spring 2015
Director’sletter
it’s time to turn the lights back on! As you know, the Third Level galleries were dark this fall due to the replacement of three hvac units. However, now that these important systems are installed and humming away smoothly, we can once again fill the Third Level galleries with a special show. And, do we have an exciting exhibition for you. You will read about African Cosmos: Stellar Arts and it’s connection with Emory’s “Creation Stories” project in the pages of this newsletter. In addition, you’ll learn about two other exciting “creation stories inspired” exhibitions; one in the
works on paper gallery, the other in the Art of the Americas galleries. This past October, the museum’s inaugural Visiting Board convened its first meeting. Composed of business executives, collectors, and philanthropists from around the country, this diverse group of individuals will advocate for the Carlos Museum, supporting its vision of excellence in collections, conservation, and educational programming. Already making a difference, you’ll read about two incredible works of art purchased during the Visiting Board’s meeting: A Hellenistic silver cup, and an Egyptian sculptor’s model. And, you’ll learn of a third work of art, an African mask, purchased by the museum’s Advisory Board (not wanting the Visiting Board to have all the fun!). We are pleased to welcome a new staff member to the museum. Dr. Melinda Hartwig formally began her duties as Curator of Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art in December, although she was an enthusiastic participant in the October Visiting Board meeting, inspiring the group to purchase the sculptor’s model. We are honored to have this distinguished scholar join our team and look forward to her contributions. A very special event in the museum world is coming to Atlanta this spring. The American Alliance of Museums (aam) will hold its annual conference in Atlanta from April 25th through the 29th. Over five thousand museum professionals from around the country and beyond will descend upon our city to participate in panel sessions developed to address the challenges faced by cultural institutions. In addition to staff members attending
OnView panel sessions, the Carlos Museum, part of the Host Committee for the conference, will develop a tour for the Chinese delegation as well as host a special evening event for 250 conference attendees. In a meaningful move inspired by the aam conference and as a way to build greater awareness of Atlanta’s dynamic museums, the Host Committee will launch Museum Week from April 25 through May 1. Participating museums will have admission specials, and the Carlos Museum will offer two-for-one admission. The hope is for Museum Week to become an annual event in Atlanta, so I hope you will take this opportunity to support our cultural institutions during Museum Week. So many wonderful projects are underway at the museum as we being 2015. We are launching an updated audio guide, South Asia will soon join the Odyssey Online lineup, a conservation tour for school children is being developed, and even our membership program is getting an update. It’s an exciting time to be involved with the Carlos Museum! As always, I look forward to seeing you in the galleries!
B on n ie Speed Director
cover: Luba artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Headrest. Mid-to late 19th century. Wood, oil. National Museum of African Art, Museum purchase. 2
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African Cosmos: Stellar Arts On view through June 21, 2015 Organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, African Cosmos: Stellar Arts is the first major exhibition exploring the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with traditional and contemporary African art. The exhibition includes more than eighty art works from ancient Egypt to present day South Africa that consider how the sun, moon, stars and celestial phenomena such as thunder and rainbows serve as sources of inspiration in the creation of African arts. Far from abstract concepts, African notions of the universe are intensely personal and place human beings in relationships with earth and sky and with all celestial bodies. Upon entering the exhibition visitors encounter Chasing Light, a multimedia work by South African artist Marcus Neustetter. Neustetter recorded the sound emitted by the aurora borealis using high-frequency equipment. He then placed a tray of water on a speaker and played the recordings. When the sound from the speaker vibrated the water, the artist bounced a laser off the surface, creating his own version of the northern lights. The exhibition is organized by lunar arts, solar arts, stellar arts, and art that explores the connection between the earth and sky. Highlights include a wall of Dogon Kanaga masks from Mali, which have a
crossbar composition reflecting the opposing yet connected domains of sky and earth. These masks come alive as they are performed during the dama festival, a funereal ceremony that occurs every twelve years. Dancers whip their heads back and slap the tip of the masks to the dirt in each of the four cardinal directions, creating a thunderous crack as the wood strikes the ground. Funereal arts often create links between the afterlife and the cosmos. In the solar arts section, a small fragment of an ancient Egyptian mortuary stela depicts a baboon on the solar barque, hands raised, greeting the sun as it breeches the horizon line and begins its journey across the sky. In contrast to the reliable daily presence of the
above: The stellar arts section of the special exhibition African Cosmos: Stellar Arts.
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OnView sun, the moon appears to change shape, waxing from new to full and waning back to new every month. This potential for light becomes a potential for enlightenment in works like the Luba female figure with a quartz crystal on her head. Like the moon, which reflects the light of the sun, the quartz does not produce light, but reflects and refracts it. The crystal in this figure captures and reflects moonlight, offering communication with spirits of the dead and revealing secrets and memories. In the gallery of stellar arts, visitors are greeted by Gavin Jantjes’s painting depicting three figures under a night sky, which has been used as the emblem of this exhibition. The painting recalls a Khoisan myth describing a young maiden dancing around a fire. She reached into the flames and threw burning embers into the night sky; hot, glowing coals remained to form the stars and the ash created a wide, shimmering pathway, the Milky Way. The final gallery brings the visitor back to earth and considers how such forces like Shango, the Yoruba thunder deity, connect earth and sky. On display is a Shango dancewand that would be carried by his devotee to keep him calm. However, when he does get riled up Shango sends down thunderbolts in the form of neolithic stone axes, as seen displayed alongside the dancewand. The axes are said to emerge from the saturated ground after heavy rains and are collected and placed at the shrine of Shango.
