MUSEUM news 74 ABOVE: Ear fl are. Moche/ Chimú, Peru. AD 700–900. Copper, clay, turquoise or chrysocolla, mother of pearl, spondylus shell. D: 8.9 cm. Orlando Museum of Art, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Solomon D. Klotz. LEFT: Figural urn. Zapotec, Mexico. AD 300–600. Terracotta. H: 31.1 cm. Orlando Museum of Art, gift of Howard Phillips, by exchange. RIGHT: Horned mask.Japan. Wood, pigment, cord. Asian Ethnographic Collection, American Museum of Natural History, 70.2/1204. ANCIENT AMERICAS IN ORLANDO Orlando—The term “Ancient Americas” refers to the pre-contact period of the continents of North and South America as well as the lands of Central America that connect them. A new permanent installation at the Orlando Museum of Art presents the sweep of the history and art of this vast region with a remarkable group of objects ranging from about 3000 BC until the arrival of the Europeans during the 15th and 16th centuries AD. Moving from north to south through the Americas, the display highlights the diversity of artistic styles through time and place. The Pueblo peoples of North America made striking decorated pottery and built signifi cant dwellings in the canyon cliffs of the American Southwest. In Mesoamerica, the Maya built impressive cities, developed intricate writing and calendar systems, and made art of jade, ceramic, and carved stone. The Diquis fashioned superb works of cast gold and copper/gold alloy, for which the Spanish named the region Costa Rica, or “rich coast.” The Moche of South America made ceramic portrait vessels of wonderful naturalism and developed a chemical technique for plating copper with gold. The Inca built mighty buildings of stone cut so perfectly that the structures did not require mortar and crafted carefully formed vessels and ornaments made of gold, silver, stone, ceramic, and shell. The artwork presented in this new installation reveals the symbolism, artistic techniques, and styles of these and many other ancient peoples of the Americas. Together it reveals both differences and surprising commonalities spanning continents and millennia. BECOMING ANOTHER New York—Across culture and time, masks have served to imbue power, transform identity, and connect people with each other and with their sense of the divine and the spiritual. An exhibition currently at the Rubin Museum of Art delves into the signifi cance of masks to peoples across the globe, showcasing their diverse uses and meanings. Becoming Another: The Power of Masks, ABOVE: Raven mask. Kwakwaka’wakw, Alaska. 1801–1900. Wood, pigment, cedar bark. Collection of the Brooklyn Museum, 15.513.3a-c. RIGHT: Installation view of Becoming Another. Photo: David De Armas.
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