From Egypt to the World
Today we finally went to see the Tutankhamun exhibit at LACMA, along with half of the West Coast, it seemed. It was the first day of my wife's fairly short vacation, and seeing the exhibit was one of our priorities. We locked in our tickets ages ago, and to avoid the hassle of parking and driving, took the bus. Despite what you may think of public transportation around here, it really was smooth-- we took the 4 up to Wilshire, transferred within minutes and in a total trip time of less than 30 minutes we were right in front of the LACMA West building, where the Tut show was.
I had heard that the entrance lines were long, but when we got to the huge tent set up for the queues, it was very brief-- maybe less than five minutes total, and then we were quickly ushered into the LACMA West building. The entrance to the exhibit itself was rather glitzy— tall statues of Egyptian mummies, tomb paintings, and the like. The first half of the show focused on personages and rulers other than the “boy-king”, which was good as it gave some context to the times. There was even a genealogy of Tut’s presumed ancestry.
One thing I really appreciated throughout was a deviation from the norm in museum text presentations. Instead of the normal placard directly below each item, the glass cases in this exhibit had one placard in the normal spot, and then one at the top of each case. This meant I could stand back at a distance, read the material at my own pace, then dart in to examine the artifact close-up when an opening was available.
About half of the stuff on display were from tombs and people other than Tutankhamun, so it was a chance to view and compare different items from different times. The first half of the exhibition was fairly smooth, and we were able to wander along, reading and glancing at each piece on display, and not get bogged down.
But about midway, in the beginning of the exclusively Tut material, a room that detailed items and information about pyramids and tomb traditions became totally bottlenecked. It was increasingly crowded from that point on, I suppose because everyone wanted to see Tutankhamun’s belongings and funerary accoutrements. There was a little of everything, from the chair Tut probably sat in, to feathers and crowns, to bows and arrows. One thing that I particularly liked was the coffin of another mummy, and the ability to walk completely around the coffin and view the intricate detail. Another item that stood out was a storage case in the shape of a scarab beetle, exquisitely outlined in semi-precious jewels and gold inlays.
One thing that was disappointing for my wife (and many of our friends who have gone to see this) is that none of the actual coffins or masks were on display, as they were in 1978. Nevertheless, the last two rooms were fascinating in their own right. The first had a holographic display of Tutankhamun’s coffins and mummy, with outlines showing the size and approximate location of each coffin layer, ending with a 3-D form of Tut’s actual body. The final room showed models of what Tutankhamun might very well have looked like, which was interesting to see.
It’s really amazing when you stop to think about it—these people died 4, 5, and even 6,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptian beliefs centered on the afterlife, and all that preparation for eternity. Yet when you think about it, we go to these shows, we ooh and ahh over the coffins and mummies, we buy the souvenirs: These people were right all along—they *did* live forever.
After we exited the show, the corridor led to the ubiquitous gift shop, full of gadgets, games, trinkets, t-shirts, coffee mugs, the “Mummy went to see the Mummy and I all I got was this Mummy” action figures, and the like. There were quite a few National Geographic videos and DVDs, some of which I’m interested in, but that’s what Netflix is for. After we’d checked out some of the books, we left the building, and went over to the main section of LACMA for lunch.
Following a leisurely repast of salad, panini, and a couple of drinks, we decided to “do” LACMA. One benefit of paying through the nose for the “blockbuster” was that our tickets also permitted us entrée to LACMA on the same day. We decided to start at the Japanese arts building.
Part of this was mildly interesting, and part of it was fascinating. The temporary exhibit du jour was about Japan and the World’s Fairs, which was interesting in the sense that it allowed the viewer to observe Japanese contributions and Western perceptions of Japan at global expositions. But the permanent display on the first floor was worth the time. It was a room full of netsuke, which I had never heard of before. Apparently these are the little carvings from wood, ebony, and other materials that serve as “locks” for the cords attached to purses that were attached to kimono belts. The netsuke range from mythological figures to animals to abstract pieces, and ranged from early Edo period pieces to more modern representations. Although they were not on display (obviously!), there also seem to be netsuke of a more risqué sort. Thus I got the chance to see some interesting art and learn something about Japanese culture.