African Cosmos is creative in its methodology, tackles challenging questions, and broadens our perspective of the work and Africa. To further explore the breadth and complexity of the topic, a vast array of educational programming has been developed for this exhibition, including AntiquiTEAs that highlight particular works in the exhibition, shows at Emory’s planetarium, lectures by renowned scholars such as Polly and Alan Roberts, Anthony Aveni, and Jessica Stephenson, and an artist residency for Marcus Neustetter. Z
SPIDER WOMAN TO HORNED SERPENT: CREATION AND CREATIVITY IN NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ART March 7, 2015–January 3, 2016 “spider woman” is an important figure in Native North American mythology. Often associated with the creation of the earth, she not only gave the Hopi life, but also the creative power to weave, and the precious silver and turquoise to make their jewelry. Later, the Diné (Navajo) migrated to Spider Woman’s lands in the Southwest and learned of her gifts from the ancient Hopi and other Puebloan peoples. Today all of these groups in the Southwest are known for their imaginative creations in fiber, silver, turquoise, and ceramics. As part of Emory’s year-long celebration and exploration of creation narratives across cultures, the Carlos Museum is featuring not only indigenous art of the American Southwest, the gifts of Spider Woman, but also beadwork and leather of the Plains, Cherokee
sculpture and basketry, and Southeastern Mississippian shell jewelry. The artworks displayed in this Art of the Americas gallery rotation come from local collectors and the Carlos Museum’s own collection of objects from the Etowah Mounds, including a shell pendant with a horned, coiled rattlesnake in a circle with cross formation. This snake, one of the four “horned serpents” of the Mississippian cosmos, helps maintain balance at the four corners among the three levels of the world. This pendant is rarely displayed due to its sacred nature, but through collaboration with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma the museum is proud to exhibit it along with a recently carved war club by Muscogee artist Danny Beaver. Z
above left: Small Bowl with Abstract Lightning and Feather Motifs. Tonita Martínez Roybal (Native American, Tewa, Pohwoge [San Ildefonso Pueblo], New Mexico, 1892–1945). After mid-1920s. Ceramic, black-on-black. Gift of Elizabeth Collier Wardle. left: Large Bowl with Abstract Feathers. Maria and Julián Martínez. (Native American, Tewa, Pohwoge [San Ildefonso Pueblo], New Mexico, 1887– 1980 and 1897–1943). 1934–1943. Ceramic, black-on-black. Gift of Elizabeth Collier Wardle.
above: Journey to the Moon, William Kentridge’s 35mm and 16mm film transferred to video. 4
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top: Chasing Light, a multimedia work by South African artist Marcus Neustetter.
above right: Seed Jar with Spider and Lightning Motifs. Nana-kaa (“Aspen Leaves”) (aka Judith Gutierrez Harvier and Andrew Harvier) (Judith: Tewa, Khapo [Santa Clara Pueblo] and Posuwaegeh [Pojoaque Pueblo], New Mexico, 1958– and Andrew: Tiwa, Tua-Tua [Taos Pueblo]; Tewa, Khapo [Santa Clara Pueblo]; and Tohono O’odham [Papago], New Mexico, 1958–). Late 20th century. Ceramic, incised blackware with turquoise inlay. Collection of Walter Melion and John Clum. photos by bruce m. white
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CarlosFeatures Joop Bollen, 2014 Baker Award recipient Joop Bollen, recipient of the 2014 Woolford B. Baker Service Award, is a Dutch-born businessman living in South Dakota. A long time patron and donor, his unwavering commitment to the Carlos Museum is exemplified by his generous support of
Melinda Hartwig joins the Carlos Museum
Bust of a Ramesside Official Egyptian, Dynasties 19–20. Black granite. Gift of Sally & Joseph Gladden in honor of Joop Bollen, 2014 Woolford B. Baker Service Award Recipient.
this imposing bust, representing a man offering a shrine or naos, was most likely a statue created for a temple setting. The style of the face, elaborate wig on his head, and pleated sleeves of his garment identify the date of the sculpture as the 19th or 20th Dynasty— the Ramesside Period. Even though black granite is difficult to carve, the sculptor has managed to infuse a bit of personality into this engaging portrait. While the name of the man is not preserved, a hieroglyphic text on the back offers clues to the commissioning of the statue as it reads, “The God’s Wife, The Great Royal Wife [Ahmose Nofretari].”
