Travis Simpkins

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Dawn of the Maya

Dawn of the Maya

National Geographic

by Travis Simpkins

Overgrown ruins of the Ancient Mayan civilization rest deep in the rainforest of Central America. Much has been gleaned from the great structures and art left behind, revealing many aspects about this once-thriving people, who were thought to have resided in the area from roughly 250-900 A.D. However, a large piece of the puzzle that had remained missing was how it all began. In Guatemala, the discovery of a great ancient city called El Mirador has shed new light on the origins of the Mayan people, surprisingly placing the starting point of their civilization back a further 1,000 years than had previously been estimated. Produced in 2004 for National Geographic, Dawn of the Maya takes a look at the ongoing search for answers. In El Mirador, archaeologist Richard Hansen has been painstakingly excavating a massive pyramid that rivals those of Giza in terms of sheer size. Hansen provides insightful and often-humorous anecdotes during his process of researching a possible royal tomb of King "Great Fiery Jaguar Paw" and the quarry site from which their stone building blocks were cut. David Freidel offers background and related info to tie the ancient search together. A high point in the film arrives courtesy of archaeologist Bill Saturno, who discovered an ancient Mayan painted mural at a nearby dig (only the second such mural ever found), and reveals details of how it originally appeared thanks to a masterful reproduction painted by artist Heather Hurst. Brief interludes reference the fall of this early Mayan ancestral civilization, brought about by the exorbitant use of natural resources (burning trees to make lime plaster) in building their city. Clocking in at 53 minutes, the near-hour spent watching was worthwhile and informative, with the cast (particularly Richard Hansen, Heather Hurst, David Stuart and Bill Saturno) providing an intriguing respite.

El Mirador

Richard Hansen

El Mirador

Bill Saturno

El Mirador

San Bartolo Mayan Mural. painted by Heather Hurst

David Freidel

El Mirador

Cival

Bill Saturno

Richard Hansen

El Mirador

Richard Hansen

Bill Saturno

Richard Hansen

El Mirador

"Dawn of the Maya: National Geographic" intro

Monday, January 5, 2015

Research: Worcester Art Museum "Then and Now" by Travis Simpkins. Update #35

Chief Conservator Rita Albertson expressed an interest in compiling information about the different areas in the Worcester Art Museum where William Hogarth's 1744 portraits of "Mr. and Mrs. William James" hung after being purchased from a London dealer in 1909. I tracked the paintings through some locations, over the course of a Century, from the third floor down to the second and back up to the third.

-1910: In what was likely their first stop, the newly-purchased Hogarth portraits were placed in the third floor's West Gallery, seen hanging on either side of a large landscape at center. Note the eclectic mix of British, Flemish and American Art placed alongside one another. Today, this area is the American Decorative Arts Gallery.
-1920: With the completion of the first building addition to WAM, the pendant portraits were moved down half a level into one of the new galleries, again flanking a landscape painting. Today, this area is part of the Early American Galleries.
-1933: The newly-constructed Renaissance Court provided ample gallery space for the collection to spread out. The Hogarth paintings would have been placed in the circled area consisting of "European Art XVIII Century" in the second floor galleries. Note this gallery suite was not strictly European Art at the time, with Gallery 201 dedicated to local "Early American Art of Worcester County." Prior to the 1930's, WAM collections were still largely arranged by time period. Closer to World War II, the pieces tended to be sorted out into National origin more frequently.
-2008: For the majority of their time at WAM, the Hogarth portraits resided in Gallery 205, placed alongside other British Art of the period.
-2014: Conservators Rita Albertson, Birgit Straele and Phil Klausmeyer point out elements of the restoration process in the 3rd Floor Conservation lab.
-Present: The fully-cleaned and treated portraits of "Mr. and Mrs. William James" by William Hogarth are on display in the 3rd Floor Jeppson Idea Lab, about 10 metres away from their first 1910 spot in the West Gallery.

3rd Floor (West Gallery). Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

3rd Floor Galleries. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

2nd Floor Galleries, 1933. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

European Galleries. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

Hogarth Portraits. Conservation. Worcester Art Museum

Hogarth Portraits. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Skyfall (2012): James Bond and Modigliani's "La Femme a l'Eventail", Stolen in the 2010 Paris Heist

Directed by Sam Mendes, based on the characters of Ian Fleming, Skyfall (2012) is the 23rd James Bond film and the third to star Daniel Craig as 007. The story concerns James Bond, returning from an assumed death, to battle a deranged former agent that is hell-bent on destroying M, the MI6 leader. In a throwback to the Dr. No theory of stolen art, Modigliani's painting "La Femme a l'Eventail", stolen from the Paris Museum of Modern Art in 2010, makes a cameo. Daniel Craig is great, as always, as James Bond. Javier Bardem, going platinum blonde, is wonderful as the villain. Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris are sexy as the Bond Girls. The supporting cast is good as well, including Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney.