CALENDAR
On Exhibit during December 2012
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Tall Tales of the Wild West: The Stories of Karl May Through February 9, 2014 The novels of German author Karl May served as trail guides to the mystique of the American West and even today are celebrated in European festivals and theme parks. His books have outsold those of Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey combined and were beloved by the likes of Albert Einstein, Herman Hesse, Fritz Lang, and Franz Kafka. But there’s a hitch: May never visited the West. Nevertheless, his faith in the land of cowboys and Indians nurtured an entire continent’s love for it. From Nov. 18, 2012, to Feb. 9, 2014, the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors celebrates May’s life, legacy and lasting impact in an original exhibition, Tall Tales of the Wild West: The Stories of Karl May. |
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Altared Spaces: The Shrines of New Mexico Through February 10, 2013 As havens of spirit and space, shrines have long claimed hallowed ground in the vast New Mexico landscape. In Altared Spaces: The Shrines of New Mexico, from Sept. 30, 2012, through Feb. 10, 2013, Jack Parsons, Donald Woodman, and Siegfried Halus exhibit their explorations into these special places. The exhibit augments the spirits expressed in the ongoing exhibitions, Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible and Contemplative Landscape in the Herzstein Changing Exhibits Gallery. The photographers kick off the exhibit on Sunday, September 30, with a 2 pm discussion of their work in the History Museum Auditorium, followed by refreshments in the second-floor Gathering Space, courtesy of the Women's Board of the Museums of New Mexico. The event is free with museum admission; Sundays are free to NM residents.
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Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible: An epic work of art Through December 30, 2012 New: Exhibition's run extended to December 30, 2012. Considered the Sistine Chapel of the modern era and overseen by the Benedictine monks at Saint John's Abbey in Minnesota, Illuminating the Word: The Saint John's Bible features portions of the first modern-day Bible entirely handwritten and illuminated in 500 years. World-renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson, senior scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Office at the House of Lords, serves as the project’s artistic director from his scriptorium in Wales. Also on exhibit will be a page from an original Gutenberg Bible. A series of lectures, musical performances and calligraphy workshops accompany the exhibit, which serves as a companion to Contemplative Landscape. |
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Contemplative Landscape Through December 30, 2012 Contemplative Landscape is a photographic exploration of how people have responded to and interacted with New Mexico’s landscape through art, architecture and sacred rituals. Drawing on works from the Photo Archives at the Palace of the Governors and contemporary photographers, the exhibition prominently features the work of Tony O’Brien, whose 1994-95 sojourn at a New Mexico monastery forms the heart of his new book, Light in the Desert: Photographs from the Monastery of Christ in the Desert (Museum of New Mexico Press), debuting with the exhibition. A companion exhibit to Illuminating the Word: The Saint John's Bible. |
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Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time: The archaeological and historic roots of America’s oldest capital city on long-term display Now 400 years old, Santa Fe was once an infant city on the remote frontier. Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time, on long-term exhibit in the Palace of the Governors, explores the archaeological evidence and historical documentation of the City Different before the Spanish arrived, as well as at the settling of the first colony in San Gabriel del Yungue, the founding of Santa Fe and its first 100 years as New Mexico’s first capital. Co-curated by Josef Diaz of the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors and Stephen Post of the DCA/Office of Archaeological Studies, Santa Fe Found collects more than 160 artifacts from four historic sites, along with maps, documents, household goods, weaponry and religious objects. Together, they tell the story of cultural encounters between early colonists and the Native Americans who had long called this place home. |
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Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now on long-term display Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now, the main exhibition of the New Mexico History Museum, sweeps across more than 500 years of stories - from early Native inhabitants to today's residents - told through artifacts, films, photographs, computer interactives, oral histories and more. Together, they breath life into the people who made the American West: Native Americans, Spanish colonists, Mexican traders, Santa Fe Trail riders, fur trappers, outlaws, railroad men, scientists, hippies and artists.
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Treasures of Devotion/Tesoros de Devoción on long-term display Treasures of Devotion/Tesoros de Devoción contains bultos, retablos, and crucifijos dating from the late 1700s to 1900 which illustrate the distinctive tradition of santo making in New Mexico introduced by settlers from Mexico. |
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Segesser Hide Paintings on long-term display Though the source of the Segesser Hide Paintings is obscure, their significance cannot be clearer: the hides are rare examples of the earliest known depictions of colonial life in the United States. Moreover, the tanned and smoothed hides carry the very faces of men whose descendants live in New Mexico today... |
