Out of Storage

Last Wednesday I made another trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and I started this visit by viewing a special exhibit that recently opened.  It is called "Stories from Storage".

Every museum has a large number of objects which are kept in storage.  The Cleveland Museum of Art has more than 61,000 pieces in its collection, but only around 4,000 are on permanent display.  There are many reasons.  Some pieces are light sensitive and can only be on display for long periods of time.  Others are damaged and are awaiting restoration.  Some are of dubious provenance or might even be forgeries.  There are objects that don't fit in with the themes of any of the galleries.  Or sometimes it is simply a matter of not enough space to display everything. 

The museum usually hosts several major exhibitions each year.  They are collaborations with other museums and private collections from around the world.  The pandemic has put such international exhibits on hold, so the curators of our museum decided to draw upon their own resources for a unique show.  They chose around 300 pieces from storage... some of them have never been on display before... for this exhibit.  It will run through May 16th.

As you enter the exhibit your are greeted by this large contemporary work by African-American artist Kara Walker entitled "The Republic of New Afrika at a Crossroads".  The painting on two large panels of paper is light sensitive and cannot be displayed for more that a few months at a time.

I did not notice it at first, but the painting includes ghost-like silhouettes of African slaves based on cartoons from the 19th century.  The use of silhouettes is a trademark of Walker's artwork.

 

You then proceed into an area dealing with the art from an earlier pandemic... the Black Death of the 1300s.

This French sculpture of the "Virgin Nursing the Christ Child" dates from around 1370.

This page from a 14th century book shows the flagellation of Christ. 

The book from which it came was a rule book for an association of flagellants.  These groups, inspired by the sufferings of Jesus, would whip themselves as a form of penance.  It was a common practice during the Black Death.

This is an illuminated leaf from a "gradual", a large book of music to be sung during the mass.  This page comes from the Easter Sunday service, and the illustration depicts the resurrection of Jesus.  The book was from a Franciscan monastery near Naples, Italy.

A number of artworks were in poor condition.  The museum conservators may or may not be able to restore them.

"The Adoration of the Magi", painted in the 1500s, is perhaps a painting by Titian, or it might have been done by his workshop.  The painting is damaged by overcleaning through the years.

This terracotta sculpture of "Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well"  is from 16th century Italy.  It has deteriorated and has many cracks.  Poorly executed restoration in the past by filling in the cracks with plaster or wax has not helped its appearance.,

This painting, "Portrait of a Woman as St. Catherine" by done in 1560 by Francisco Foschi.  Museum conservators are assessing how cleaning might improve its appearance.

Several small rectangular cleaning tests have been done.

This modern work called "Red Light" consists of a life-size sculpture along with the front end of a truck (which belonged to the sculptor) and a traffic light.  It was done by George Segal, an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement.  I remember this piece used to be on display as a permanent feature of the museum's modern art gallery.  Why is was put into storage I do not know.

Another piece of modern art is this painting called "Chinese Hand Laundry" done in 1984 by Chinese-American artist Martin Wong.  Wong's works often deal with the marginalization of immigrants.  He died in 1999 at the of 53 from AIDS.

This silk wall hanging is from 19th century Morocco.  It was a traditional wedding gift which a groom was required to give to his bride.  If the bride did not receive the required gifts it was considered grounds for divorce.

This painting is by a 13th century Nepalese artist of the Green Tara, a Buddhist savior goddess.

This carving from 8th century India depicts the nine celestial bodies.  From the left, they are the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.  The bodiless head represents an eclipse, and the figure with a serpent tail is a comet.

Agni, the God of Fire, was carved in India around 1000.

Also from India around the same time is this miniature stupa made of bronze and studded with gemstones.  A stupa is a domed monument that contains relics of the Buddha.

There is more to come from this exhibition in a future post.