the museum’s staff and collections. Bollen has been particularly Ahmose Nofretari was a daughter supportive of the Egyptian, Nubian, of one of Egypt’s most revered and Near Eastern collection, and has queens. She lived during the time bolstered the Museum’s ability to the Theban princes battled the offer primary source materials for Hyksos to regain control of Egypt research, education, and enrichment and establish the New Kingdom by generously donating exquisite (ca. 115–1070 bc). She was the and rare works of art such as a New wife of king Ahmose and may have Kingdom painted Canopic Jar and served as regent for the young king Statue of the Lady Tjery, a Late Amenhotep i. Ahmose Nofretari Period bonze Aegis of Hathor, a was deified after her death and was series of beautiful adjoining Old often worshipped in the Theban Kingdom reliefs, and an impressive area along with Amenhotep i. large New Kingdom Funerary Stela. She is depicted and mentioned In addition, Bollen has been instruin as many as fifty Theban tombs, mental in encouraging other collecand invoked on at least twenty votive tors from around the country to lend statues similar to the Ramesside and donate to the Carlos Museum. Official. This sculpture has an Bollen, managing director of interesting provenance, having sdrc , Inc. in Aberdeen, is a native belonged to Maurice Nahman, one of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. of the most famous dealers and He came to the United States as a collectors living in Cairo in the late high school exchange student. He 19th and early 20th centuries. Z went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in economics and business with a specialization in computer science above: Joop Bollen receiving the Baker Award from the Gladdens.
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from the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his master’s degree, with honors, in international management from American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. The Woolford B. Baker Service Award, established and endowed by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Gladden, is presented each year to an individual or organization that has demonstrated outstanding service to the Carlos Museum through a leadership role, an exceptional contribution of time and expertise, or a significant achievement in the museum community. The Baker Award is named in honor of Dr. Woolford B. Baker, director of the former Emory University Museum from 1953 to 1982, and grandfather of Joseph R. Gladden. In honor of Bollen, the Gladdens’ acquired the Bust of a Ramesside Official, shown at left, for the Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern collection. Z
and archaeology. She has curated exhibitions featured at the University of Memphis Art Museum and the High Museum. She has also received The Carlos Museum is pleased to awards, grants, and honors to welcome Dr. Melinda Hartwig as the new curator of ancient Egyptian, further her work in Egypt, including those from the United States Agency Nubian, and Near Eastern art. for International Development; Hartwig is an active Egyptologist National Endowment for the who curates exhibitions, leads archaeological excavations, teaches, Humanities American Overseas Center for Advanced Study Fellowand generates invaluable scholarship. She brings extensive experience ship; and United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and to the museum’s continued mission Cultural Affairs Fellowship. to promote the study, preservation, Hartwig’s lifelong commitment to and exhibition of ancient art. and knowledge of ancient Egyptian Hartwig is a specialist in ancient art is recognized internationally with Egyptian sculpture and painting, widely published books and articles. ancient Near Eastern interconnecAnd, her expertise is leveraged by tions, and the applications of science major broadcast outlets, including in art. She has worked for over thirty the Discovery Channel, National years in Egypt, leading conservation Geographic Channel, BBC, and PBS. and documentation projects, most Hartwig will oversee exhibitions, recently in the Theban tombs of strategic partnerships, and continued Menna and Neferrenpet, using the stewardship of the museum’s ancient latest non-invasive scientific tools Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern of analysis. collections. Z Since 2001, Hartwig has taught at Georgia State University in the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, as professor of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern art
above: Carlos Museum Board member Bernard van der Lande with Joop Bollen
above: Melinda Hartwig, Curator of Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art
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CarlosConservation Conservation for African Cosmos several objects from the Carlos Museum’s collections were treated in the Parsons Conservation Laboratory in preparation for the African Cosmos exhibition. The Mambilla shrine screen and the limestone relief depicting Sopdet were included in the exhibition’s opening at the National Museum of African Art as well as at the Newark Museum of Art’s showing. Lab volunteers helped compensate areas of loss on both objects, and conservators oversaw their installation at each venue. Additional objects were treated for the exhibition here at Emory, old repairs on the limestone lintel of Taharka, which were reshaped and repainted, and the gilded silver figure of Amun was cleaned. Mellon Fellow Ashley Jehle carried out more extensive interventions on a Dogon Kanaga mask and an Egyptian relief depicting Wadjet
and Nekhbet. Prior to treatment, the horizontal crosspieces on the Kanaga mask were attached with cording that was loose, not original to the piece, and aesthetically incongruent with the rest of the object. During treatment, evidence on the backs of the crosspieces suggested they were originally attached in different positions and orientations. The crosspieces were reattached using strips of Tyvek, folded and painted, to mimic the appearance of the original animal hide lashings. Tears in the plant fiber netting were mended, and losses in the wood were filled and painted in order to create a continuous profile. When the two limestone relief panels of Wadjet and Nekhbet arrived at the museum, they were adhered to a wooden board. The board flexed during shipment, causing the panels to crack and break— one panel was in six pieces
and the other was in four pieces. Removing the panel fragments from the board required hours of careful sawing through thick adhesive. The pieces were adhered together using a stable and reversible acrylic adhesive. Gaps in the joints were filled and painted so that each panel appeared whole. Mountmaker Bruce Raper enabled the secure display of these objects through his fabrication of custom-fitted mounts that would support the unique vulnerabilities of each structure. The brass and steel clips were formed, padded, and painted to hold each object with minimal visual intrusion. The objects are displayed under environmental and lighting conditions that promote their long-term preservation—a thorough conservation effort that began in the lab, and continues in the galleries. Z
above: Dogon Kanaga Mask, Mali, mid-20th century. Detail of superstructure before and after treatment. Note the orientation and position of the crosspieces as well as the lashings. 8
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above: Egyptian Limestone Relief Depicting Wadjet and Nekhbet, 722–180 bc. During and after treatment.
