Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History Complex, and the Canadian Museum of History are pleased to announce that they will be welcoming a world-premiere exhibition to Canada later this year: The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great. To be presented in Montréal from December 12, 2014 to April 26, 2015 and in Gatineau from June 5 to October 12, 2015, the exhibition covers more than 5,000 years of Greek culture, from the Neolithic Period to the Age of Alexander the Great.
The so-called gold death-mask of Agamemnon, found in Tomb V in Mycenae by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. [Credit: WikiCommons]“It is a privilege to welcome this exhibition — the largest presented at the Museum since we opened in 1992,” says Francine Lelièvre, Executive Director of Pointe-à-Callière. “As Canada’s only archaeological museum, Pointe-à-Callière is proud to be showcasing archaeological treasures from Ancient Greece. An exhibition of this scope and importance is also a vibrant tribute to the large Greek communities in Montréal and across Canada.”
The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great is the most vast and comprehensive exhibition on Ancient Greece ever presented in North America. It brings together more than 500 artifacts from 22 Greek museums, including many pieces never before displayed outside Greece. Among other treasures, visitors will be able to see a number of priceless objects, the result of some unparalleled archaeological discoveries.
“We are delighted that Pointe-à-Callière is participating in the consortium formed for the exhibition’s North American tour,” says Mark O’Neill, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History. “The consortium, which our Museum is proud to lead, includes several prestigious museological institutions and we are all honoured that the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports has agreed to lend us artifacts of such great historical value for the benefit of Canadian and American audiences.”
To facilitate the production of an exhibition of this breadth, a consortium of North American museums was created. In addition to the Canadian Museum of History and Pointe-à-Callière, the consortium includes The Field Museum in Chicago and the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC. The Museum of History will oversee direction of the consortium, as well as work on production of the exhibition in association with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.
“I am especially proud to see this unique project take shape as a showcase for Greece, our heritage, and our treasures, illustrating an important part of our history. The fact that 22 Greek museums have come together to produce this exhibition—the largest ever to be held outside of Greece—demonstrates both the scope and the value of this project, as a number of major objects will be travelling to America for the very first time,” stated Eleftherios Anghelopoulos, Greek Ambassador to Canada.
About the Exhibition
The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great invites visitors on a breathtaking and illuminating journey through 5,000 years of Greek history and culture. It is the most comprehensive exhibition about Ancient Greece to tour North America in a generation and features some of the finest artifacts of the classical world. Many of the objects have never before travelled outside of the country. The exhibition includes priceless treasures, the fruit of fascinating archaeological discoveries, along with items recounting the epic adventures of heroes of Ancient Greece, from the siege of Troy by Agamemnon to the triumphs of Alexander the Great.
The journey begins around 6000 BCE, revealing the deep roots of Greek culture. It ends in the days of Alexander the Great (356 to 323 BCE), whose military conquests created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Along the way, visitors will meet the legendary King Agamemnon, leader of the united Greek forces in the Trojan War (12th century BCE) and one of the great heroes of Greek mythology. They will also learn about numerous milestones in Greek and human history: the birth of democracy, philosophy, theatre and the arts, science and medicine. They will see how the first democracy functioned and discover the tools that made it possible.
Visitors will also be able to admire over 500 exquisite treasures drawn from the collections of 22 Greek museums, including the renowned National Archaeological Museum and the new Acropolis Museum in Athens. Among the many exceptional pieces are the iconic portrait of Alexander the Great, found near Pella, the impressive kouroi statues of young men and women dating from the 6th century BCE, and a dazzling array of golden jewellery from royal tombs. All these items come from Greek museums, co-ordinated by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports –Directorate General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with a consortium of museums led by the Canadian Museum of History. All in all, hundreds of golden objects will be presented, including two magnificent death masks from Mycenae (16th century BCE); superb warrior’s helmets; the beautiful myrtle wreath of Queen Meda from the antechamber of the tomb of Philip II of Macedonia (about 336 BCE); and a marble bas-relief representing a young man crowning himself.
As they tour the exhibition, visitors of all ages will be captivated by the stories of historical figures like Aristotle, Plato, Philip II of Macedonia and the Spartan King Leonidas, and the epic heroes and gods of Greek mythology, including Achilles, Aphrodite, Athena, Zeus and Poseidon.
They will also enjoy captivating interactives, fascinating hands-on objects, and a stunning design treatment.It all adds up to a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition and a truly memorable visitor experience.
Source: Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History [March 26, 2014]
National Maritime Museum Cornwall is bringing the Vikings to Cornwall in a new major exhibition called Viking Voyagers, opening on 20 March 2015. The new exhibition, featuring nationally and internationally historically significant artefacts, explores what is behind the popular myth of the bloodthirsty raiders, what it meant to become a Viking and shows how their mastery of maritime technology was the secret to their success.
Ships and boats were vital to Viking expansion; they explored and colonised, were invaders and migrants and the seas and rivers were the highways and byways to amassing huge wealth and power through raiding and trading.
Their power was built on their knowledge of boatbuilding and their seafaring skills, enabling them to sail across the Atlantic’s icy waters to Newfoundland and Iceland, down to the warm Mediterranean to Istanbul and as far East along the river Volga as Ukraine and Russia.
Visions of horned helmets, unkempt beards and fearsome raiding fighters carried by longships that were dragon headed war beasts come to mind when thinking of Vikings. However, this new show dispels the myth and reveals that just like us they also wore jewellery, combed their hair and many were entrepreneurs, using smaller boats and ships to do business and seek new opportunities far from their Scandinavian homelands.
This new show invites you to encounter these Norse voyagers and the people and things they met along the way, contrasting the mayhem of the raiders, pillagers and ransackers with the resourceful trader, boat builder, craftsman and family man, woman and child.
The humanising of the Vikings is conveyed through engaging interactive displays that amplify what life was like as a Viking. With institutional and loaning partners including the British Museum, National Museum of Ireland, National Museum of Denmark and Manx National Heritage and others, a stunning number of artefacts show a culture that enjoyed ostentation and hierarchy as well as ritual, religion and the simplicity of family life.
These archaeological finds, which are over 1000 years old, include weaponry, jewellery, household implements, slave chains and coins, richly showing the global reach of the Vikings and their ships.
Richard Doughty, Director of National Maritime Museum Cornwall says: “It is enormously exciting for National Maritime Museum Cornwall to be bringing the Vikings to Falmouth and hosting historically significant artefacts, in what is undoubtedly our most important exhibition to date. The Museum’s legacy of award winning work has now afforded us the opportunity to access national and international collections, securing loans with major partner Museums, and offering Cornwall and the South West a unique first in being able to see these items outside of these national and international institutions.”
“This new state of the art show has taken years to develop. You might think you know the Vikings but you will have never experienced them in the way this new exhibition promises. All I can say is watch out, the Vikings are coming!”
The theatre is provided by a beach market scene. A full scale replica of a 14m coastal cargo Viking ship, from 11th century Denmark, invites you to climb aboard and discover what it was like to sail and row in these awe inspiring vessels, and explore the wares they carried.
The iconic Viking small boat, a 6m Norwegian faering, built by ‘apprentice Viking boat builders’ from Falmouth Marine School, is the centrepiece of a ‘touch and feel’ boat builder’s yard. Visitors can hold tools and materials used to design these clinker-built ships with their shallow drafts, which allowed them to navigate inland rivers and conquer kingdoms.
