The Fowler Museum at UCLA will honor its 50th anniversary with a series of special exhibitions and programs beginning this fall and running through fall 2014.
A suite of intimate, thematic exhibitions will highlight more than 800 artworks from the Fowler’s vast, acclaimed global collections.
Opening to the public on October 13, and continuing through February 23, are eight small-scale exhibitions installed in two large galleries, which spotlight particular strengths in the Fowler’s collections of art from Africa, the Pacific and the Americas, and feature works shown for the first time.
Each exhibition takes a distinctive curatorial approach, demonstrating that collections are dynamic resources, open to interpretation and reinterpretation over time. Three of these exhibitions include interventions by contemporary artists whose practices resonate with the Fowler’s permanent collections.
A highlight of the exhibition includes “Powerful Bodies: Zulu Arts of Personal Adornment.” In 19th-century southern Africa, men and women wore intricately sewn, jewel-colored beadwork to accentuate bodily “zones of power.” Necklaces drew attention to the head, beaded fringes and belts highlighted the reproductive organs and bracelets and anklets emphasized the hands and feet.
“Powerful Bodies” includes 79 fine examples of such objects, which are often imbued with the physical traces of their former users.
Another highlight is “Chupícuaro: The Natalie Wood Gift of Ancient Mexican Ceramics.” Purchased for the museum in 1969 by the late actress, the Fowler’s Chupícuaro holdings are its most important collection of ancient Mesoamerican art.
A selection of more than 100 ceramics will be exhibited to represent crucial phases of Chupícuaro history (600 B.C.E.–300 C.E.).
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