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Carloscollections Carlos Museum acquires Rembrandt’s Abraham’s Sacrifice thanks to the Rollins Acquisition Fund, the museum recently added Rembrandt’s spectacular 1655 etching Abraham’s Sacrifice to the permanent collection of works on paper. This moving print depicts a famous episode of spiritual crisis told in Genesis 22. As a test of faith, God demands that Abraham sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Rembrandt’s image deviates from the traditional biblical narrative, which describes Isaac as bound and lying prone across an altar. Instead,
Rembrandt depicts Isaac unbound, bowing his head obediently across his father’s lap. A haggard Abraham raises his sword and gently shields Isaac’s eyes from the approaching blow. At the last moment, however, an angel embraces the already bereaved father and stills his arm. Rembrandt heightens the drama of the scene by focusing a bright shaft of light on the trio of foreground figures and on the central vial that would hold Isaac’s spilt blood. With this etching, Rembrandt revisits a subject that he first executed as a painting in 1635. The mood of the earlier work, now hanging in the Hermitage in St.
Petersburg, Russia, is drastically different. In the painting, Rembrandt’s angel frantically swoops down and forces the blade away from Abraham, lending the entire scene a sense of frenzied movement and urgency. The angel in this etching, by contrast, wraps his arms around Abraham in a tender, comforting gesture. During the twenty years between the two works, Rembrandt endured the deaths of his wife and three sons. Perhaps Abraham’s quiet anguish and defeat in the etching mirror the artist’s own despair and desire for heavenly solace. Z
above: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669). Abraham's Sacrifice, 1655. Etching and drypoint. Rollins Acquisition Fund. 10
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Carlos Museum partnership acquires Romare Bearden prints the carlos museum and numerous partners recently acquired seven works of art by Romare Bearden: An untitled collage of a Trojan horse; and the Odysseus Suite, a set of six screen prints signed, titled, and inscribed by the artist in 1979. These works of art will be housed in the Carlos Museum’s works on paper collection, available for teaching as well as for display to the general public.
Jasper Gaunt, Carlos Museum curator of Greek and Roman art, notes, “The two Homeric epics referenced in these works of art were of great importance to the culture of the ancient world; the museum already exhibits several objects that illustrate various episodes of these Greek and Roman myths. It is wonderful to now have in our collection these modern, re-interpretations on age-old themes by Bearden.” The art commemorates the late Richard A. Long’s close friendship
with Romare and Nanette Bearden and his generous support of Emory. Curator of the African American collections at marbl, Randall Burkett, said, “Professor Long’s commitment to Emory was evident in his decision to leave a substantial portion of his estate to support African American collections here. To memorialize his love of the university and of African American art, these important works were acquired from his estate.” Z
above: Romare Howard Bearden. (American, 1911–1988). Untitled (The Trojan Horse), ca. 1977. Collage of various papers and mixed media, mounted on masonite. Museum purchase in partnership with marbl, Robert W. Woodruff Library, Jean Astrop, Nancy and Randall Burkett, Maria Doiranlis and Jasper Gaunt.
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Educationnews Odyssey Online South Asia through the generous support of the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Carlos Museum presents another in the Odyssey Online series of websites, Odyssey Online South Asia. The South Asian collection of the Carlos Museum represent living religious traditions that originated in India thousands of years ago and spread
throughout Asia and around the globe. As the third and fourth largest religions in the world, Hinduism and Buddhism have millions of followers, not only in Asia, but also in the United States, and here in Atlanta. Odyssey Online South Asia uses interactive technology to not only allow students to explore objects in the collection in depth, but also to gain an understanding of how objects such as these would function in
religious settings. The museum worked closely with organizations such as the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, the Bengali Association of Atlanta, and Drepung Loseling Monastery to highlight contemporary religious practices in order for students to witness the ritual settings and practices that give objects like those in the collection meaning. For example, after learning about the life of the Buddha and his search
above: An interactive interface portraying the Carlos Museum's 13th-century gilt Tibetan Buddha, and a section in the Odyssey Online South Asia website helping students learn more about objects in the collections and their connections to living traditions. below: Statue of Buddha on the altar of Drepung Loseling Monastery, Atlanta. 12
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for enlightenment by exploring the 13th-century gilt Buddha from Tibet in the museum’s collection, students will see a very similar statue on the altar of Drepung Loseling Monastery here in Atlanta. As they select highlighted areas of the altar, Buddhist monk Geshe Dadul Namgyal explains, in short video segments, the relationship of the statue to other objects on the altar and how, together, they represent the “three jewels”of Buddhism—the Buddha, the dharma, and the sanga. The image of Ganesh in the galleries is carved from sandstone, and one is able to admire the stone itself and the artistry of the carving. Odyssey Online South Asia allows students to explore the carved details of the unadorned Ganesh itself and then to see a similar statue in a religious context, at the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, where every Saturday morning priests awaken the elephant-headed god and anoint him with honey, sugar, and flowers, and dress and ornament him. Seeing the ritual helps students to understand the many forms of Hindu ritual and the role that objects play in worship. Dr. Joyce Flueckiger and Dr. Sara McClintock of Emory’s Religion Department served as advisors and editors on the project. Dr. Flueckiger is eager to use the resource with her students at Emory: “Odyssey Online South Asia is an important, creative resource for those who see our South Asian art objects in the Carlos Museum, but who may not have seen these objects in contemporary usage in ritual contexts. The object in a museum is very differently experienced than it is by those who worship or