The history of Britain and Ireland was transformed by the impact of Viking raiding and colonisation. We still utter their words in our everyday language such as starboard, berserk, kid and ransack. What began as small encampments up river grew to be Viking towns such as Dublin, which for a time was the centre of the European slave trade. Cornwall was very much part of the Irish Sea world, and the exhibition will reveal tantalising evidence for Vikings in Cornwall.
Dr Tehmina Goskar, Exhibitions Registrar at the Maritime Museum says: “The story of the Vikings is incredibly alluring. Not only have they left us with a legacy of beautiful storytelling in their Sagas but also an astonishing material culture. Above all, the Vikings were sailors, their men, women and children thrived because of their skills with boats and seafaring so with our harbour location, celebrating the sea and small boats, there is no better place to come to hear their stories.
“I am completely delighted to bring amazing Viking antiquities to Cornwall for the very first time, some of which have never been on display in any museum before. Working closely with our Guest Curator Dr. Gareth Williams of the British Museum, a world-leading expert in the Vikings and also an outstanding Viking re-enactor himself, has been an immense privilege and a lot of fun, and hopefully visitors will feel this from the way we tell the story of the Viking Voyagers in the show.”
The two year exhibition, funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and a number of generous trusts and foundations, aims to show how the Vikings were a maritime culture, not an ethnic group but something you became when you wanted an adventure.
Ben Lumby, Exhibitions Manager concludes: “Aboard their ships Vikings reached further than any culture had before them and they have left huge legacies behind since the 300 years of the Viking Age from the 8th to 11th centuries. This atmospheric exhibition will evoke the Viking world through thought-provoking stories, stunning exhibits and engaging interactives which take you on an epic journey. We invite you to discover who the Vikings really were and what was the secret to their success. ”
Viking Voyagers runs from 20 March 2015 to 22 February 2017.
Source: National Maritime Museum Cornwall [Jabuary 16, 2015]
The new Galaxy Alpha from Samsung is launching. Lily Allen, Ben Skinner (the world’s number 2 surfer) and BMX star Harry Main join stylish Britons to bring their ‘swagger’ to the launch. Britain’s most popular phones. Music: Lily Allen “As long as I got you.” 60 second extended version below.
Press: Samsung Electronics has today revealed a new UK marketing campaign for its Galaxy Alpha smartphone. The £10 million campaign which includes TV, print, PR, search, social media, digital display and out-of-home, takes Samsung into new territory with the launch of an epic TVC featuring pop star Lily Allen.
The TVC will debut in the UK from this Saturday, 20th September with a one minute primetime spot. As the latest member of Samsung’s popular Galaxy smartphone range, the TVC demonstrates the role the Galaxy Alpha plays in the lives of everyday Britain, capturing the spirit, diversity, quirkiness and vibrant culture of the people that live here.
Filmed on location around England and directed by the acclaimed Josh & Xander, the TVC ‘Right up our street’ is set to the soundtrack of Lily Allen’s ‘As Long As I’ve Got You,’ and features the Galaxy Alpha throughout, showing it naturally entwined in the everyday lives of Alpha Britons, who embody the spirit of new modern Britain and its stylish youth culture.
Commenting on the launch campaign, Russell Taylor, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Samsung UK & Ireland said: “The Galaxy Alpha is a smartphone that pushes the boundaries in terms of its style and technology and we wanted a campaign that was culturally relevant with young minded consumers. Our goal is to bring this mobile brand platform to life in a way that is relevant to our audience.”
Lily Allen commented: “I’m proud to be British, and it’s exciting to be involved with a campaign intended to be a love letter to my home country. Samsung and Josh & Xander have done an amazing job, the Alpha Briton campaign represents all the things I love about Britain; fashion, music, family...it’s all there.”
The Galaxy Alpha print and digital display campaign will show how Samsung’s beautifully designed new smartphone represents an alternative style choice and capture the uniqueness of British people. The TVC will feature 56 real-life Alpha Britons, some of whom also appear through-out the other elements of the campaign, who will each demonstrate their independent, varied and eclectic style choices.
Logan Wilmont, executive creative director at Cheil UK, the creative agency behind the campaign, added: “Britain is an amazingly diverse and creative culture. We have come through a difficult few years and have emerged as a positive confident and optimistic place. But sometimes we forget that. We wanted to celebrate that optimism. Samsung are the most popular phones in the UK, used by more people on more devices than any other phone. And we love the fact we fit so perfectly into this new Britain. And Lily Allen is the perfect encapsulation of all this. Positive, populist, stylish and fun.”
Matt Pye, COO at Cheil UK, added: “This is the first time we’ve worked with Samsung to create a brand platform in the UK, and significantly, one that will influence the way Samsung devices are marketed in the future. The platform holds exciting potential for future activity and I couldn’t be prouder that our teams have been a part of putting that in place.”
Creative Credits: · Creative agency: Cheil UK · Creative Directors: Dave Newbold & Jim Eyre · Copywriter: Dave Newbold · Planners: Tony Evans / Jason Kidd · Agency Producer: Alex Davis · Account Handlers: Andrew Boatman / Fraser Campbell · Media Agency: Starcom MediaVest · Director: Josh & Xander · Production Company: RadicalMedia · Production Company Executive Producer: Ben Schneider · DOP: Ross McLennan · Post Production Company: Absolute Post · Audio Post Production: Universal Music Publishing · Editor: Paul Watts
The J. Paul Getty Museum today placed on view a Decree Relief with Antiochos and Herakles, the first Greek loan to arise from a 2011 framework for cultural cooperation between the Getty and the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture.
Decree Relief with Antiochos and Herakles, about 330 B.C. Greek; found in Athens. Marble. Lent by the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and the Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Culture and Tourism.On loan from the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the marble relief bears a historical decree, dated to 330 B.C., which honors Prokleides, a military officer (taxiarch) in the Athenian army. The relief will be on view at the Getty Villa for three years in a second-floor gallery devoted to Religious Offerings.
The relief takes the form of a stele, a stone slab decorated with images and text, crowned with the figures of Herakles and his son Antiochos, who was the mythical hero of the tribe Antiochis. Herakles is depicted as an athletic nude, holding a club and the pelt of the Nemean Lion he vanquished, referring to the first of the twelve labors he had to perform. Seemingly the elder, Antiochos wears a dignified mantle and holds a staff (no longer visible, but probably added in pigment). Both father and son heroes were the subject of cult worship, and are shown standing within a small temple framed by columns and a pediment.
Written in ancient Greek below the figures, an inscription describes the honors bestowed upon Prokleides by his soldiers and comrades, all members of an elite infantry corps known as the epilektoi. This is the earliest known inscription referencing the epilektoi, a group of men bound together by their military service, participation in sacrifices and theatrical performances, and membership in the Athenian Council. According to the decree, Kephisokles of the village of Alopeke proposed the resolution to praise Prokleides, who “has well and with distinction taken care of security,” and crown him with a gold diadem worth at least 1,000 drachmas (an enormous sum, considering the average worker in classical Athens could support a family of four on one drachma a day).
Soon after arriving at the Getty, the stele was photographed using a technique that captures the object numerous times with varying degrees of raking light. The resulting composed image reveals the shallow lettering with unprecedented depth and clarity and enables a more accurate reading of the inscription. A transcription of the ancient Greek text, translation, and detail photography of the historical inscription accompanies the installation.