From this end of LACMA, we went to the Modern Art building next. Since I am not a fan, I dashed through all the floors rather quickly. I did see a few paintings and pieces that were interesting, but for me, “good” art ends around the time Cubism started. For example, I like Picasso’s Blue Period, but the middle and endpoints of his career I can do without. But as you know, art is subjective—my wife and others enjoy modernism (which I refer to for the most part as “kindergarten art,” as in, “any kindergartener can do that”), even if I don’t. I did like one piece that was made up of black-shrouded, anonymous life-size figures seated in a circle on the floor. It made me think of ringwraiths, dementors, and other evil figures, or just simply unknown priests of a bygone era. Another project I liked was two rooms that were set up to resemble an American commercial garage from the 1940s-50s. To me, it was a mixture of history and art that I found fascinating.
The next building was European, American, African, Islamic, and non-Japanese Asian art. It was this building that made me realize just how huge LACMA really is. The first floor had Mesoamerican, African, and South American art, American furniture and arts and crafts, and 20th century American art. So far, so good. But the second floor was European art practically from the Dark Ages to the Impressionists. I wandered through Manet, Degas, Raphael, more religious art than you can shake a stick at, portraits of long-dead noblemen, stone effigies from medieval tombs, even an entryway from a Mediterranean church or estate house. The layout of the various rooms became confusing, and since there was no map provided, I had to keep careful track of where I had been.
A couple hours later, my wife was all “arted” out and decided to retreat. I forged on, as I wanted to see the non-European sections. I found the Islamic art section to be very interesting—illustrated pages of the Koran, models of royal ships, and even a small-scale model of a mosque. The Indian subcontinent area contained numerous statues and carvings of Buddha, Rama, Kali, Ganesha, and a host of other deities; there were more bodhisattva carvings than there probably were bodhisattvas to begin with. At this point, it was all starting to swim before my eyes, and I still had the Chinese art left on yet another floor. At this point I too capitulated, and went in search of my spouse. We agreed it had been a wonderful day, and a good bang for the buck—for less than $30 each we had traveled throughout art history and time from Ancient Egypt to the rest of the world. While LACMA isn’t as large as the Met in NYC, it definitely is worth a repeat visit.
I had heard that the entrance lines were long, but when we got to the huge tent set up for the queues, it was very brief-- maybe less than five minutes total, and then we were quickly ushered into the LACMA West building. The entrance to the exhibit itself was rather glitzy— tall statues of Egyptian mummies, tomb paintings, and the like. The first half of the show focused on personages and rulers other than the “boy-king”, which was good as it gave some context to the times. There was even a genealogy of Tut’s presumed ancestry.
One thing I really appreciated throughout was a deviation from the norm in museum text presentations. Instead of the normal placard directly below each item, the glass cases in this exhibit had one placard in the normal spot, and then one at the top of each case. This meant I could stand back at a distance, read the material at my own pace, then dart in to examine the artifact close-up when an opening was available.
About half of the stuff on display were from tombs and people other than Tutankhamun, so it was a chance to view and compare different items from different times. The first half of the exhibition was fairly smooth, and we were able to wander along, reading and glancing at each piece on display, and not get bogged down.
But about midway, in the beginning of the exclusively Tut material, a room that detailed items and information about pyramids and tomb traditions became totally bottlenecked. It was increasingly crowded from that point on, I suppose because everyone wanted to see Tutankhamun’s belongings and funerary accoutrements. There was a little of everything, from the chair Tut probably sat in, to feathers and crowns, to bows and arrows. One thing that I particularly liked was the coffin of another mummy, and the ability to walk completely around the coffin and view the intricate detail. Another item that stood out was a storage case in the shape of a scarab beetle, exquisitely outlined in semi-precious jewels and gold inlays.
One thing that was disappointing for my wife (and many of our friends who have gone to see this) is that none of the actual coffins or masks were on display, as they were in 1978. Nevertheless, the last two rooms were fascinating in their own right. The first had a holographic display of Tutankhamun’s coffins and mummy, with outlines showing the size and approximate location of each coffin layer, ending with a 3-D form of Tut’s actual body. The final room showed models of what Tutankhamun might very well have looked like, which was interesting to see.