otherwise utilize it in ritual contexts. Odyssey gives us wonderful images of these objects in ritual and festival contexts in the city of Atlanta where these are living religious traditions. For those who have experienced viewing similar objects in ritual worship, Odyssey gives them an opportunity to view the details of the objects by clicking on various features of the sculptures that may not be visible when the sculpture is clothed and decked with flowers during ritual. I look forward to using the Odyssey Online South Asia for courses on Hinduism, as well as performance and ritual, that I teach in Emory College.” Though aimed primarily at students studying world religion in the classroom, the website will be available to anyone with an interest in the study of Hinduism, Buddhism, and the art and practice of these two great world religions. Z
New multimedia audio guides thanks to the generous financial support of the Sara Giles Moore Foundation, the Carlos Museum is pleased to introduce an updated audio guide to the permanent collections. The guide includes fifty minutes of new material, featuring expert commentary from museum curators and Emory faculty members from a number of departments. The guide, available on iPod touches, features enhanced multi-media content offering visitors a greater understanding of the Carlos Museum’s permanent collection. For example, in the Art of the Americas section, images of whale sharks on the screen help visitors visualize the ways in which the museum’s Chancay female effigy vessel represents the shaman transforming into the giant fish, which serves as her animal spirit companion. The audio guide may be rented for $3 at the Information Desk in the Museum rotunda and, as always, audio guides are free to Carlos Museum members. Z
above: The new iPod touches offer visitors multimedia content to help enhance their understanding of Carlos Museum objects. Here one can see the inspiration behind the Chancay female effigy vessel, a whale shark.
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Carlos&theCampus Mellon Foundation continues support for conservation
Centered Curatorial Research. This Program awards three fellowships annually for art history graduate students to investigate objects in the carlos museum has been both museums. The graduate fellows awarded another grant by the will work closely with curators, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, faculty members, and conservators continuing more than twenty years of generous support for conservation to consider questions of authorship, manufacture, presentation, and and teaching activities at Emory. preservation. Graduate fellows also This four-year grant will provide enroll in Chief Conservator Renée funding for Advanced Fellowships Stein’s course Issues in the Conserin Conservation as well as collaborvation of Art and Cultural Property. ative research and teaching. The Funding for guest speakers and Advanced Fellowship is a two-year workshop supplies is provided position for recent graduates of a through the Art History Departconservation Master degree proment’s portion of the Fellowship gram. The fellow will participate Program grant. in all aspects of the conservation lab’s varied responsibilities, includEmory is one of more than two ing preventive care, treatment, dozen universities in the United research, and teaching. The fellow States participating in the Mellon will collaborate with museum staff Foundation’s initiative to foster as well as help supervise volunteers collaboration between graduate and interns. Similar grant-funded programs in art history and local opportunities for new conservation museums. The goal is to provide professionals exist in leading labs graduate students with exposure to throughout the country and serve the work of museum professionals the field of art conservation as and hands-on experience with important platforms for continued object-centered research. The Emory learning. The fellows bring new and High Museum partnership developments in practice and is the only such program to fully contribute their knowledge to integrate conservation into its the resources of the host lab. design. The Mellon Foundation’s ongoing support of the Carlos A significant role of the Mellon Museum’s Parsons Conservation Advanced Conservation Fellow will Laboratory is an endorsement of be collaboration with graduate the lab’s vital role in educating art students from the Art History historians and conservators as well Department who are engaged in object-driven research on the Carlos as an investment in its continued growth as a resource to the museum, Museum’s collections. With this Emory, and community. Z grant, the museum becomes a partner, along with the Art History Department and the High Museum of Art, in the Mellon Graduate Fellowship Program in Object-
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Emory’s astrophysicist looking to the stars erin wells bonning, an astrophysicist in Emory’s Physics Department and director of the Emory Planetarium, usually studies “multiwave-length observations of supermassive black holes in active galaxies,” but lately, she has become fascinated with dung beetles. Bonning, who joined the Emory faculty in 2013, has been an invaluable partner in developing innovative programming for the university and the public in conjunction with the exhibition African Cosmos: Stellar Arts. Bonning’s customized planetarium program for the exhibition explores, among many other topics, the movement of the sun across the sky and the visual metaphors used by the ancient Egyptians to express that movement. She was surprised and pleased to discover that dung beetles, which push balls of dung much larger than themselves across the desert in order to create a place to lay their eggs, orient themselves by the light of the Milky Way. The ancient Egyptians used the image of the beetle pushing a ball to represent the sun god Khepri pushing the ball of the sun across the sky each day. Bonning’s planetarium program will explore the movement of the sun, the Milky Way, phases of the moon, the “dog star” Sirius as well as a number of constellations, and will connect each of those objects in the sky to objects in the exhibition. Dr. Bonning will present the program several times for public audiences during the exhibition, and has trained Rachel Kreiter, who served as an Andrew W. Mellon intern for the exhibition, to conduct the program for elementary, middle,
and high school students in the Atlanta area. In addition, she and Susan Gagliardi, assistant professor in the Art History Department, are teaching a freshman seminar on the exhibition that examines how representations of the cosmos by artists linked to the African continent relate to what astronomers actually know about celestial phenomena. Together with students in the course, Bonning and Gagliardi will explore these connections
through parallel studies of the stars in the Emory Planetarium and art in the exhibition. Bonning has traditional advanced training in science, having earned her PhD at the University of Texas, and completed post doctoral fellowships at Yale and the Observatory of Paris, but her decision to attend St. John’s College in Annapolis with its “great books” program of study as an undergraduate reflects her interest in the
above: Julie Green, manager of school programs, and Erin Bonning, an astrophysicist in Emory’s Physics Department and director of the Emory Planetarium. Behind them, in Emory's planetarium, is the Zeiss Skymaster ZKP3—a German-made star projector that simulates all heavenly bodies that seem to glow from outer space.
