Exhibitions Archive
Australian Aboriginal Women Painters
Dreaming Their Way
The first-ever exhibition of its kind in the United States, Dreaming Their Way features intensely colorful canvases and intricate bark paintings by thirty-three Indigenous female artists from across the Australian continent. The paintings demonstrate these women's bold and often experimental interpretations of their cultural heritage. Works from renowned artists such as Dorothy Napangardi and the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye express the Indigenous relationship to the land, understanding of the world, and sense of obligation to their culture. Collectively, these works will encourage visitors to view contemporary Australian Indigenous art as one of the great art movements of our time.
Images of War
Photographs by Serge Hambourg
Protest in Paris 1968
French photographer Serge Hambourg's work provides an eyewitness account of the events of May 1968 in Paris, when student and worker strikes against the political and social establishment brought the country to a standstill. Barricades went up, arrests were made, and street fighting and other violence roiled France during a time of similar protests around the world. The thirty-six photographs in this exhibition depict protesters marching in the streets of Paris as well as the reactions of bystanders and opposition members, who were loyal to the government of President Charles de Gaulle.
Legacies of the American Civil War
Picturing Family in "The South"
Globalization in Ancient Costa Rican Arts
Explore the rich artistic legacy of the ancient Costa Ricans in this exhibition of vessels and figures that helps us trace relationships between the peoples of Costa Rica and their neighbors north and south. In ancient Costa Rican cultures, these objects were used to teach about mythology, religion, and the environment. Today, they help archaeologists reconstruct ancient paths of trade and distribution, revealing that thousands of years ago Costa Rica was, in effect, already regionally "globalized." The exhibition is guest curated by Fred Lange, and archaeologist of Central American cultures.
Art and Society in the Papuan Gulf of New Guinea
Coaxing the Spirits to Dance
Coaxing the Spirits to Dance is first major exhibition about the art of the Papuan Gulf in over forty years. This exhibition will explore the relationship between social life and artistic expression since the nineteenth century in one of the most important art-producing regions of Papua New Guinea. It includes one hundred magnificent art objects from the Hood’s own important collection of Melanesian art, including the Franklin Family Collection, and select other public and private collections. The exhibition features ancestor boards, masks, drums, skull racks, and personal items. It will examine the effects of colonialism on artistic production, the variation of styles among differing social structures and cultural practices, and the relationship between patterns of collecting and interpretations of art and culture in the Papuan Gulf. A fully illustrated scholarly catalogue accompanies the exhibition. Coaxing the Spirits to Dance will travel to The Metropolitan Museum of Art from October 24, 2006, through December 2, 2007.