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Ellen James, Public Relations Manager 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 (412) 622-3361 JamesE@CarnegieMNH.org |
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For Immediate
Release May 21, 2007 Carnegie Museum of Natural History Presents Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…Experience the dazzling sights, rhythmic sounds and the pageantry of Carnival celebrations around the world at a spectacular exhibit opening June 23 at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. ¡CARNAVAL! transports visitors to eight rural and urban locations in Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America where Carnival is among the most important occasions of the year. ¡CARNAVAL! will be on exhibit in the R.P. Simmons Family Gallery from June 23 through January 6, 2008 and is free with museum admission. ¡CARNAVAL! is an excursion into the folklore, fantasy and festivity of modern-day Carnival where the spirit is deeply rooted in cultural history, tradition and identity. Combining 49 colorful costumes with 15 short video programs and 80 large-scale photomurals shot on location, the exhibit recreates the Carnival experience as viewers are immersed in an atmosphere of motion, color, music and sound.
The eight rural and urban locations profiled in the exhibit are: "This exhibition is a window into eight communities through Carnival," said Barbara Mauldin, curator of Latin American Collections at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico and curator of ¡CARNAVAL! "For two days to two months, Carnival plays a major role in the conscience of these communities. It's cross-generational; everyone participates." In the exhibit, each Carnival site is presented as its own section, featuring articulated mannequins in costumes that portray the community's cultural history and the vibrancy of the celebration today. The mannequins stand before photomural backdrops that capture the cityscapes and rural environs of the sites. Video monitors with two video programs per section bring the thrilling drama of Carnival to life. "It's a really interesting exhibit. You get different perspectives on many different parts of the world, and it includes all kinds of historical aspects," says David Watters, curator and section head of anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. "It's the kind of exhibit not typically seen in Pittsburgh. It's very active." Through this exhibit, visitors can see how the festival allows for all Carnival participants to leave behind the everyday world and take on a different personality. Throughout the world, Carnival allows partiers to be mischievous, glamorous, licentious or rowdy. In Tlaxcala, Mexico, rural Indians dance through village streets in pink masks, sequined capes and feathered headdresses, imitating Spanish and Mexican ranchers. In Venice, Italy, people dress elaborately in wigs and ruffled 18th-century finery. In Oruro, Bolivia there are parades of dancing devils and in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago teams of fancy sailors strut through the streets. "Carnival sponges everything around it and makes it fun while honoring tradition at the same time," says Mauldin. ¡CARNAVAL! is a traveling exhibit and has toured through Los Angeles, San Diego and New Orleans. More information about this exhibit can be found at www.carnavalexhibit.org. Opening Day Activities Special Events:
Fridays, June 29 - August 31
Saturday, September 15
Saturday, October 20
Saturday, November 5 Lecture: Ongoing Activities: Parent/Child Classes Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, can be enjoyed Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays 12 p.m.-5 p.m., and Mondays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. after July 4th through the week before Labor Day. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens, $6 for children ages 3-18 and full-time students with ID, and free for members and children under 3. Convenient parking is available at the museum's six-level parking facility, located directly behind the museum. The museum can be accessed from the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Craig Street. For more information, please call 412. 622.3131 or visit www.carnegiemnh.org. Click here for Carnival Origins press release. |