Destruction of cultural heritage inspires Acropolis Museum show on Michael Rakowitz

Iraqi-American creator Michael Rakowitz poses for photographers aft the unveiling of his sculpture ‘The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist’ connected the ‘Fourth Plinth’ successful Trafalgar Square, successful London, connected March 28, 2018. The sculpture made from bare day syrup cans from Iraq, is simply a replica of Lamassu, a winged bull and protective deity, that stood astatine the entranceway to the Nergal Gate of Nineveh from 700 BC. It was destroyed successful 2015 by the Islamic State extremist radical astatine the Mosul Museum successful Iraq. [Matt Dunham/AP]

The looting of Iraq’s antiquities successful the wake of the 2003 US invasion, the demolition of Mosul by ISIS successful 2015, the enduring consequences of colonialism and migration, arsenic well arsenic the striking commonalities successful humanity’s taste practice and the urgent request for its recovery, are some of the cardinal themes moving done the work of Iraqi-American creator Michael Rakowitz. 

Now, from May 12 to October 31, a enactment of his pieces will beryllium exhibited alongside Mesopotamian antiquities astatine the Acropolis Museum successful a amusement titled “Allspice – Michael Rakowitz and Ancient Cultures” and co-organized with the taste enactment NEON.

Born successful the United States successful 1973 into a household of Jewish descent, Rakowitz began his project-in-progress “The invisible force should not exist” successful 2007. In 2018, the bid expanded to see a radical of colorful panels inspired by the reliefs that erstwhile adorned the Assyrian palace of Nimrud, located successful present-day Mosul. Constructed successful the 9th period BC, the palace was excavated successful the 19th period by European and American missions, with galore of its finds present housed successful institutions such arsenic the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art successful New York. The palace’s remaining structures were destroyed by ISIS.

The accumulation astatine the Acropolis Museum’s temporary exhibitions assemblage will diagnostic 48 of Rakowitz’s works, galore of which recreate the winged, bearded antheral figures that erstwhile decorated the palace astatine Nimrud. To conception these pieces, Rakowitz used cardboard, nutrient packaging from bluish Iraq, clippings from Arabic-English newspapers and depository labels. These vivid panels will beryllium connected indebtedness to Greece from backstage collections, institutions and the artist’s ain archive.

The artworks will beryllium accompanied by 13 antiquities, 12 of which originate from past Mesopotamia and day backmost to the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. These see mostly vessels and figurines, among them a fragment of a stone vessel depicting a antheral fig tending cattle (ca. 2900 BC), and a clay mold for a bearded antheral figurine holding atom and wearing a chapeau (Early Dynastic Period), among others.

The 12 Mesopotamian antiquities are housed astatine the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures astatine the University of Chicago. Their indebtedness to NEON for the Athens amusement was approved earlier this week by the Greek Culture Ministry’s Central Archaeological Council (KAS). It besides approved the indebtedness of a bearded antheral caput from Cyprus (480-400 BC) from the Museum of Cycladic Art. In addition, 24 volumes of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary will beryllium connected display.