“The Antiochos relief commemorates the affection and respect of troops for their commanding officer,” explains Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of antiquities at the Getty Villa. “We are delighted that it will be on view at the Getty Villa in time for Memorial Day, when we honor the contributions of fallen soldiers to their communities and country.”
This long-term loan results from the Framework for Cultural Cooperation signed in September 2011, which provides for joint scholarship, research projects, loans, and exhibitions between the Getty and the Hellenic Republic. “As part of this framework of cooperation between the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and the Getty Museum, we are pleased to have the Antiochos relief on display at the Getty Villa,” said Maria Vlazaki-Andreadaki, director general of archaeology in Athens. “We believe that this collaboration will promote classical studies in the United States and will spread the values and the spirit of ancient Greek civilization.”
Historical Background
The relief was discovered in 1922 in the foundations of a house in the Athenian neighborhood of Dourgouti. In antiquity, the area was known as Kynosarges and was the site of a public gymnasium and a sanctuary of Herakles, the greatest of the Greek heroes. Believed to have stood in this sanctuary, where several other inscriptions mentioning the tribe Antiochis were found, the relief was a votive dedication erected in a prominent public location befitting a successful military leader.
The Antiochos relief is a primary document of democracy, and the language of its inscription shows that voting and public speech were deeply ingrained in civic life two centuries after the foundation of democratic political institutions in Athens.
The creation of the Attic tribes was the most important feature of the revolutionary reorganization of Athenian politics that followed the overthrow of the tyrants in 508 B.C. In this system, ten tribes composed of approximately 3,000 citizens and their families were created. Each tribe was assigned the name of a mythical Athenian hero: Antiochos was the eponymous hero of the tribe Antiochis.
Drawn from villages in three distinct zones of the Athenian territory—the coast, the inland farming region, and the urban/suburban zone—the tribes represented the entire citizenry of Athens. Josiah Ober, Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University, observes: “Imagine a reorganization of the United States that would require citizens from Maine, Texas, and California to work, fight, and feast together on a regular basis. The communities constituting the tribe of Antiochis included Alopeke, the philosopher Socrates’ home village—so we might even imagine that a descendant of Socrates as among the signatories to the decree.”
Brilliant new ad campaign just unveiled for The Sunday Times, created by Grey London the "Icons" advert is thrill to view.
Being tasked with promoting The Sunday Times’ month-long series and refresh of its Culture section got us thinking. What are people’s favourite iconic cultural moments across film, music, art and TV? Why do some things enter popular culture and remain there, while others fall by the wayside?
Shot in one stunning take by Us through Academy Films, the film tips its hat to some of the most instantly recognisable moments from culture through the ages. In just 50 seconds, it recreates six iconic scenes from more than 500 years of history: Rodin’s The Thinker, the epochal ‘bench scene’ from Forrest Gump, the Mad Men title sequence, Michelangelo’s seminal Creation of Adam, the Mr Pink/Mr White ‘altercation’ from Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, and, finally, the helmeted, Grammy Award-winning electronic duo Daft Punk.
Creative Credits: Ad Agency — Grey Creative Director — Dave Monk Creatives — Jonathan Rands & Johan Leandersson Agency Producer — Debbie Impett Director — Us Production Company — Academy Films Executive Producer — Lizie Gower Producer — Juliette Harris DOP — Ben Fordesman A&R Operator — Simon Wood Art Director — Alison Dominitz Hair & MakeUp — Lu Hinton Stylist — Rebecca Hale Casting — Hammond & Cox Editor — Dave Stevens @ Assembly Rooms Post — Electric Theatre Collective Grade — Aubrey Woodiwiss
Behind the scenes...The making of The Sunday Times "Icons" advert.
An island at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Sicily occupied a pivotal place in antiquity between Greece, North Africa, and the Italian peninsula.
Statue of a Youth (The Mozia Charioteer), Sikeliote (Sicilian Greek), 470–460 B.C. Marble. Courtesy of the Servizio Parco archeologico eambientale presso le isole dello Stagnone e delle aree archeologiche di Marsala e dei Comuni limitrofi–Museo Archeologico Baglio Anselmi. By permission of the Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana. Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana. Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome, on view at the Getty Villa April 3–August 19, 2013, will showcase ancient Sicily as a major center of cultural innovation from the fifth to the third centuries B.C., when art, architecture, theater, poetry, philosophy, and science flourished and left an enduring stamp on mainland Greece and later on Rome.
“This is the first major exhibition to arise from the Getty’s 2010 Cultural Agreement with Sicily, presenting masterpieces that are among the most accomplished examples of ancient Greek art in the world,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum.
“We are especially thrilled to have on view the exceptional statue of a victorious Charioteer from Mozia that the Getty has recently conserved. This object is a unique expression of the marvelous artistry of Greek sculptors at the dawn of the Classical era.”
Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome, co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana, features some 150 objects, a major portion on loan from institutions in Sicily, including stone and bronze sculptures, vase-paintings, votive terracotta statuettes and reliefs, carved ivory, gold and silver metalwork, jewelry, inscriptions, architectural revetments, and coins.
“These splendid objects bear witness to the athletic and military victories, religious rituals, opulent lifestyles, and intellectual attainments of the Sicilian Greeks, which shaped Greek culture at its peak,” explains Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum and curator of the exhibition.
The Mozia Charioteer
The Mozia Charioteer, widely considered one of the the finest surviving examples of Greek sculpture, serves as the exhibition’s centerpiece. Recently on view at the British Museum in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics, the statue has since undergone conservation treatment at the Getty Villa. Part of the Getty’s cultural agreement with Sicily, this 18-month collaborative conservation project involved remounting the sculpture and the provision of a seismic isolation base, which will accompany the object when it is reinstalled at the Whitaker Museum on the island of Mozia.
The triumphant Mozia Charioteer, discovered in 1976 on the island of Mozia in western Sicily, is believed to represent a charioteer who competed at Olympia on behalf of one of the Sicilian rulers. The extraordinary style of the sculpture, especially notable in the sinuous pleating of the long linen xystis that sheathes the figure’s athletic physique, is a tour-de-force of stone carving. Clearly a master of his craft, the sculptor was able to reveal the torso and limbs beneath the thin fabric. With its confident gaze and proud stance, this statue conveys the high level of originality and experimentation achieved by Greek sculptors working in Sicily.
The “Signing Masters”
Important evidence of Sicilian artistic innovation is also apparent in the exquisite coins of the time. Beginning in the late fifth century B.C., a group of Sicilian Greek coin engravers, mainly based in Syracuse, added their signatures to the dies used to stamp coins. Known as the “Signing Masters,” these remarkable craftsmen created extraordinary works of art on a miniature scale. Departing from the traditional profile view, they devised novel ways of representing the human body in a lively three-quarter perspective or striking frontal pose. This testimony of individual mastery of the medium is virtually exclusive to Sicilian Greek coins created around 400 B.C. Often abbreviated in tiny but legible script, the artists’ signatures are typically all but hidden in locks of hair or elements of jewelry.
