|
Back to Press Room
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2008
PRESS CONTACT:
Andrea Potochniak
607 254-4563
arp37@cornell.edu
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Presents
A New World:
Pre-Columbian Art from the Carroll Collection
Over 200 works on view;
gift of Thomas Carroll, Cornell PhD 1951
Ithaca, NY—The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University presents A New World: Pre-Columbian Art from the Carroll Collection, on view from March 29 to June 15, 2008.
In 2006, the Johnson Museum received a spectacular gift of pre-Columbian ceramics, stone carvings, tools, and gold adornments in a great variety of form and decoration from Thomas Carroll, Cornell PhD 1951. The collection primarily represents cultures active in present-day Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Costa Rica, with the greatest concentration from Ecuador. A New World highlights these fascinating and less-studied Ecuadorian works, underlining the Johnson’s enhanced status as a destination for the appreciation and study of these cultures.
“We are pleased that, with wisdom and generosity, Dr. Carroll saw fit to add strength to strength and transform in one stroke the Johnson’s holdings in the art of ancient Ecuador into a truly compelling destination,” said Andrew C. Weislogel, assistant curator and master teacher at the Johnson and the organizer of the exhibition. “The Carroll collection provides Cornell with a lasting legacy—a new world, to quote our title—upon which we will continue to build.”
Works range from tiny fertility figures dating from around 2700 BC (among the oldest figural sculptures in the Western Hemisphere) to objects such as an elegant Tuza funerary urn, datable between 1250 and 1500 AD.
The exhibition has been guest curated by John F. Scott and Laura Johnson-Kelly. Professor Scott, a member of Cornell’s History of Art faculty from 1971–77 and professor emeritus of art and art history at the University of Florida, previously contributed to the Johnson’s first major exhibition of art from the ancient Americas, Pre-Columbian Art of Ecuador from the Peggy and Tessim Zorach Collection, in 1982. Johnson-Kelly is an Andean archaeologist, Cornell Class of 1985.
A tour of the exhibition will be given as part of the Johnson’s “Art for Lunch” series on Thursday, April 3 at 12:00 noon. That same day, Professor Scott will speak in conjunction with the exhibition at 5:15 p.m.
Additionally, Johnson-Kelly will give an introduction to the exhibition on Saturday, April 5 at 4:30 p.m., prior to the Johnson’s opening reception for spring exhibitions held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. All these events are free and open to the public.
The Johnson Museum has a permanent collection of over 30,000 works of art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. The museum building was designed by I. M. Pei. Funds for the building were donated by Cornell alumnus Herbert F. Johnson, late president and chairman of S C Johnson. The building opened in 1973.
###
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, located on the campus of Cornell University, is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Museum is completely accessible for mobility-impaired visitors, and a wheelchair is available in the lobby. Metered parking is available in the lot next to the Museum. For more information, please call 607 255-6464. Visit the Museum’s website at www.museum.cornell.edu. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is a proud member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail: www.DiscoveryTrail.com.
-30-
|