It’s really amazing when you stop to think about it—these people died 4, 5, and even 6,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptian beliefs centered on the afterlife, and all that preparation for eternity. Yet when you think about it, we go to these shows, we ooh and ahh over the coffins and mummies, we buy the souvenirs: These people were right all along—they *did* live forever.
After we exited the show, the corridor led to the ubiquitous gift shop, full of gadgets, games, trinkets, t-shirts, coffee mugs, the “Mummy went to see the Mummy and I all I got was this Mummy” action figures, and the like. There were quite a few National Geographic videos and DVDs, some of which I’m interested in, but that’s what Netflix is for. After we’d checked out some of the books, we left the building, and went over to the main section of LACMA for lunch.
Following a leisurely repast of salad, panini, and a couple of drinks, we decided to “do” LACMA. One benefit of paying through the nose for the “blockbuster” was that our tickets also permitted us entrée to LACMA on the same day. We decided to start at the Japanese arts building.
Part of this was mildly interesting, and part of it was fascinating. The temporary exhibit du jour was about Japan and the World’s Fairs, which was interesting in the sense that it allowed the viewer to observe Japanese contributions and Western perceptions of Japan at global expositions. But the permanent display on the first floor was worth the time. It was a room full of netsuke, which I had never heard of before. Apparently these are the little carvings from wood, ebony, and other materials that serve as “locks” for the cords attached to purses that were attached to kimono belts. The netsuke range from mythological figures to animals to abstract pieces, and ranged from early Edo period pieces to more modern representations. Although they were not on display (obviously!), there also seem to be netsuke of a more risqué sort. Thus I got the chance to see some interesting art and learn something about Japanese culture.
From this end of LACMA, we went to the Modern Art building next. Since I am not a fan, I dashed through all the floors rather quickly. I did see a few paintings and pieces that were interesting, but for me, “good” art ends around the time Cubism started. For example, I like Picasso’s Blue Period, but the middle and endpoints of his career I can do without. But as you know, art is subjective—my wife and others enjoy modernism (which I refer to for the most part as “kindergarten art,” as in, “any kindergartener can do that”), even if I don’t. I did like one piece that was made up of black-shrouded, anonymous life-size figures seated in a circle on the floor. It made me think of ringwraiths, dementors, and other evil figures, or just simply unknown priests of a bygone era. Another project I liked was two rooms that were set up to resemble an American commercial garage from the 1940s-50s. To me, it was a mixture of history and art that I found fascinating.
The next building was European, American, African, Islamic, and non-Japanese Asian art. It was this building that made me realize just how huge LACMA really is. The first floor had Mesoamerican, African, and South American art, American furniture and arts and crafts, and 20th century American art. So far, so good. But the second floor was European art practically from the Dark Ages to the Impressionists. I wandered through Manet, Degas, Raphael, more religious art than you can shake a stick at, portraits of long-dead noblemen, stone effigies from medieval tombs, even an entryway from a Mediterranean church or estate house. The layout of the various rooms became confusing, and since there was no map provided, I had to keep careful track of where I had been.
A couple hours later, my wife was all “arted” out and decided to retreat. I forged on, as I wanted to see the non-European sections. I found the Islamic art section to be very interesting—illustrated pages of the Koran, models of royal ships, and even a small-scale model of a mosque. The Indian subcontinent area contained numerous statues and carvings of Buddha, Rama, Kali, Ganesha, and a host of other deities; there were more bodhisattva carvings than there probably were bodhisattvas to begin with. At this point, it was all starting to swim before my eyes, and I still had the Chinese art left on yet another floor. At this point I too capitulated, and went in search of my spouse. We agreed it had been a wonderful day, and a good bang for the buck—for less than $30 each we had traveled throughout art history and time from Ancient Egypt to the rest of the world. While LACMA isn’t as large as the Met in NYC, it definitely is worth a repeat visit.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 8:12 PM
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