Known as the “coin of coins,” the unique Aitna tetradrachm from the Royal Library of Belgium is one of the most precious ancient coins in the world. On view in the exhibition along with 50 other exceptionally crafted Sicilian Greek coins, the image on the tetradrachm depicts the head of Silenos on the obverse and on the reverse, Zeus enthroned with an eagle perched beside him, imagery that alludes to the cult of Zeus on Mt. Etna. Greek settlers and their gods
Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome will also examine how settlers from the Greek mainland brought their myths and religious practices to Sicily. To sanctify new colonies and maintain ties with mother cities, they built altars and temples to such gods as Apollo, the patron deity of colonists, as well as the deified hero Herakles. Included are terracotta heads of Apollo, Hades, and Persephone, created as cult or votive images of deities that played a central role in ancient Sicilian worship. The skillfully modeled clay, embellished with striking polychrome pigments, compares favorably with the most accomplished works in marble and bronze. An exceptional example of metalwork is a religious offering dish made of two and a half pounds of gold. Known as a phiale mesomphalos, the vessel is embossed from the center outward with bands of beechnuts, acorns, and bees above blossoms; the owner’s name —Damarchos, son of Achyris— is inscribed beneath the rim, together with its equivalent weight in gold coins.
The divine hero Herakles was also embraced by Greek settlers, who linked his deeds to their cities. Contrasting aspects of Herakles’ identity —peaceful healer, solitary herdsman, and violent aggressor— heightened the appeal of his cult among the men of rural Sicily, who tended flocks and worked as mercenary soldiers. Among the objects on view is a finely preserved bronze statuette of Herakles recovered from a river-bed in Contrada Cafeo (Modica), which suggests that a shrine to the hero was situated nearby.
Preeminent among the honored deities was Demeter, goddess of agriculture, and her daughter Persephone (or Kore). Sanctuaries of the goddesses dotted the island, but their cult was most enthusiastically embraced in central Sicily, where, according to myth, Kore descended to the Underworld as the bride of Hades. Depictions of these deities include a terracotta bust with a rare painted figural scene that may represent part of a ritual honoring or celebrating the goddesses, and a cult statuette disc overed near an altar in Gela together with an offering jug of carbonized seeds of grain.
Archimedes of Syracuse
A section of the exhibition will focus on Archimedes of Syracuse (about 287–212 B.C.), one of history’s foremost scientists and mathematicians. More than a millennium ahead of its time, his work laid the foundation for branches of math, physics, engineering, and even computer science. When Syracuse’s King Hieron II asked him to determine whether a crown was made of pure gold, Archimedes made his legendary deduction that a solid displaces a volume of liquid equal to its own volume, a discovery that supposedly caused the scientist to leap from his bath and run naked through the streets crying “Eureka” (“I have found it!”).
On view is a leaf from the Archimedes Palimpsest, the only surviving manuscript containing copies of Archimedes’ writings. The medieval prayer book that included this leaf was inked by a scribe onto recycled parchment that originally bore the theories of Archimedes. The pages were scraped clean before being overwritten, but with the use of advanced imaging technology, the original writing is visible. The leaf on view is a section of text from “Proposition 1” from Archimedes’ Method, a work integrating geometry and physics.
Literature on Sicilian art
Finally, the exhibition examines the reflections of literature in Sicilian visual arts. Many mainland Greeks became familiar with Sicily through the epic poetry of Homer, including Odysseus’s wanderings after the Trojan War, which took him to the western Mediterranean.
Often depicted in vase-painting and sculpture, Odysseus’s encounters with strange creatures like the Cyclops and Scylla were allegories for early colonial settlement and trading enterprises that spread Greek culture to distant, exotic regions. The pastoral genre created and perfected by the Syracusan poet Theokritos (about 300–after 260 B.C.) flourished as Sicily was falling under the dominion of Rome in the third century B.C. He is renowned for his Idylls (literally, “little pictures”), which paint nostalgic word-images of Sicilian country life from the point of view of a sophisticated urbanite. Theokritos’s rustic characters—including satyrs, shepherds, and the woodland deity Priapos—also populated the visual arts of the period, attesting to the appeal of rural fantasies during a time of civic turmoil. On extended loan from Syracuse, a life-size statue of the fertility god Priapos, the earliest such figure in Greek art will be featured in the exhibition. Like the Mozia Charioteer, it was also the subject of a collaborative conservation project undertaken by the Getty Museum.
The importance and popularity of Greek comedy and drama outside of Athens is evident in the theatrical figurines, masks and scenes on vases, many of which come from the island of Lipari. The celebrated “Father of Tragedy,” Aeschylus (Greek, 525–456 B.C.) traveled to Sicily on at least two occasions, where his plays found fertile ground in the strong local tradition of performance on the island.
On display is a terracotta mixing vessel with the earliest known depiction of the myth of Perseus and Andromeda, which likely reflects a performance of Sophocles’ Andromeda (about 450 B.C.). The Greek inscription painted above the figure of Perseus—“Euaion, the son of Aeschylus, is handsome”— names the actor, son of the great tragedian.
Rich harvests, bountiful seas, and a favorable trade location brought immense wealth to the Sicilian city-states, and the exhibition highlights their widespread reputation for luxurious lifestyles with five gilt-silver vessels, part of a larger group of fifteen. The silver treasure had been buried for safekeeping beneath the floor of a house in Morgantina during the Roman sack of the city in 211 B.C. The entire hoard comprises religious vessels as well as a set for the symposion, a convivial drinking party for men that was an important part of the social life of well-to-do Greeks.
Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome is the latest in a series of cooperative efforts between the Getty and the Sicili an Ministry of Culture and Sicilian Identity arising from a 2010 agreement that calls for a number of collaborative projects, including object conservation, seismic protection of collections, exhibitions, scholarly research, and conferences. Recent related projects include the 2010 loan of the Gela Krater, a monumental red-figured volute krater (wine mixing vessel) attributed to the Niobid Painter; The Agrigento Youth, a rare example of an early classical marble statue called a kouros (an idealized nude young man), loaned to the Getty from the Museo Archeologico Regionale in Agrigento (2010/2011); and most recently the loan of thirty-six objects from the sanctuaries of Demeter at Morgantina (2012/January 2013).
The exhibition is co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana, and celebrates 2013 as the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, realized under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Italy.
The new “Vikings” exhibition at Discovery Times Square is, in a sense, built around something that isn’t there.
The exhibition, which opens on Friday, was organized by the Swedish History Museum in conjunction with MuseumPartners in Austria, and the people behind it really want you to know that during the 350 years (750 to 1100) that Viking culture flourished, horned helmets were never a thing. They have amassed 500 artifacts — some copies; many the genuine article — to make the point.
There’s not a horned helmet among them (unless you count an amusing sight gag as you exit), because no such headpiece has ever come out of an archaeological dig. The ubiquitous headgear often associated with Vikings, we’re told in the exhibition, actually came out of the imagination of an 1876 costume designer staging a Wagner opera. And that’s not the only misperception this exhibition is intent on correcting.
The first thing you see in the introductory film as you enter is a farming scene. Raiding was certainly part of what Vikings did, but it is de-emphasized here — perhaps too much so — in favor of displays that highlight social and religious life and try to give women their due.
Countless fictional portrayals might have left the impression that Viking culture was somehow 90 percent male, wild-haired and sword-wielding, but of course it wasn’t, as the jewelry and many other women’s artifacts here attest. The now-rusted keys on display, we’re told, were often carried by women, because with men frequently on the road, they ran the farm.
