Places to See: Fowler Museum at UCLA

Fowler Museum at UCLA

I visited the Fowler Museum. It's a nice venue with quality collections, especially in regards to the anthropologically inclined. Currently on exhibit are:

Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley. I don't have much of a background from which to draw in assessing the quality of this show, but it seemed really solid. A great collection of cultural artifacts, detailed write-ups explaining the Nigerian traditions and artforms, and engaging field recordings. I walked into the show in complete ignorance, and left it feeling informed.

His Masters' Tools: Recent Work by Allan deSouza. Interesting post-colonial contemporary work. Most of it didn't do it for me, but a few hit home. I especially liked the drunken monkey. ;-)

Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World. I'm not a big photography buff, but this show captured me. It told a powerful story through the collected images. My knowledge of Jazz history is on the weak side, but I do recall how Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington would tour internationally for the State Department. This exhibit rounded out my knowledge and added compelling images to the dry facts. Moreover, the background music was FANTASTIC. I especially enjoyed Anita O'Day's version of "Take the A-Train." All in all, it was a superb show.

Art and the Unbreakable Spirit of Haiti: A small exhibit, but good artifact quality. It wouldn't stand on its own strength, but the quality of the other shows carried the weight. It was a "side dish" show, but a good one.

Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives. A nice general anthro artifact show. Scattered selection both in type and culture, but plenty of interesting material. I felt that the show was weak on narrative, but strong on material. All in all, well worth a viewing.

Reflecting Culture. An exhibit of silver works. Of course, that gets a big thumbs up from me. What type of lunatic doesn't adore silver? Heck, if I were to have any complaint, it would be that there wasn't enough silver. After all, there were only two silver ships. I'm wanting an armada. And just because Herakles had twelve labors doesn't mean we are limited to only twelve silver plates. More silver!!!!! ;-)

So, that's my take on the current shows at the Fowler. If this interests you, then I highly recommend visiting it. After all, admission is free. How can you beat that?!

Here's the link to the Fowler.

Enjoy!!!