EXHIBIT: Stonehenge

Another wonderful exhibit at Union Station.   Lots of cool multi media in this one.


I've loved the world of British Archeology ever since I first watched Time Team on YouTube years ago.  Here in the US our sites are sparse; especially in the Plains states, where our Neolithic peoples were nomadic with very limited material culture that survived.   If you are VERY lucky, you might find arrowheads or a stone axe while field walking, and there's one burial site out by Salina and a modest pueblo down in the very south-west corner of the state.  But in Britain,  it seems you can't go for a walk without tripping over a Bronze Age barrow or a Roman villa or a Norman castle or a Saxon hoard or something else wonderful.  


And Stonehenge!  Avesbury, Durrington Walls - so much archeology.  So many cool artifacts.   One very interesting tidbit that I learned is that the experts think that a natural geological feature that occurred due to glaciation is why Stonehenge is where it is and how it is aligned.   It just so happened that this feature is oriented with the summer and winter solstice.   And Neolithic people noticed and used it a processional way into the area that would become Stonehenge. 


I knew that Stonehenge was made in stages - and reworked several times with several types of materials, but learned about the fact that the blue stones - from Wales were used and re-used probably three or four times.   Just fascinating.


The exhibit was curated by Mike Parker Pearson, and the public lecture was by the director of the Wiltshire Museum, David Dawson.

MOVIE: "Te Ata"

Te Ata   Screened at the Topeka Public Library

This was screened in Topeka because the screenwriter is a local woman, Esther Luttrell!   She did a small presentation and Q&A after the screening.


The story is the early life of Mary Frances (Thompson) Fisher, a Chickasaw woman born in the late 1890s when Oklahoma was still "Indian Territory".   It follows her through her childhood, teens, young adulthood and college years and the start of her relationship with the man who would become her husband.   At a time when expressions of Native American culture were outlawed, she sang, danced and told stories of her people before presidents and royalty.

I can see why this film has won several film festivals over the last year, and getting glimpses of the way that the story was brought into film was fascinating.  I had no idea of the changes that happen between the screenplay and the final film release.   I love that most of the dialogue and all of the 'read' letters in the soundtrack came directly from historic and period sources.  Esther had access to Mary Frances' diaries and letters and also her mother's.

The cinematography was beautiful.  Having just been in Eastern Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago, the landscapes in the film really resonated with me.   The reoccurring themes of 'water as the birth/change' and 'the white dog as the spirit guide' were subtle, but commanding.  Even when they are dissonant - in the scenes in New York City while she is breaking onto Broadway, you can tell Te Ata is still connected to her roots.

Costuming should be given a mention.   Both the stage, native, and 'white world' dress rang true.  As she gets older, and moves east to college and then Broadway, you can see the fashion change through both time and culture.  The scene where she is first coming to college was especially notable for the statement that the costuming makes.  Mary Frances is not fully acculturated into the white world at this point; her hair is in traditional braids and she carries a beaded 'squaw bag' instead of a purse, but her blouse and skirt are very similar to those worn by her 'white girl' roommate, Margaret.  (After a rocky beginning, they become life long friends and artistic collaborators, with Margaret providing musical back up for Mary Frances' stage shows.) 

The love story, and her relationship with Clyde Fisher is a love story, is nicely done, no gratuitous bare flesh.   I loved that he was a poly-math, a nerd of the first order, and she loved him anyway.  And the scene between Clyde and Mr. Thompson is hilarious without needing to be comedic.  "Same woman."

One for the personal collection when it comes out on DVD.

EXHIBIT: Mummies of the World

Just got back from Union Station in KC and their exhibit "Mummies of the World".   I spent about 4 hours in the exhibit and loitered through at my usual 'read every card' pace.   One nice thing about going to museums alone is that there's no 'hurry up' nagging from other people.   As with the "Pompeii" exhibit, I timed my visit to take advantage of a free public lecture presented  with the exhibit.

The lecture was presented by Dr. Hunt of the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian.   He spoke about the new techniques of non-invasive study of mummies and other artifacts.  CT scanning and other radiography, micro sampling for DNA and other chemical analysis.

Sometimes I wish I would have been selfish and gone ahead with my masters and eventual doctorate in anthropology instead of opting to do the sensible thing and get an accounting degree and spend 30 years in business.   I know I am good financial shape because of that decision and I understand why my mother insisted on it.   As it turns out, I DID have to support a minor(ish) child after my husband died young.  JC was still in High School (though he had just turned 18) when his dad died.

But I would have LOVED to be the one giving that lecture instead of listening to it.