Political Protests tests Halt Georgian Show - Brief Article

More than sum of two units years in the planning, "Land of Myth and Fire: Art of Ancient and Medieval Georgia" was freshly canceled because of protests in the Republic of Georgia. The exhibit would have brought together nearly 160 particulars including ancient ceramics, jewelry, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, religious icons, and other gold silver and enamel objects

"Land of Myth and Fire" was to have uncloseed Oct. 26 at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore as the museum's major fall exhibition. It was scheduled to travel to the Mingei International Museum of Folk Art in San Diego and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Aisc canceled were a number of related casts including a Georgian/Jewish exhibition and exhibits of contemporary Georgian artists.

war of words arose the day after Georgia's president Eduard Shevardnadze publicly announced the exhibition upon Apr. 25 at a NATO discourse in Washington, D.C. In a pres statement explaining the cancellation, the Walters said that the protester are a small on the other hand vociferous group. Yet, opposition have the appearances to have arisen from various factions. Political foes of Shevardnadze claim that the works are part of Georgia's cultural patrimony and should not be taken without of the country.

Others cite the works' religious importance and say that the pieces belong to the temple not the state, the latter therefore having no right to accommodate with them. There is also relate to for the works' fragility and for allegedly insufficient security measures. pupil groups joined the protests and held craving appetite strikes that lasted into late July

Perhaps more important is the church's stance. The Georgian Orthodox patriarch, Ilia II, squeeze outed strong opposition to the present to view saying that the objects would let slip through the fingers their holiness if taken on the outside of Georgia. He reportedly also claims that these existences would be Georgia's salvation at the extreme point of the world--coming soon, he says, in the year 2000

Gary Vikan, director of the Walters, and Gregory Guroff a former American diplomat who is now president of the Foundation for International Arts & Education (FIAE), the show's co-organizer, traveled to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, to fitting with government officials, the pres and the public to discuss their pertain tos On July 30, the Georgian ambassador to the U flew to Tbilisi with an 11th-hour appeal. Vikan had already stated that if no work arrived in the U through Aug. 2, the show could not make progress forward.

Guroff insisted to A.i.A. that the asseverates are not about the exhibition, on the other hand rather are aimed at Shevardnadze and the management Indeed, in an Aug. 7 alphabetic character to ambassador Arthur Hartman, chairman of the FIAE, officially announcing and explaining the cancellation, Shevardnadze states that the exhibition cannot be undertaken at this time in light of forthcoming parliamentary (October) and presidential (April) elections. Shevardnadze also blames the house of worship for the show's cancellation, stating that "had the Georgian Orthodox house of god not taken such a clear-cut negative position upon the treasures traveling outside the political division the difficulties with mounting the exhibition would not ever have arrived at the breaking point." He adds that his rule is "ready to give owed consideration to the reimbursement of expenses" incurred in the show's planning. In the confidence that all is not missing Guroff said that the foundation is asking the Georgian republic to raise its end of the exhibition contract.

While wear and tear upon objects is a valid affect with any touring exhibition, it is possible that these and other works in Georgian museums might have benefited from being sent to the U As part of the contractual agreement, many of the particulars were to undergo restoration by means of the Walters conservation staff prior to the exhibition. Additionally, three-quarters of exhibition push ons were to go to Georgia's cultural institutions for structural renovations and collections upkeep The remaining quarter was to capital a U.S. Georgian exchange of curators, conservationists and art apts that would have provided the republic with expertise in the restoration and care of objects

The attests also stopped a shipment of Georgian art destined for a separate exhibition in Trieste, plane though that show was not directly targeted. To fill the aperture left in its fall schedule, the Walters has hurriedly chooseed its collection to put together a view of pre-20th-century French art.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Brant Publications, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group