interrelatedness of the seemingly unrelated. “I have always been interested in how different aspects of the human experience speak to one another.” She finds examples of this interrelatedness in the African Cosmos exhibition. South African artist’s Karel Nel’s video in the exhibition, a work of art actually created from scientific data (accompanied by the sound of crickets) is a wonderful example of connecting art and science, while maintaining the integrity of each discipline. Bonning is also fascinated by the way in which traditional African cultures like the Luba, whose art represents concepts related to the phases of the moon, “embody aspects of the physical world in a metaphorical way.” Dr. Bonning will participate in a Creation Stories Conversation on March 17 with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson about the ways in which science, art, and religion all seek to illuminate our understanding of the place of human beings in the cosmos. Z
above: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson
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SupporttheCarlos Donor spotlight museum member Emily Katt first toured the conservation lab in 2011 during the restoration of the Old Kingdom mummy. The museum’s conservation team, led by Rénee Stein, took great care of the 4,000-year-old mummy, which had been stored for more than ninety years, and is now on display in the Egyptian gallery. The meticulous conservation effort fascinated Katt —“This captivated me; I was so intrigued and so impressed,” she said. As a result, she began directing an annual gift to conservation, which her employer matches. Annual contributions like Katt’s support conservation efforts including the ongoing treatment of museum collections, teaching and training opportunities for students, and research. For information about additional ways to support the Carlos Museum with annual donations, contact Jennifer Long, Assistant Director of Development, at 404-727-2115 or jennifer.long@ emory.edu. Z
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You came, you saw, you Bacchanal’d thank you for ushering in the fall, Aztec style, at Bacchanal 21: Farewell to the Flowers! Mojitos on the Quad, body-painted Aztec deities, the flower-power selfie lounge—Bacchanal 21 featured many memorable moments. Thank you to our sponsors, Host Committee members, raffle donors, and stylish guests for making the event such a success. Z
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Bacchanal revelers included: A Collier Williams, Lundy Starke, Julie Middlekauff, Matthew Bowness, Will Stansfield; B Rebecca and Bill Bailey; C Preston Wilson, Toni Schenk, Ed Snow; D Dancing to great music at Bacchanal; E Avery and Vanessa Kastin; F Co-chairs Khalilah Birdsong and Keith Radford
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above: Emily Katt continues her support of the Carlos Museum. 16
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SupporttheCarlos
Membership
• The Family level at $100 is now available not only to parents and children but also grandparents and grandchildren. at the carlos museum, our goal • Our new guest pass for Ionic is to provide members with unique and above levels can be used experiences and special access to for either general admission or our renowned collections, exhibi members-only event admission. tions, and programs. With that in • If you are a current Ionic mem- mind, we have revised our member ber, please note that the annual ship levels to offer the best mix of benefits for our dedicated supporters. catalog mailing is now being offered to Corinthian and Here’s what’s new: above members only. If this is • We are pleased to introduce a benefit that you enjoy, we two new levels: Individual and would love for you to consider Dual. The Individual level is upgrading your membership! offered at $50 and is perfect • We have added a one-time for one person. Dual member - complimentary facility rental ship, for two adults, is $75. to our generous members at These two levels replace our the Partner level. Z Friend level membership.
we extend our gratitude to all who have become new members or who have renewed their Partner, Council, or Patron level memberships between August 2014 and February 2015. Your support is greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you at the museum for many years to come.
