Hometown Glory
As Menil exhibit Arctic Realities prepares to close, NPR sings its praises
A mask from the exhibition, "Upside Down: Arctic Realities," curated by EdmundCarpenter, at the Menil CollectionPhoto by Fred Gageneau
The Menil CollectionCourtesy photo
The Menil Collection exhibition Upside Down: Arctic Realities enjoyed a spotlight on a recent segment of National Public Radio. Reporter Wade Goodwyn praised the "cool exhibit" as a "rare display of artifacts from a place where there is still much to be discovered."
Conversations with assistant curator Sean Mooney and Menil curator of collections and research Kristina Van Dyke illuminate the exhibition, which is enveloped in SoCal light sculptor Douglas Wheeler's pristine Arctic recreation. States Goodwyn, "As beautiful and unique as the ancient artifacts are, the exhibition space itself gives them a run for their money." Adding to the exhibit experience are speakers echoing Eskimo chants and a swirling polar wind.
If you want to see it, you'd better hurry. The exhibition, which Cotter calls "out of this world," is on view through Sunday.
In response to the show's celebrated curator Edmund Carpenter's recent death, NPR notes, "The exhibition is ending on a sad note . . . He leaves behind both a collection of ancient artifacts and intellectual insights into the nature of these Arctic tribes."
Arctic Realities has previously met critical acclaim. In a June 3 New York Times article, critic Holland Cotter praised the Menil as "one of the most beautiful spaces in the country for looking at art. She continues,
And that pleasure is bound [to] intensify in an exhibition, organized by the anthropologist Edmund Carpenter, called 'UPSIDE DOWN: ARCTIC REALITIES.' "
If you want to see it, you'd better hurry. The exhibition, which Cotter calls "out of this world," is on view through Sunday. Read Joseph Campana's CultureMap review here.
In honor of Carpenter, the Menil hosts a reading of his landmark 1973 book, Eskimo Realities, Sunday at 5 p.m. The museum will remain open until the reading is complete.
Hear the NPR story on Upside Down: Adobe Flash Required for flash player.
