to be publicized by mass media and exhibited by museums. The exhibition focuses on excavations during the 1920s and 1930s at early Mesopotamian sites in what is modern-day Iraq, marking a golden age for archaeology. It reveals the role of archaeologists, art historians, journalists, museum curators, and conservators in constructing identities for now-iconic Mesopotamian material that not only resonated with contemporary Western popular and artistic culture, but that also placed the fMMA-editinds as integral to the history of Western civilization. In a first for ISAW, From Ancient to Modern also features modern and contemporary art, including work by Alberto Giacometti, Willem de Kooning, Jananne al-Ani, and Michael Rakowitz, revealing the impact that Mesopotamian material had and continues to have on the art of our times.
Media
Schedule
from February 12, 2015 to June 07, 2015
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11am-6pm, Friday 11am-8pm, Closed Monday