The Carlos rings in the New Year with a fresh look at membership
Bookshop stars. At the core of creation myths and the foundation of moral values, celestial bodies are often accorded sacred capacities and are part of the “cosmological map” that this groundbreaking scholarly allows humans to chart their publication, accompanying the exhibition organized by the National course through life. $60 hardcover, discounted for Carlos Museum Museum of African Art and now members. Order online: showing at the Carlos Museum, carlosmuseum.webstorepowered. brings together exceptional works com/African-Cosmos-Culturalof art, dating from ancient times to Astronomy-Antiquity/dp/ the present, with essays by leading scholars and contemporary artists to b00ads5r3y. Z consider African cultural astronomy; SAVE THE DATE The Museum creativity, and artistic practice in Bookshop’s spring sale will be Africa as it is linked to celestial bodies and atmospheric phenomena. Friday and Saturday, April 24 and African concepts of the universe are 25, with everything in the store discounted 20% (no additional intensely personal, placing human discounting, 20% is the maximum beings in relation to the earth and discount for all shoppers on these sky, and with the sun, moon, and two days only). African Cosmos: Stellar Arts African Cultural Astronomy from Antiquity to Present
To order books by phone call 404-727-2374, or visit our website at carlos.emory.edu/bookshop. 18
spring 2015
Not yet a member? Visit carlos.emory.edu/join to join the ranks of these generous supporters. To upgrade your membership, call 404-727-2623.
Veneralia Revealed— An Exotic Moroccan Evening Tickets: carlos.emory.edu/Veneralia2015 support the Carlos Museum at the 24th annual Veneralia fundraiser on Friday, April 17. This year’s event, Veneralia Revealed, will bring North African culture into focus with brilliant lantern light, fire dancing, special musical performances, and delicious fare at the Imperial Fez restaurant. Rebecca and Sidney Yarbrough iii will serve as Chairs of the event and Reid Mizell and Bernard van der Lande will serve as Patron Chairs. Longtime supporters Sally and Jim Morgens will be celebrated as Honorary Chairs for their contributions to the vitality and growth of the Carlos Museum, especially its Egyptian collection. Funds raised will help sustain the Museum’s special exhibitions and innovative education programs for children and families. Z Share the joys of the Carlos with moms, dads, and grads purchase a gift membership at the Individual, Dual, or Family level and get $10 off! Carlos Museum membership opens the door to world of beauty, culture, history, and learning that lasts all year long. Visit carlos.emory.edu/gift or call 404-727-2623 to redeem this special offer. Z
d i rec t o r ’ s C o u nci l Mr. James B. Miller, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Cleveland Snow, Jr. C u rat o rs’ C o u nci l Messrs. Dirk L. Brown and Timothy Burns Judge Brenda H. Cole and Dr. Thomas W. Cole, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. L. Franklyn Elliott Mr. Malcolm S. Barnes and Ms. Virginia Hepner Dr. Sarah H. Hill and Mr. Harvey B. Hill, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin A. Hill Mrs. Marguerite C. Ingram Mr. and Mrs. Hans Kempers Dr. and Mrs. Larry R. Kirkland Dr. Elaine L. Levin Dr. Joe Brown Massey, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony P. Meier, Jr. Mrs. Reid P. Mizell and Mr. Bernard Jan van der Lande Dr. and Mrs. John S. O'Shea Mr. and Mrs. Pyush R. Patel Mr. Nicholas J. Pisaris Dr. and Mrs. Morris E. Potter Mrs. Ruth Magness Rollins Mr. and Mrs. William D. Roth Ms. Joan M. Sammons Dr. Sandra J. Still and Ms. Emily Elaine Katt C o r i n t h i an Pa t r o n Mr. David Boatwright Dr. and Mrs. Gregg Codelli Ms. Catherine Warren Dukehart Mr. and Mrs. James L. Ferman, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Richard V. Remigailo Dr. Regine Reynolds-Cornell Dr. Monique Seefried and Mr. Ferdinand C. Seefried Drs. Kirk W. Elifson and Claire Elizabeth Sterk Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Howard J. Weinstein Mrs. Loraine P. Williams I o n i c Pa t r o n Ms. Jessica G. Bregman Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence W. Davis Ms. Louise Barlett Franklin Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Howard Prof. and Mrs. Howard O. Hunter Mr. and Mrs. Graham Kerr Ms. Marianna G. McLean Mr. Daniel G. Oberg Messrs. Gary Youngblood and James Michael Lorton Mr. and Mrs. Steven J. Zier
