“Photographic Explorations" offers
a kaleidoscopic view of a sampling of the nearly 400 field projects
in the Museum's 110-plus years of archaeological and ethnographic
research around the world. To prepare the exhibition, Alessandro
Pezzati, Museum Archivist, selected images from the tens of thousands
of expedition photographs in the Archives. Included are images
from famous expeditions to the Amazon (1913-1916), Memphis, Egypt
(1915-1923), Ur in Iraq (1922-34), Tikal, Guatemala (1956-1970)
and Gordion, Turkey, where the Museum continues field work it
began in 1950.
The photographs, and the accompanying text, reveal an active
spirit of inquiry and a driving curiosity at the heart of UPM
research, which has been conducted on every inhabited continent. "
I hope that these images," notes Pezzati, "allow the
viewer to reflect on human history and diversity. The portraits
of individuals, even when posed, speak to each of us differently.
Even the ruins speak to us, telling stories of the activities
of people who are now gone. We learn of the transience of people
on earth and their inter-relatedness. We learn about cultural
persistence and survival. We learn humility from seeing past
greatness swept away by the passage of time."
While the photographs document the Museum's past research, its
curators and research scientists are still active in both archaeology
and anthropology around the world. Using the latest in computer
technology, these projects—over thirty in all—are
shown in a dynamic display. Here visitors will get a glimpse
into UPM's current excavations and analyses, from the Old Stone
Age of Egypt and France, the ancient civilizations of both the
Old and New Worlds, to the study of modern peoples around the
world.
Catologue: Adventures in Photography: Expeditions from the University
of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (112 pages,
featuring 65 photographs, map of all sites mentioned in the essay,
reading list, and index, $29.95), available in the Museum Shop,
or through the mail by calling 1-800/537-5487. Prints of several
of the exhibition's vintage images, framed or unframed, are available
for purchase in the Museum Shop. In addition, visitors may special
order prints of any of the photographs in the exhibition, through
the Museum Shop. |
