Past Exhibitions
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.
Rembrandt’s mastery of the printmaking medium and his sensitive depiction of the human condition are unsurpassed. His numerous etchings covered the full range of styles and subjects for which he is celebrated as a painter and draughtsman, including self-portraits, scenes from the Bible, vignettes of everyday life, and character studies. Famously experimental, Rembrandt often reworked his copper plates to improve and extend their expressive power. The results can look startlingly modern and continue to inspire artists today. Drawing on many pictorial traditions and familiar themes, the works in the Hood’s collection represent Rembrandt’s achievements as a printmaker from his first etchings in the 1620s to his death forty years later. This exhibition is presented in celebration of the artist’s four hundredth birthday and will be accompanied by an illustrated brochure.