D o r i c Pa t r o n Mr. and Mrs. Wayne S. Bailey Messrs. Eugene Bales, Jr. and Boon C. Boonyapat Ms. Nancy L. Barber Drs. Patricia J. Bauer and James Steven Snow Dr. Lucius Courtenay Beebe Sr. Mrs. Jeri Lynn Cameron-Berlin and Mr. Robert Berlin and Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Boas Mr. Randy Fields and Ms. Elizabeth Anne Bouis Mr. Jeff Bragg and Ms. Deborah Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Alan Bremer Dr. Josephine V. Brown Ms. Tracy Buchanan Ms. Lynda Nelson Bush Mr. and Mrs. Steve Caffarelli Dr. and Mrs. Stewart Wright Caughman Ms. Carol Chatham Dr. Stanley A. Cohen Ms. Aimee Cosper and Mr. Robert McGarity Dr. and Mrs. F. Thomas Daly, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Steven Godarze Ebrahimi Ms. Maryanne E. Elliott Dr. Elizabeth M. Ellis Ms. Sierra Finnie Mr. and Mrs. Michael Brennan Flanagan Mr. James E. Flynn, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James A. Ford Mrs. Jan Thibadeau Francis Ms. Elaine R. Gale and Mr. Randy E. Pimsler Dr. John W. Gamwell Dr. and Mrs. John C. Garrett Mr. Warren D. Genett Ms. Lyndel M. Gliedman and Mr. Charles R. Hunsucker, Jr. Ms. Rebecca Guy Mrs. Heather Wilson-Hanna and Mr. John David Hanna Dr. and Mrs. John B. Hardman Dr. Melinda K. Hartwig Ms. Kathleen Ellis Hedrick Ms. Julianne E. Heighton Ms. Ruth A. Hough Mr. and Ms. Richard S. Kaplan Ms. Faye Kimerling Dr. and Mrs. Eric Klingelhofer Ms. Margie A. Koenig Mr. and Mrs. John G. Kokoszka Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Alan Krause Mr. and Mrs. Richard I. Krebs Ms. Patricia Krull Dr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Y. Lartey Dr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Lawley Ms. Sharon M. LeMaster and Mr. Larry D. Woodring
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Litre Dr. John Henry Lloyd Ms. Susan Ann Long and Mr. James Russell Bodell Mr. and Mrs. Peter Mariolis Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. McDavid Mr. and Mrs. David Eagle Meadows Mrs. Ellen Meshnick and Mr. Paul Immerman Mr. Charles Raben and Ms. Ann Miller Dr. Leslie R. Freedman and Ms. Lee P. Miller Ms. Cynthia Taylor Mills Ms. Torey Monchilovich Mr. Robert Bradley Morris Dr. Elizabeth Reynolds Moye and Mr. H. Allen Moye Ms. Bianca Quantrell and Mr. Henry F. Mullins, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. George E. Mundy Dr. and Mrs. Barry G. Munn Mr. and Mrs. Timothy M. Neja Mr. and Mrs. Spalding McArthur Nix Mr. G. Scott Owen Dr. Frank M. Pickens Mr. and Ms. Douglas H. Pike Mr. Frank C. Roberts Dr. and Mrs. Rein Saral Mr. and Ms. Andrew Mayer Schuler Mr. and Mrs. Jason Oliver Self Mr. and Mrs. Bruce A. Shecter Mr. and Mrs. Milton W. Shlapak Dr. and Mrs. Henry Joel Siegelson Ms. Nicole L. Sinclaire Ms. Mary Lynn Smith Ms. Ruth C. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Bolling P. Starke, Jr. Dr. Robert John Mullan and Mr. David Carl Tenney Mr. and Mrs. Ray G. Thomas Ms. Mary-Ellen Hunt Vian Mr. and Mrs. J. Eric Viebrock Mrs. Carolyn Smith Vigtel Drs. Paul F. Walter and Jonne Barney Walter Messrs. John Arthur White, Jr. and Richard G. Low Mr. William B. White Mrs. Aileen W. Wieland Mrs. Barbara Lord Willis Mr. Russell F. Winch Ms. Tiffany Dawn Worboy and Mr. Christian Deschenes Ms. Jeannie B. Wright Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey E. Young Dr. and Mrs. Stuart M. Zola Z
mccm
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non profit organization u.s. postage paid atlanta, georgia permit
571 south kilgo circle atlanta, ga 30322 carlos.emory.edu
Member
Comingup
Visitorinformation
March 7, 2015–January 3, 2016
Hours Tuesday through Friday:
Spider Woman to Horned Serpent: Creation and Creativity in Native North American Art October 8, 2015–January 3, 2016
Indigenous Beauty: Masterworks of American Indian Art from the Diker Collection
Stayconnnected Stay connected on our Facebook page with event reminders, specials, notes from curators, and exhibition information. Subscribe to our Carlos Museum calendar and enjoy lectures, the Carlos Reads book club, AntiquiTEA, family events, and more. Visit carlos.emory.edu/connect
10 am–4 pm; Saturday: 10 am– 5 pm; Sunday: noon–5 pm; Closed Mondays and University holidays. Admission $8 general admission. Carlos Museum members, Emory students, faculty, and staff: Free. Students, seniors, and children ages 6–17: $6 (Children ages 5 and under free). Visit our website to find out about Free Afternoons.
Handicapped parking Drop off at
Plaza level entrance on South Kilgo Circle. Handicap-accessible parking is available in the Oxford Road and Peavine parking decks. Limited handicap parking spaces are available along Kilgo Circle during weekends, and cars must display state issued hangtag. A handicap-accessible shuttle (shuttle D) runs from the Peavine parking deck weekdays every 10 minutes. For further assistance contact the Disability Services Office at 404-727-9877.
Public transportation marta bus line 6 Emory from Inman Park/ Reynoldstown & Lindbergh stations or 36 North Decatur from Avondale and Midtown stations.
Tours Advanced booking required
Parking Paid visitor parking in
Public tours Depart from the
the visitor sections of the Fishburne and Peavine Parking Decks and in the new Oxford Road Parking Deck, located behind the new Barnes and Noble @ Emory, 1390 Oxford Road.
rotunda on Sundays at 2 pm. Call in advance, 404-727-4282.
for weekday or weekend groups of 10 or more. For reservations call 404-727-0519 at least two weeks before your group would like to visit.
Audio tour $2. Free for museum
members. Museum information 404-727-4282 Web access carlos.emory.edu