A display of swords in the “Vikings” show includes the prized Ulfberht [Credit: Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times]If Viking society wasn’t all male, it probably wasn’t all that wild-haired, either. Both women and men possessed combs, generally made of bone. Tweezers and other grooming tools are also on display. There’s even a bronze “ear spoon,” because apparently Vikings were no fonder of waxy buildup than anyone else.
What’s most interesting about the exhibition, though, is the way it places Vikings within the evolving world. It includes, for instance, a shell found on Gotland, the Swedish island, that came from the waters off distant Cyprus, because one thing Vikings were good at was getting around.
The Gokstad boat [Credit: Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times]“The word ‘viking’ was something that you did, it wasn’t something that you were,” Sophie Nyman, director of exhibitions, marketing and visitor services for the Swedish History Museum, explained during a pre-opening tour. In the original meaning, one went “on a viking” — a journey for trading, raiding or settlement. Only in the 19th century did the word come to mean the people themselves.
From Scandinavia, the Vikings vikinged far and wide, encountering other emerging cultures. The exhibition is organized by themes rather than chronologically, and the cross-cultural pollination is especially clear in a section on religion. Norse gods and Christian symbolism combine on brooches and pendants, tangible evidence of the kind of slow cultural conquest or merging that is harder to dramatize than a plain old military invasion but fascinating to contemplate.
Rune stone reproductions at the “Vikings” exhibition at Discovery Times Square [Credit: Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times]“We think that people were very pragmatic,” said Lena Hejll, senior curator and project manager at the Swedish museum. “They used the gods they needed for different parts of life.”
The ships that made all this roaming possible are well represented. There’s a reproduction of a Viking boat, but just as compelling is a display that speaks to the archaeologist’s frustration: So many materials, including wood, deteriorate in a harsh climate. The display — “We call it the ghost ship,” Ms. Hejll said — consists only of what might be left of a ship at an archaeological dig: the metal hardware that held it together. Dozens of weatherworn rivets and other pieces of ancient hardware dangle from strings, creating the shape of a vessel; only the actual vessel is missing.
A hanging boat sculpture features iron rivets [Credit: Hiroko Masuike/ The New York Times]Ms. Hejll and Ms. Nyman said public interest in the Viking age has been high of late, both in Scandinavia, where a certain nationalist sentiment is associated with Vikings, and elsewhere, as evidenced by the television drama “Vikings,” which returns for its fourth season this month on the History channel. That presumably makes this traveling exhibition attractive for a for-profit museum like Discovery Times Square — it has already made nine other stops, including Chicago and several cities in Canada — as well as giving the show’s creators a chance to expand the public perception of the Viking era.
The exhibition is geared toward a general audience, with several interactive features likely to appeal to children. One especially illuminating one involves shipbuilding. It presents a graphic display of a landscape, then asks you to select what you’d need to build a Viking ship. Rope? Sure — make that choice and all the horses in the landscape lose their tails, because horsetail hair was used for rope. Wood? Of course — make that selection and all the trees disappear. Deforestation, it turns out, was not just an Industrial Age problem. The Viking commitment to a seafaring life was also a commitment to expend a lot of natural resources.
A gilded trefoil brooch, made of bronze [Credit: Hiroko Masuike/ The New York Times]The threat of exhausting environmental resources isn’t the only problem 21st-century inhabitants share with the Vikings of a millennium ago. There are, of course, swords in this wide-ranging exhibition. One display is devoted to the Ulfberht, a particularly prized type of sword inscribed with that moniker — the Gucci bag of medieval blades. And, we’re told, as with Gucci bags, there were imitation Ulfberht swords. The long tradition of street-corner knockoffs is, it seems, considerably longer than most people realize.
The Vikings Exhibition runs from Feb. 5 – Sept. 5, 2016, at Discovery Times Square: 226 West 44th Street, Manhattan, NYC.
Author: Neil Genzlinger | Source: The New York Times [March 02, 2016]
The British Museum will open a major exhibition presenting a history of Indigenous Australia, supported by BP. This exhibition will be the first in the UK devoted to the history and culture of Indigenous Australians: both Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. Drawing on objects from the British Museum’s collection, accompanied by important loans from British and Australian collections, the show will present Indigenous Australia as a living culture, with a continuous history dating back over 60,000 years.
The objects displayed in this exhibition are immensely important. The British Museum’s collection contains some of the earliest objects collected from Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders through early naval voyages, colonists, and missionaries dating as far back as 1770. Many were collected at a time before museums were established in Australia and they represent tangible evidence of some of the earliest moments of contact between Aboriginal people, Torres Strait Islanders and the British. Many of these encounters occurred in or near places that are now major Australian cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. As a result of collecting made in the early 1800s, many objects originate from coastal locations rather than the arid inland areas that are often associated with Indigenous Australia in the popular imagination.
The exhibition will not only present Indigenous ways of understanding the land and sea but also the significant challenges faced by Indigenous Australians from the colonial period until to the present day. In 1770 Captain Cook landed on the east coast of Australia, a continent larger than Europe. In this land there were hundreds of different Aboriginal groups, each inhabiting a particular area, and each having its own languages, laws and traditions. This land became a part of the British Empire and remained so until the various colonies joined together in 1901 to become the nation of Australia we know today. In this respect, the social history of 19th century Australia and the place of Indigenous people within this is very much a British story. This history continues into the twenty first century. With changing policies towards Indigenous Australians and their struggle for recognition of civil rights, this exhibition shows why issues about Indigenous Australians are still often so highly debated in Australia today.
The exhibition brings together loans of special works from institutions in the United Kingdom, including the British Library, the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. A number of works from the collection of the National Museum of Australia will be shown, including the masterpiece ‘Yumari’ by Uta Uta Tjangala. Tjangala was one of the artists who initiated the translation of traditions of sand sculptures and body painting onto canvas in 1971 at Papunya, a government settlement 240km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Tjangala was also an inspirational leader who developed a plan for the Pintupi community to return to their homelands after decades of living at Papunya. A design from ‘Yumari’ forms a watermark on current Australian passports.
This exhibition has been developed in consultation with many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, Indigenous art and cultural centres across Australia, and has been organised with the National Museum of Australia. The broader project is a collaboration with the National Museum of Australia. It draws on a joint research project, funded by the Australian Research Council, undertaken by the British Museum, the National Museum of Australia and the Australian National University. Titled ‘Engaging Objects: Indigenous communities, museum collections and the representation of Indigenous histories’, the research project began in 2011 and involved staff from the National Museum of Australia and the British Museum visiting communities to discuss objects from the British Museum’s collections. The research undertaken revealed information about the circumstances of collecting and significance of the objects, many of which previously lacked good documentation. The project also brought contemporary Indigenous artists to London to view and respond to the Australian collections at the British Museum.
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum said, “The history of Australia and its people is an incredible, continuous story that spans over 60,000 years. This story is also an important part of more recent British history and so it is of great significance that audiences in London will see these unique and powerful objects exploring this narrative. Temporary exhibitions of this nature are only possible thanks to external support so I am hugely grateful to BP for their longstanding and on-going commitment to the British Museum. I would also like to express my gratitude to our logistics partner IAG Cargo and the Australian High Commission who are supporting the exhibition’s public programme.”
The Maya are one of the oldest cultures in the world. This exhibition is all about the magnificent artistic forms of expression of the Maya. With a collection of around 300 works of art, including many Mexican national treasures, it displays the fundamental aspects of pre-Hispanic art: the body and the physique are central to this exhibition.
