I recently got to tag along as the mummy of Irethorrou was transported from Stockton's Haggin Museum to the de Young's conservation lab, in preparation for a journey down to Stanford University Medical Center for a CT scan. The mummy of Irethorrou, a 2,500-year-old ancient Egyptian priest from Akhmim, has been in the collections of the Fine Arts Museums since 1917, and had been on loan to the Haggin Museum since 1944.
While I was there I took a few photos showing the behind-the-scenes activities involved in moving a mummy, as well as some photos of him in the conservation lab. My colleague Jill Lynch accompanied him to Stanford and took the photos of him undergoing his CT scan.
Todd and Meklit describing their process with visitors and sharing work created during their time with us.
Todd working on yet another layer of his piece, "Resilience"
Cultural Encounters Commissions
The Fine Arts Museums solicit California artists and art groups to create site specific works and installations in response to the de Young's permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, or the building and its environment
Todd and Meklit, Artistic Director and resident artist, respectively, of the Red Poppy Art House joined us as June Artists-in-Residence as well as commissioned artists for the de Young Museum with their project entitled Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown: Light, Shadow, and the Space of in Between.
Every month the de Young invites artists to install and demonstrate their art form at the museum. This interactive program is meant to encourage dialogue between the museum visitor and local working artists within the community.
In the case of Hadero and Brown, the artists integrated their artistic processes with the physical environment of the Kimball Gallery in an interactive installation enhanced by musical compositions and two-dimensional art. The ultimate goal of Todd and Meklit was to inspire visitors to integrate art into their own home, work, and life environments.
In an effort to document their their uniquely intensive process, Todd has included several images and further explanations of his and Meklit's various works on his website: www.artist-toddbrown.com
Please visit his site and see what beautiful inspir.. [more]
