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MUSEUM news IROQUOIS Bonn—From March 22–August 4, 2013, a visit to the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn is obligatory to view Auf den Spuren der Irokesen (On the Trails of the Iroquois). Curated by Sylvia Kasprycki, who drew upon the expertise of many international specialists, 46 this exhibition brings together artworks from institutions in Canada, the United States, and Europe. It searches the centuries for the traces of the fearsome warriors and gifted diplomats of the Iroquois, who originally inhabited the present-day state of New York. The story of their confrontations with White settlers, the loss of their lands, their confinement to reservations, and their recent efforts to reaffirm their cultural identity is told through historical paintings, drawings, and native artifacts, as well as through contemporary works by Iroquois artists. Look for a full article in our next issue. VIKINGS Edinburgh—Until May 12, 2013, the National Museum of Scotland will be the only museum in the United Kingdom to host Vikings!, an exhibition that brings together five hundred of the most beautiful objects from the Historiska Museet in Stockholm with some additional works from the Scottish museum. Rarely seen outside Scandinavia, adornment, weapons, metal works, sculptures, and domestic objects presented for the occasion invite the visitor to go beyond the stereotype of the fierce, horned-helmeted warrior and discover a complex and structured society with strong religious beliefs. ICE AGE London—The British Museum is presenting Ice Age Art: Arrival of the Modern Mind, a fascinating exhibition by Jill Cook, curator of European prehistoric art at the British Museum. This unique show presents the opportunity to admire masterpieces created more than 20,000 years ago that have come to light in different parts of Europe. Pottery, adornment, and figurines sculpted from stone or modeled in clay—among them some of the oldest known examples of their kind—are presented not just for their commonly accepted archaeological value but also for their aesthetic qualities, which is what makes this show an original effort. Through this vindication of the artistic dimension of objects created by prehistoric man, the exhibition demonstrates that if our capacity to synthesize, transform, and communicate ideas through art, music, and symbolic thought via what we agree to call the “modern mind” isn’t as old as humanity, it most certainly almost is. Starting with items from Altamira, Chauvet, and Lascaux, along with remarkable representations of pregnant women, the exhibition progresses chronologically and above all thematically to conclude with the presentation of several works of art by some of the important names in modern art, such as Picasso, Moore, and Matisse. The presence of these underlines the fact that art, regardless of the period, responds to the same need to tame beauty. The show can be seen until May 26, 2013. TOP LEFT: George Heriot, War Dance, 1804–1805. © Art Gallery of Windsor, Ontario. TOP RIGHT: Sash. Great Lakes. 18th century. © Musée du Quai Branly, Paris. ABOVE: Pipe bowl. Iroquois, New York. 18th century. © National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. LEFT: Harpoon implement. Montastruc, France. © The Trustees of the British Museum. LOWER LEFT: Engraved bone fragment. © The Trustees of the British Museum. RIGHT: Female figure. Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic. Moravské Zemské Muzeum, Brno.


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