The Maya present their vision of life using various materials and techniques from their daily life, splendid buildings and works of art. They describe their relationship with gods, their everyday existence, their literature, their astronomy, their music and their dances. What often dominates these works is an idealised notion of humanity, which the Maya retained not only in their conception of humans and the ideal of beauty, but also in the location of mankind in the cosmos.
Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum, one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of shoes and footwear-related artifacts recently had the "Out of the Box; The Rise of Sneaker Culture" exhibition created and designed by famed international designer Karim Rashid that documents the sneaker history from the 1800's to today.
Eventscape was brought in to engineer, fabricate, and install the complete exhibition; literally from the floor finish up to the ceiling. To showcase the prized sneakers, the sleek design incorporates 32 translucent pedestals, a 40 foot long display case, an acrylic entrance screen, five integrated inset wall displays, and seamless printed graphics throughout. The primary challenge was to engineer a system that would meet all the rigorous museum grade structural requirements of security, accessibility and durability while adhering to the narrow budget of a one-year long exhibit. Eventscape was able to achieve this without sacrificing the clean, flowing aesthetic of the design. Below, check out a cool time lapse of the 3rd floor gallery being transformed from an empty space to the exhibition itself.
Google this morning released its annual “Zeitgeist 2012: Year in Review” list and accompanying video that looks back at the most popular and fastest rising search terms of the year. To create the video, for the third year in a row, Google tapped LA-based creative agency, Whirled, and the company’s founder, Scott Chan as director.
The goal of the Zeitgeist videos is to connect with people through the story and emotion of the year’s highlights, which in 2012 includes news making events and culture across politics, sports, pop culture, music and more that range from Felix Baumbarter’s supersonic free fall, the Olympics, elections around the world, Hurricane Sandy to pop music sensations, all in a less than three minutes. The Zeitgeist videos for 2010 and 2011, also created by Whirled, have become two of the most watched videos from Google. The 2011 Google Zeitgeist has had over 8 million views, see it HERE .
1.2 trillion searches in 146 languages, What did the world search for in 2012? Visit Google's 2012 Zeitgeist here http://google.com/zeitgeist
Credits: LA-based creative agency Whirled . Directed by Scott Chan.
One of the sites chosen as part of the green cultural routes program organized by the Culture Ministry’s Directorate of Museums, Exhibitions and Educational Programs Department was Aristotle’s Lyceum. The tour, which introduced attendees to new and exciting information about life in ancient Greece, was led by the head of the Third Ephorate of Classical Antiquities, Eleni Banou.
The site of the Lyceum in August 2013, with grass, flowers and herbs growing strong and a row of young pomegranate trees along the footpath on the west side of the ruins of the gymnasium [Credit: David John/My Favorite Planet]The walk down Rigillis Street from Vassilissis Sofias Avenue toward Vassileos Constantinou Avenue was the perfect start, accompanied by the fragrances of herbs including oregano, thyme, rosemary and lavender. On our right, separated from the Byzantine Museum’s garden by a fence, we spotted a green retreat with glass shelters protecting the discoveries on the site which has been identified as Aristotle’s school of philosophy, or Lyceum, established in 335 BC.
The Lyceum, located between the Officers Club, the Athens Conservatory and the Byzantine Museum, is poised for its grand opening. The display areas are ready, the information signs are up and the site is officially waiting for visitors. Those passing the well-tended 11,000-square meter grounds on the Culture Ministry’s tour asked Banou when the ancient philosophy school would be ready. Some of them managed to sneak in through the door on the Vassilissis Sofias side of the site to take in the ancient lyceum from up close.
Plan for the archaeological park, Aristotle's Lyceum by architect Eleni Markopoulou [Credit: To Vima]The signs are insightful, even if architect and site supervisor Niki Sakka is not there to provide a guided tour, informing the public about the history of the site that Aristotle rented in order to set up his Peripatetic School, a part of the Lyceum. They also provide information on the three big compounds of Ancient Athens – the Academy, the Lyceum and Cynosarges – used for the physical and mental exercise of the city’s youth and men.
The Lyceum (first brought to light by archaeologist Effi Lygouri in 1996), was an overgrown suburb of ancient Athens named after a nearby temple dedicated to Apollo Lyceus. The archaeologists of the Third Ephorate of Classical Antiquities, which is responsible for the site, want it to become a part of Athenians’ everyday life, a place where visitors can take a walk, rest or read.
Greek archaeologists working at the site of Aristotle's Lyceum [Credit: David John/My Favorite Planet]“Our reasoning is that we don’t want people to be afraid of interacting with the site,” Banou said during the tour. The Lyceum is a new archaeological destination, with free admission, which is also expected to boost visitor numbers at the nearby Byzantine and War museums.
However, a date for its formal inauguration has not been set yet, though it is slated to take place within the next couple of months, before the end of summer.
The Royal Ontario Museum unveiled The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors, presented by the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation with Manulife as Lead Sponsor. The exhibition is on display in the Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall from Saturday, March 8 until Monday, September 1, 2014. Presented in collaboration with Beijing’s Palace Museum, the show brings to Canada for the first time approximately 250 treasures that were part of Chinese imperial life for five centuries in a city strictly off-limits to all but the emperor, his family, and his personal servants. These objects are the relics of a momentous chapter in China’s long and fascinating history.
More than 80 of the exhibition’s objects, including textiles, calligraphy, paintings, and armour, have never before travelled outside the Forbidden City. Complemented by stunning artifacts from the ROM’s own internationally celebrated Chinese collections, these objects tell captivating stories and reveal the fascinating characters that made the Forbidden City the centre of an immense empire for more than 500 years. Due to the significant number of light-sensitive textiles and paintings, there will be an extensive rotation of objects half way through the exhibition’s engagement, presenting a new opportunity to experience the stories and exquisite objects of the Forbidden City.
The emperor's role as head of the military required special ceremonial 'armour'. Worn for reviews, it was made more for show than active battle [Credit: ROM]“The ROM’s exhibition takes visitors on a remarkable journey to the heart of the Forbidden City — once off limits to all but a privileged few,” said Janet Carding, ROM Director and CEO. “Carefully selected by our curatorial team, these extraordinary artifacts from Beijing's Palace Museum will give visitors an inside view of life within the Forbidden City and immerse them in China’s rich history. The exhibition is the centerpiece of the Museum’s Centennial, bringing to life our promise to connect our visitors with their communities, world, and with each other.”
The ROM has partnered with Beijing’s Palace Museum to create an exhibition that uncovers untold stories about life in the courts of the Chinese emperors. Dr Chen Shen is the exhibition’s lead curator and the ROM’s Vice President, World Cultures and Senior Curator, Bishop White Chair of East Asian Archaeology. He said, “This exhibition allows Canadians to see, for the first time, the finest objects hidden from view in the Forbidden City. We have worked with our Palace Museum colleagues to develop untold stories about life in the courts of the Chinese emperors; ensuring ROM visitors will enjoy many of China’s national treasures, many of which have never left the palace. These objects — both luxurious and everyday — provide the unique opportunity to advance our understanding of the people who lived within the walls of the Forbidden City.”
