FMA Museum Visit

The visit this past weekend to the Assyrian exhibit was a great experience and opportunity. The exhibit was a great learning tool and I feel that I got a lot out of the trip. It is one thing to read about the Assyrian palace reliefs, but it’s a whole new experience to see them in person. I thought it was amazing to actually see the detail of these carvings. It’s hard to believe that they were capable of producing these carvings considering the tools that were accessible during this time period. Irene Winter was phenomenal. It was such a privilege to have her guide us through the exhibit. Her attitude, energy and passion for these works of art really made this experience that much better. Her insight and knowledge of all the artifacts really took the experience to the next level. My favorite part about the guided tour with Irene was how she discussed the layout of the exhibit and why the museum put certain pieces in specific locations, or displayed them in certain ways. I never really took time to think about why museum’s displayed certain objects the way they do. This is something that I will be sure to pay attention to every time I visit a museum. I never noticed how much the lighting of an exhibit can affect the appearance of an object. We learned that lighting can help focus on the important aspects of a work and reveal details that may not be as obvious in normal lighting. Fir instance Irene pointed out the muscle definition of the calf muscles and knee’s of one scene from one of the reliefs. The lighting also helps show the depth of the carving by casting shadows. This makes it seem as if the figures depicted in the carvings are jumping off the wall. Despite Irene pointing out some flaws in the display or certain objects, I thought the museum did a good job over all in the display or the exhibit. For instance I thought I was great how they displayed some of the smaller artifacts in the display cases. Unlike most display cases, these allowed the viewer to receive a 360 degree view of the object. I felt that this heightened the experience greatly. I enjoyed when Irene was discussing how to read and decipher certain scene’s in the reliefs. It was very interesting how certain symbols or shapes represent certain things. For instance the swirly lines on the reliefs represented water. It was also very helpful when we learned that the hats or helmets that certain figures had on represented which side they were fighting for. Probably the most interesting thing that we learned about deciphering the reliefs was how you can tell which era it was from based on the number of spokes the carriages had. More spokes on the carriage meant that it was from a later time period because as time went on, the wheels on the carriages got larger, requiring more spokes to support them. It was great to spend the day in Boston with everyone, I felt like I got to know everyone a little better and I’m very thankful to have had the opportunity to meet Irene Winter. She truly is an inspiring person and she really made this experience that much better.