Pre-Columbian art from the Frost Art Museum's permanent collection on display

You can take a close-up look at artifacts, some of which are over 2,000 years old, in the Shards of the Past: Pre-Columbian Art from the Frost Art Museum exhibition, on display from May 7 through August 31.

The exhibition features 26 works…figures, vessels, bowls, and plates…from Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Central America, selected from the Frost Art Museum’s permanent collection. Pre-Columbian refers to the time in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the Spanish explorers.

Cultures and civilizations were already flourishing, thriving and evolving, while remaining virtually isolated from other parts of the world. After the arrival of the explorers, we see the collapse of these civilizations and subsequent destruction of their temples and social structures along with a wealth of objects and ritual artifacts. Some of the relics from these cultures are intact for viewers to admire and study; others were ritually broken, and some were destroyed by the passage of time. Most of the surviving objects were found in graves, the remnants of offerings to the dead.

Shards of the Past was created and conceptualized by students enrolled in the Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program at Florida International University. This annual project gives these students an opportunity to curate an exhibition from beginning to installation, applying their newly-learned skills. This year’s participants included: Devon Rudolph, James Little, Jeremy Salloum, Traci Petersen, Miriam Alter, Nina Laguna, Eliza Gonzalez, Melanie Claros, Caitlin Maxcy and Lorna Ruth Galloway, and was directed by Museum Studies coordinator Annette B. Fromm.

The Frost Art Museum opened its current 46,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building in November 2008. Admission to the Museum is always free. The Frost is an American Association of Museums accredited museum and Smithsonian Affiliate, and is located at 10975 SW 17th Street, across from the Blue Garage and adjacent to the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. Closed on Mondays and most legal holidays.

Source: Frost Art Museum [May 21, 2014]

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