The emperor's role as head of the military required special ceremonial 'armour'. Worn for reviews, it was made more for show than active battle [Credit: ROM]In December 2012, Dr. Shen travelled to China with co-curator Dr Wen-chien Cheng, the ROM’s Louise Hawley Stone Chair of Far Eastern Art, and curatorial advisor Dr. Sarah Fee, the Museum’s Curator, Eastern Hemisphere Textiles and Fashion to spend time in the vaults of the Palace Museum and select the most compelling objects in the vast and storied collection.
Robert H. N. Ho, Founder of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, said “The Foundation is pleased to present The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors in Canada. Advancing the understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture is a key mission of our foundation. Robust educational programming in support of the exhibition should encourage wider exploration by the public, especially teachers and students. The Foundation is also proud to once again be working with the ROM, an outstanding institution which together with Beijing’s Palace Museum, has developed this wonderful exhibition, bringing to life the 600-year-old imperial palace and revealing for the first time many of its treasures and secrets. ”
This gemstone-decorated gold ewer was used only on special occasions such as the emperor’s birthday [Credit: ROM]“The Forbidden City is a true celebration of Chinese culture and history," said Nicole Boivin, Chief Branding and Communications Officer for the exhibition’s Lead Sponsor Manulife, “As a global company, Manulife is committed to engaging the international communities in which we live and work, including China where we've been operating since 1897. Partnering with the ROM to support this exclusive exhibit is an excellent way to honour the China-Canada Cultural Exchange and the ROM’s 100th anniversary.”
The ROM’s exhibition uncovers the stories of the Forbidden City and China’s last emperors who led their lives deep within the palace’s opulent interior. Through intimate encounters with everyday objects, visitors meet a cast of real characters, including emperors, court officials, concubines, and eunuchs — castrated men who served the imperial families. The ROM’s exploration of life inside the mysterious Forbidden City transports visitors through increasingly restricted areas — the palace’s great halls, grand courtyards, and intricate terraces and roofs, until visitors ultimately gain access to the most private space of all: the emperor’s personal study.
'Being Ruler is Tough' was the motto Emperor Yongzheng inscribed on this seal. At his wish, copies of this seal were placed in different rooms for his use and as a reminder of his role [Credit: ROM]Upon arrival, before reaching the admissions desk, visitors are introduced to the Forbidden City in the exhibition’s Prologue. An intricate model including many of the complex’s significant features is displayed in the Thorsell Spirit House, complemented by the one of the ROM’s most recent acquisitions — a yellow-glazed bowl, commissioned by Ming Emperor Wanli. The colour yellow was strictly reserved for royal families and could not be used in any way outside the Forbidden City unless explicitly permitted by the emperor himself.
Thrones were not made for comfort, but as a symbol of the ruler’s imperial and authoritative power. All the pieces here are part of the 'throne set' [Credit: ROM]Visitors next enter The Inner Court, the residential space where only the imperial family and their eunuchs lived. Empress Dowager Cixi, a towering presence over the Chinese empire for almost half a century, is profiled in this section. Stunning gilt silver nail guards represent her. Up to six inches long, they protected the extremely long nails of imperial women — signifying their leisure status. Also on display are the opulent objects of the emperor’s everyday life including silk dog coats, gold eating utensils, and the last emperor’s gilt bath tub.
The exhibition’s climatic section takes visitors inside the Emperor’s personal spaces that were once forbidden to all but the emperor. As rulers, emperors were bound to strict institutionalized governance. However, their choices were their own in collecting and personal cultivation. This area showcases some of the most exquisite objects in the imperial collection including jades, calligraphies, and ceramics and an exceedingly rare porcelain “chicken” cup, commissioned by Emperor Chenghua for his mother; only two such cups exist today in the Palace Museum. In this section, a British-made musical clock and the character of a Western missionary represent the foreign dignitaries who gained access to the Forbidden City with gifts from their homelands — pieces much admired by Qing dynasty emperors.
Pages like this, in a fourteen-sheet album, presents the emperor assuming various ethnicities and characters – in each he is accompanied by an animal or a bird. [Credit: ROM]Finally, Twilight of the Last Dynasty portrays the Forbidden City’s last chapter as it began its transformation to the Palace Museum. Here, visitors learn of the fall of the empire during the last dynasty and the imperial collection’s fate. The magnificence of imperial life is countered by the poignancy of the last emperor’s departure. As visitors are brought back to their own world, they gain an appreciation for the Forbidden City then and now.
The Forbidden City
China’s imperial palace, known to the world as the Forbidden City, was built from 1406 – 1420. It was the center of government and home to China’s last 24 emperors of the Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing (1644 – 1911) dynasties. Made up of about 980 buildings and 8700 rooms in over 90 architectural complexes, the Forbidden City remains to this day the largest palace complex in history. Once strictly forbidden to all but the emperors, their families, servants, invited guests, and most trusted officials, the palace gates are now open to all.
The Palace Museum
The Forbidden City became the Palace Museum in 1925, one year after the last emperor was forced into exile. Located in the heart of Beijing, the magnificent site spans over 720,000 square metres and houses the largest collection of China’s imperial treasures. Designated by China’s State Council as one of that country’s most important protected cultural heritage sites in 1961, it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Today, it is considered one of the world’s most important museums. Popularly called The Forbidden City, it houses over 1.8 million art treasures spanning 5,000 years of Chinese history with many from the Qing imperial court. It is one of the world’s most visited museums, welcoming a record 182,000 visitors on October 2, 2012.
Hockey fan and commercial director (in that order), Steve Chase, is one of the three hockey fanatics behind the trending hockey boycott viral "Just Drop It." Frustrated by the recent lockout and the threat of more games on the chopping block, Chase along with fellow hockey buddies Christian Lalonde (a former pro player) and Mike Devlin (Creative Director/EVP of DraftFCB in NY), came up with the concept of making a simple video asking fans to boycott the NHL.
What was once just an idea between friends is becoming an overnight international success. The grass-root campaign called "Just Drop It," asks hockey fans to take a pledge and boycott one NHL game for every one game the league takes away after Dec 21. The boycott goes beyond game attendance and urges fans not to purchase any merchandising or watch televised games.
Media in the US and Canada have already shown their support by posting the video on their web pages and airing interviews with Chase. Hockey is in Chase's blood. An avid player and supporter of the minor league teams as well, Chase directed a campaign for hockey team Allen Americans. See the all the Allen Americans spots here.
Team owner and NHL superstar Steve Duchesne approached Chase to create and direct the work. The resultant commercials masterfully underline how hockey players possess a passion for the game like no other. Recently quoted as "welcoming the challenge of creating ads in the digital culture," Chase wasted no time and let his passion and conscience drive him.
Just Drop It's Statement: Visit their Facebook Fan page to join the cause. [link] The NHL and the players union have once again insulted the very people who pay their salaries. We the fans have the power to make them listen by taking the Just Drop It pledge. For every game they cancel after December 21st, we will boycott an equal number of games. They cancel 10, we boycott 10. No tickets, no TV, no merchandise. If you want to be heard go to our Facebook page and "like" us to pledge. You can also post your own pledge video. Make them JUST DROP IT!
Get ready for whole lot of Beyonce during the 2013 Superbowl, Pepsi announced the Big Games half time performer will also be appearing on Pepsi cans and I'm assuming we wont be surprised to see here in one of Pepsi's Super Bowl ads this year. Read the full scoop at Brand Channel HERE.
