The July-August 2008 issue of our newsletter, The Display Case:
Casting Tradition: Contemporary Brassworking in Ghana
Casting Tradition: Contemporary Brassworking in Ghana opens this summer in the Exhibit Museum's newly renovated gallery on the 4th floor. This exhibition is a collaboration with Raymond Silverman, U-M Professor of History of Art and Afroamerican and African Studies. It is the product of a partnership between the Exhibit Museum and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Museum (KNUSTM), sponsored by the American Association of Museums, that allowed Silverman to spend five weeks in Ghana working with his colleague, Gilbert Amegatcher, a Professor of Art and Design at KNUST, and Amegatcher to spend five weeks with Silverman at U-M. Distance learning technology was used to create a virtual collaborative environment for their students who assisted in planning the exhibition.
The tradition of lost-wax casting has been practiced among the Akan people of Ghana for at least 500 years. Casting Tradition examines how the traditions associated with casting metal evolved, especially over the last 100 years. Particular attention is given to the relationship between technology, creativity, and the market.
The exhibit features over 50 brass objects commissioned from the metalworkers of the town of Krofrom, including pendants, beads, boxes, bowls, and other objects. Large photos and interpretive labels present the history of lost-wax casting in Ghana, and two multimedia displays present the casting process from start to finish, as well as a series of interviews with some of Krofrom's brass casters.
The objects on display in the exhibition were borrowed from the U-M Museum of Anthropology and U-M Museum of Art, and from private collections in Michigan and California. The exhibit is sponsored by the American Association of Museums and seven units at the University of Michigan, including the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the Museum Studies Program, the Public Goods Council, the International Institute, the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, and Arts at Michigan.
Casting Tradition will also be installed at the KNUST Museum in Kumasi, Ghana.
There will be a celebratory public reception for the exhibit on September 5, from 4-6 pm.
Docent "alum" Jen Skelly and "The Zula Patrol"
The Museum's newest Uniview planetarium show is The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather, based on the highly-acclaimed children's TV series about science and space exploration. Under the Weather shows weekdays in July and August at 12:30 pm.
The TV show’s lead science consultant and vice president of education is Jennifer (Osborn) Skelly, who worked as a docent and planetarium operator at the Exhibit Museum in 1993 and 1994. Jen graduated from U-M with a BS in Anthropology and Zoology. She went on to earn her Teacher Certification and MA at San Francisco State University. Before her current career in film and television, Jen was a high-school science teacher, field biologist, "and a koala keeper." Jen teaches advanced story development at CalArts and lectures in the planetarium at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Her husband and writing partner is U-M grad David Skelly (BFA, 1993), who was story artist on Cars, Monsters, Inc., and Toy Story 2.
"If I hadn't studied biology at U-M I would have chosen astrophysics, so I jumped at the chance to work at the planetarium," Jen says. "I loved the star talks (still do), and I even enjoyed the kindergarten shows, although the song A Sun is a Star will NEVER go out of my head as long as I live. I began my voiceover career at U-M, recording the text for the Moon show at the time.
"In LA, when I realized the Griffith Observatory had a small mini-dome, I asked about a job, and was referred to the head of the lecturing staff. It turned out John Mosley (BS, 1970) had worked in the U-M planetarium in 1967! I began lecturing for school groups and public shows.
"At Griffith, I met another Michigander, Kevin Grazier, who referred me to the folks at The Zula Patrol. Kevin's a science consultant for our show and also works on the Cassini mission at JPL. So, in a round-about way, I have U-M Planetarium director Matt Linke and U-M to thank for my Zula Patrol job!"
Director's Corner
Record-breaking attendance. The Museum welcomed over 85,000 visitors during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008 -- a fifteen-year record. General public attendance was particularly strong. Thank you all for your interest and participation in the Museum's many educational offerings.
Pipes. "A History of Pipes" is a new display at the top of the stairs. Fifteen different type of smoking pipes, including briar root, clay, calabash, meerschaum, and corn-cob pipes are displayed; they are part of an extensive collection of pipes in the U-M Museum of Anthropology. The exhibit traces the history of pipes and describes different materials used to make them.
Relics from the Analog Universe. Last October, the new state-of-the-art Uniview digital video projection system replaced the analog projection system that had been in place (with various upgrades) since the Planetarium opened 50 years ago. "Relics" pays tribute to 15 of the ingenious gadgets that were devised to work with the old analog system, including a mirrored ball, rotating galaxy projector, and video projector masks. Some of these gadgets were pieced together using old baby food jars, duct tape, and mirror pieces. The exhibit is across the hall from the Planetarium.
Rotunda painting. University painters have repaired and repainted the underside of the mezzanine in the Ruthven Building Rotunda, giving us a glimpse of how magnificent the entire Rotunda must have looked when new, back in 1928. We're hopeful that the ceiling itself can be repainted soon!
Funding update. We have received two grants in support of "Family Reading and Science," the Museum's collaboration with 43 libraries in five counties in Southeast Michigan for winter family science reading workshops. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, N.A., based in Ann Arbor, has awarded the Museum $5,000 to support the program in Washtenaw County, including the design of posters, reading logs and bookmarks, and the printing of workshop journals and backpack flyers. The Michigan Space Grant Consortium has made a grant of $3,976 for the March 28, 2009 Discovery Day on the theme "The Universe: Yours to Discover." This grant will support docent wages, materials for activity stations, and roundtrip bus transportation from Detroit to Ann Arbor for families participating in the library program in Detroit.
See you at the Museum!
You can always reach me at(734) 763-4191 or aharris@umich.edu
-- Amy Harris
