BOWERS MUSEUM

 We went to Santa Ana to visit the Bowers Museum  on May 14, 2014 during a heat wave with strong winds coming from the East. The museum visit was comfortable with the temperature controlled rooms.  We took a break for lunch at the excellent café at the museum.We were aware of some fires in San Diego and on the return drive we saw plumes of smoke behind the hills of Camp Pendleton.  After checking the news reports after returning home they were showing multiple fires across San Diego county as well as at Camp Pendleton.  

Soulful Creatures-animal mummies in ancient Egypt.   The exhibition focused on one of the most fascinating aspects of ancient Egyptian culture and religion-the mummification of animals that included cats, dogs and wild animals.  The exhibit was drawn from the Brooklyn museum collection and also had art related to the ritual use of animal mummies in the natural and supernatural world.

The linen was woven in a patten

The Lure of Chinatown: Painting California’s Chinese Communities. Artists played a pivotal role in documenting the historical changes that occurred in California’s Chinatowns over time as well as in contributing to the perception of these Chinatowns and their residents.

Spirits and Headhunters:  Art of the Pacific Islands.  Spanning the geographic region collectively referred to as Oceania, this comprehensive exhibition highlights masterworks from the three cultural regions of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Particular focus is placed on New Guinea, land of the headhunter, and the rich artistic traditions infused into daily and ritual life. Submerge into a visually stunning world and come face to face with larger-than-life masks, finely crafted feast bowls, objects associated with the secretive Sepik River men’s house, beautiful shell and feather currency, magic figures and tools of the shaman, objects related to seagoing trade routes, gorgeous personal adornments, weapons of warfare and the most precious of human trophies taken in retribution