The Fact Brief:
Pepsi is announcing a true creative and wide-ranging global collaboration with worldwide music icon, Beyoncé. Together they will collaborate in developing new content and innovative ways to engage fans, consumers and retailers to benefit both brands.
Beyoncé is our partner and Brand Ambassador for Pepsi. Pepsi has had a relationship with Beyoncé for more than a decade – she first served as a Pepsi spokesperson in 2002.
Since then, she has become a global pop culture phenomenon – arguably one of the biggest pop stars in the world — winning 16 GRAMMY® awards and selling more than 100 million albums worldwide.
The multi-faceted collaboration with Beyoncé includes:
Establishing the Creative Development Fund, a resource devoted to the co-creation of innovative and relevant consumer content.
Collaboration on design – in addition to having her image on a can or bottle, she is working with us on the design of all materials related to the partnership.
Beyoncé starring in a new “Live for Now” global TV commercial, currently planned for release in early 2013
Beyoncé will be appearing in print and out of home advertisements for Pepsi. She will also be visible in-store and on-premise through materials such as shelf promotions, in-store displays and in-store advertising.
The Beyoncé partnership is the lead example of how Pepsi is pioneering a new way for brands to engage with musical artists, moving from sponsor to partner. This creates a creative and commercial collaboration that serves both artist and brand.
Beyond the partnership with Beyoncé, we are using our global scale and scope to create a platform to support multiple country-specific Pepsi musical artists.
With our music program, we can excite our existing fans and attract new consumers to Pepsi, connecting their love of music with the refreshing experience of drinking Pepsi, driving sales of Pepsi globally.
Our retail partners love music partnerships and are ready to embrace this relationship because Pepsi has a proven record of promotions that drive store traffic and sales.
1.Bear vs. Trailer In this classic Twinkies ad, a bear tears open a yellow trailer because it looks like a Twinkie, and is disappointed to find that all there is to eat inside is humans and mutters “Where’s the cream filling?”
2."Celebrating 90 years as America's favorite chocolate cupcake"
Happier times, back in 2009 Hostess celebrated 90 years of goodness with the cup cakes.
Credits: Advertising Agency: Bernstein-Rein. Executive Creative Director: Arlo Oviatt. Creative Director: Elizabeth Paolini. Art Director: Paul Prato. Copywriter: Becky Ervin
3. From 1970 The Twinkies "Space Kids" Commercial
4. Bye bye to the Hostess Ho Hos — Another 70's Commercial
5. Another vintage ad celebrating 40 years of the Hostess Ding Dongs
Ding Dongs — named for chiming bells used in vintage Hostess television commercials — are ringing 40 sweet years as one of America's all time favorite snack cakes. Just one bite of the iconic chocolate cake enrobed with chocolate icing and Hostess' signature rich creamy filling leaves little doubt as to the source of Ding Dongs' enduring appeal.
6. "It's A Kids World" A 1976 Hostess Commercial
A kid's world is a special world and Hostess is a part of it- Hostess and kids, they go together...well they did but not anymore: -(
7. Hostess Fruit Pies The Magician commercial from 1973
Fruit Pie the Magician was first introduced in 1973! Created by artist Don Duga.
8. Let's Not Forget The Hostess Chocodiles.
These chocolate-covered Twinkies had a fierce following.
9. 1986 Hostess Pudding Pie Commercial
From 1986, this Pudding Pie ad featured a young Joey Lawrence.
The news that Hostess Brands Inc. is shutting down operations in the U.S. is particularly sad as it represents the death of an iconic brand, a brand that has been part of American pop culture for years.
This new film by Reebok Classics is the story of an innovative and pioneering brand that helped shape the destiny of modern sports performance, as well as British youth culture.
The film is a celebration of creative youth: the current pioneers who are making music, creating great record labels, making flyers and magazines. They are crafting their own future as well as shaping ours. Their story challenges us all to focus on the present and the future.
Made by The Rig Out (www.therigout.com) and directed by Antony Crook http://www.antonycrook.com/ of Ridley Scott Associates - http://www.rsafilms.com/company/rsa-u... on location in Bolton and Manchester (the birthplace of Reebok). Cinematography by Lol Crawley and a voice over by Paul Popplewell (Tyrannosaur, 24 Hour Party People).
Creative Credits: CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Glenn Kitson ADVERTISING AGENCY: The Rig Out COMPOSER: Illum Sphere AUDIO POST PRODUCTION: Tom Joyce at Factory EDITOR: Julian Eguiguren POST PRODUCTION / VFX PRODUCER: Adina Birnbaum and Chris Connolly POST PRODUCTION HOUSE: MPC PRODUCTION COMPANY: RSA Films PRODUCER: Jacob Swan Hyam, Michelle O’Brien for Sugar Free EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Melody Sylvester DOP: Lol Crawley BSC DIRECTOR: Antony Crook
A stadium full of soccer fans are so excited about losing weight that they get naked, thanks to one streaker who triggered the chain reaction. Well this one awesome way to advertise, created by Cutwater for CoolSculpting.
“This is a category where no true brands exist. Products and services and the images typically used are a homogeneous blur,” said Chuck McBride, founder and executive creative director for Cutwater. “Our responsibility was to not just create a brand within the cosmetic medical device category but to create one that transcends into culture on the idea of self-confidence. Because it really isn’t about what you lose. It’s about what you gain.”
Credits: Client: ZELTIQ® Aesthetics, Inc. Product: CoolSculpting® Agency: Cutwater, San Francisco
Executive Creative Director / Copywriter: Chuck McBride Executive Creative Director / Art Director: Travis Britton Executive Producer: Daniel Tuggle Production Company: Interrogate Films Director: Jeff Labbe Executive Producer: Jeff Miller Line Producer: Sam Levene Editorial: Barbary Post Editor: Bob Spector Asst. Editor: Dani Sanchez Asst. Editor: Matt O’Donnell Executive Producer: Kristen Jenkins Smoke / Visual Effects: Greg Gilmore After Effects: Steve McEuen Sound Design: Pollen Sound Designer: Scot Stafford
The new NBA Finals 2013 ad campaign, "FOREVER is BIG" celebrates Dirk Nowitzki in "Forever Dirk."
The first to celebrate current NBA players who are on their way to becoming legends because of successful Finals moments that live on and resonate in pop-culture forever. In this commercial, we see Dallas Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki make an incredible signature fade away jump shot in Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Dirk remains suspended in time as we see this same iconic moment depicted all over the world in various ways, from cardboard cutouts to toy figurines, representing the different ways the moment is remembered in our collective consciousness. The spot ends by returning to the scene of the play to find Dirk suspended forever in place where this game-changing moment happened. "FOREVER is BIG."
Credits: Ad Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, USA Executive Creative Director: Jeff Goodby Creative Directors: Nick Klinkert, Adam Reeves Copywriter: Nick Morrissey Art Director: Tim Green Producer: Benton Roman
Think Work Play (http://think-work-play.com/), the webzine that charts the creative process in London. A recent interview with Kate Moross, a well-acclaimed London-based illustrator/designer who has done work on Cadburys, Topshop and Samsung ad campaigns, as well as the who’s who of music and culture (Kate has just finished the latest music video for the electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco). In the video, Kate talks about how a certain company approached her about designing a bong, her favourite colours and her admiration of the Queen Mother’s fashion sense.
