Above left: Kayla Romberger, Astronaut Ice Cream. Above right: Alisha Wessler, Compass.

BY PEG LOURIE, Editor, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan

Kelsey Contemporaries: Kayla Romberger and Alisha Wessler opens March 15 at the Kelsey Museum. This special exhibition features the multimedia work of two Master of Fine Arts students from the University of Michigan School of Art & Design and Museum Studies Program. The artists explore themes of collection, museological display, and material culture in the context of an archaeological museum. Displayed together, the two artists’ work creates a dynamic dialog between dystopian and utopian views of the relationships people form with objects.

Kayla Romberger’s project, “100 Ways to Avoid Dying,” traces the material culture of paranoia. This installation exhibits the stuff of survivalists—tin cans, foodstuffs, matches, bullets, and batteries. Produced from handmade and found objects, the work confronts visitors with documents from a culture of preparation, probing how people’s fear of the future—or the unknown—is mediated by objects.

Alisha Wessler’s “From Afar It Is an Island” uses archaeology as a metaphor for excavation of the unconscious, featuring objects that occupy the indeterminate realm between dream and reality, nature and artifice. This installation ventures into the speculative field of psychometry, exploring whether an object’s past can be revealed through physical contact. Using both authentic and pseudo-scientific texts, the installation reflects on essential human desires to collect, narrate, and interpret.

Please join us to celebrate the opening of this exhibition on March 15, 6:00-9:00 pm

A special exhibition, “Conserving Antiquity,” opens at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology on Fri., Nov. 2, 2012.

The exhibition focuses on the essential but often hidden work of preserving art and artifacts. We invite you to step behind the scenes and experience the fascinating work of conservators, which blends scientific research and hands-on treatment with the study of art, archaeology, and history.

Come see intriguing objects — like an ancient Egyptian mummy mask and a Roman soldier’s leather armor — and learn about their conservation.

Participate in a variety of activities, including investigation of mysterious artifacts.

Interact with conservators about their work.

Explore archaeological conservation through two short films; one of them follows the amazing conservation journey of the Kelsey Museum’s Barosso watercolors from the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii.

Reflect on your own understanding and appreciation of cultural heritage and what preservation means to you.

Exhibition-related Events:                                                                              

Friday, Nov. 2: The exhibition opens with a lecture by Dr. Matthew Adams, Senior Research Scholar at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University: “Conserving Ancient Abydos: Discovery, Recovery, and Responsibility.” Auditorium D, Angell Hall, 6 pm.

Friday, Dec. 7: John Steele, Conservator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), speaks about recent DIA conservation projects. Kelsey Museum Lecture Hall, 6 pm.

Friday, Jan. 18: Clara Deck, Senior Conservator at the Henry Ford Museum, speaks about conservation at huge history museums like the Henry Ford, “America’s Greatest History Attraction.” Kelsey Museum Lecture Hall, 6 pm.

For more information, contact 734-764-9304.