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Archives: October 2008

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Lions of Babylon at the Legion

Dr. Marzahn and lion from the Processional Way in Babylon

Dr. Joachim Marzahn from the Museum of the Ancient Near East in Berlin reassembles the Lion Relief at the Legion of Honor.

The current special exhibiton at the Legion has not one, but two examples of rare Lion Reliefs from the Processional Way in ancient Babylon. These 6th-century-BC works of art once lined the great Processional Way that led to the city's Ishtar Gate, which has been reconstructed at the Museum of the Ancient Near East (Vorderasiatisches Museum) in Berlin.

One of the examples comes from the Museum of the Ancient Near East. It was accompanied and assembled at the Legion by Dr. Joachim Marzahn, whom you can see working on the relief in the photos above and on our Flickr photostream. This reassembled lion is joined in the exhibition by a similar, but completely reconstructed, example from the National Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, Germany.

You can view installation photos on our Flickr photostream.

Posted by: Andrew Fox | October 22 at 11:24:39 AM
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Listed under: Legion of Honor News | Exhibitions | Conservation

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Behind the Scenes in Plain Sight with Maya Lin's 2 X 4 Landscape

2 X 4 Landscape being installed at the de Young

Eventually this will look like...

2 X 4 Landscape

...this. (Maya Lin, 2 X 4 Landscape, 2006. Wood. 36' x 53' x 10'. Courtesy of the artists and PaceWildenstein. Photo by Colleen Chartier)

Everyone loves to see behind-the-scenes activities in museums, even more so when they can get a good look at what's going on. Currently, visitors to the de Young can get an eyeful of the ongoing installation of Maya Lin's 2 X 4 Landscape (2006), a monumental sculpture 10-feet-high at its tallest point and constructed of cut pieces of 2 X 4 lumber. The piece promises to be as breathtaking in completion as it is fascinating in its installation.

2 X 4 Landscape will fill much of the floor of the de Young's Wilsey Court, which is the only space in the museum that can hold this enormous work of art. We've been posting day-by-day photos of the work in progress on our Flickr photostream, so take a look when you get a chance.

If you've been by to take a look and have your own pictures of the installation process, you can add them to our new Maya Lin 2 X 4 Landscape at the de Young group.

Posted by: Andrew Fox | October 7 at 4:56:17 PM
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Listed under: de Young News | Exhibitions