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University Museum sees good turnout for opening reception, and not just from the primates
The fall exhibits at the University Museum got off to a good start with the support of nearly 200 NMSU faculty, staff and students last month.
The exhibits, which will show all semester, include the bright Diné weaves of Navajo rugs, blankets of Chimayó and coins and currency of the Mexican Revolution, all of which examine continuing human traditions and belief systems. The museum also features a traveling exhibit on gorillas and gorilla skulls based on the story of American zoologist Dian Fossey entitled "Gorillas in the Lens."
"This is a great opportunity to showcase New Mexican traditions," Museum Curator Jennifer Robles, Ph.D. said of the exhibits, adding that the Navajo rug and Chimayó blanket displays were made possible by grants from the Southwest & Border Cultures Institute, which is run by the NMSU College of Arts and Sciences.
Robles said the exhibits are not static and visitors will see new interpretations on topics they may not have encountered before. "Because of our location, we do tend to focus on areas of interest in the Southwest."
Those areas of interest fall within the anthropological spectrum for these exhibits, according to Robles.
"For example, ‘Diné Weavers' and ‘Hilos de Tradición' both look at weaving traditions in New Mexico, but their juxtaposition demonstrates the impact cultural variables have on the forms of similar products," Robles said. "The historic, social, cosmological and economic factors that influence Navajo weaving are markedly different than those influencing the Spanish-American weaving from Chimayó."
Robles said visitors to the museum will discover two New Mexican weaving traditions through two distinct cultures, allowing an expansion of understanding into these diverse and local topics.
The University Museum offers programs throughout the semester in an effort to keep teaching people about the different exhibits. The programs include workshops and films on different subjects each time. The schedule of this semester's programs is available on the museum Web site.
The current collection will run until Dec. 10 and the museum will return in the spring with exhibits of Hopi katsina dolls and Yaqui Pascua tribal masks as well as a display called "Trails of the Southwest," which includes a large dioramic map of New Mexico, western Texas, eastern Arizona and northern Mexico.
Robles said the trails, stage stops and other items will be illuminated with LED lights and visitors will be able to manipulate the lights to highlight particular trails on the map. "The exhibit will contain other historic photographs, as well as objects recovered via archaeological projects along the trails," she said.
For more information on the University Museum visit www.nmsu.edu/museum.
Written by Susan Prosoco.