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66 The Chavín de Huántar By Antonio Aimi Temple Revealed The Rietberg Museumin Zurich is currently focusing on pre-Columbian art with its magnificent exhibition Chavín: Peru’s Mysterious Temple in the Andes, which is on view until March 10. It is a landmark show that incorporates some rarely seen qualities that are worthy of particular note. First of all, this is an in-house production and not a ready-made event from Mexico or Peru. It is obviously a very positive thing that these countries, and especially Mexico, have been exporting exhibitions in recent years. Of course, nothing could be more natural and logical when one considers that the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City has put on extraordinary shows and that Peru has recently opened some very fine museums. But their initiatives have had some pitfalls. Some of the ready-made exhibitions that have been shown in Europe in recent years—whose undeniable positive qualities (the presentation of famed masterpieces as well as hitherto unseen works, for instance) have been widely appreciated—have had some flaws, even if not serious ones. The points of view they expressed were all too often “archaeological” or other predictable conceptions. This resulted in these exhibitions failing to take into account the fact that the European and North American visitor is not a student to whom basic notions of pre-Columbian cultures need to be imparted, but rather a relatively cultured individual interested in comparing the art he knows with “other” forms of expression. The exhibition at the Rietberg was clearly designed for this discerning public. It is characterized by great attention to detail that is especially evident in an introductory video that is shown, which the museum itself produced. Another important achievement for the exhibition is that the museum was able to overcome bureaucratic and organizational obstacles. These can be a real hindrance, because they make the loans of masterpieces more and more difficult, and they tend to wind up always favoring the same museums. Despite this, the Rietberg was able to obtain important works for this event from major Peruvian museums such as the Museo Nacional de Arque- ART on view


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