The carefully crafted and vibrantly colored objects were made for use in rituals and ceremonies central to the life of Amazonian peoples, and range in age from 30 to 100 years. Many were worn by shamans and other community members during rituals such as name-giving ceremonies for the young, initiation into adulthood, and rituals surrounding death and bereavement, harvest, and healing.

“The incredible art and material culture of the Amazon has not been widely shown or published - it is not well known,” says Emily Hanna, Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Americas at the Birmingham Museum of Art. “These masterful works are compelling not only for their brilliant forms, but for their profound significance within the culture. We are very pleased to be able to bring these works to Birmingham.”

The objects in Vanishing Worlds exhibit exquisite artistry and, although utilitarian, are masterpieces of color and design. They are made from materials gathered from the forest, including wood and bark, beetle wings, grasses, shells, seeds, clay, and beeswax. Perhaps the most visually stunning objects are made with brilliantly colored feathers of some 40 species of birds, including parrots, macaws, and herons. These artworks give shape to belief, and embody tightly woven relationships between the human community and natural environment, and between the visible and invisible worlds.

The exhibition highlights eight tribal groups, including people of the Ka’apor, Karajá, Tapirapé, Ticuna, Shipibo-Conibo, Shuar, Kayapó, and Xingu River regions. These groups inhabit a vast area that ranges from the Atlantic coast of Brazil to the foothills of the Andes in Peru and Ecuador. Prior to European exploration in 1500, some three to five million people lived in the Amazon River basin. Today fewer than 100,000 Amazonian tribal people survive in an area that covers 2.5 million square miles. While most of the cultures represented by artifacts in this exhibition still exist, the vast majority of the tribes of the Amazon have disappeared. The unique and fragile works in Vanishing Worlds reflect the threatened existence of their creators, as well as the crisis of the rainforest environment in which they were made.

This exhibition was organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Science and has been shown at the Cantor Art Center of Stanford University, the Mayborn Museum at Baylor University, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Art and Archeology. The Birmingham Museum of Art is the final venue for the exhibition.

NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN U.S.

A companion exhibition never before shown outside of Peru, Children, Let’s Protect Our Forests, features paintings by Peruvian children of the Amazon. The art project was organized by the Federation of Indigenous Organization of the Peruvian Amazon and was supported by the Swiss aid organization Nouvelle Planète. The children produced hundreds of paintings about changes and damage to the ecology of the Amazon that were exhibited in Iquitos, Peru. The exhibition helped raise Peruvian consciousness about the importance of protecting the environment.

Birmingham Museum Curator:

The curator responsible for the exhibitions presentation at the Birmingham Museum of Art is Emily Hanna, PhD, Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Americas.

Exhibition Curators:

This exhibit was organized and curated by Associate Curator Adam Mekler and Curator of Anthropology Dirk Van Tuerenhout, PhD, both of the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Visitor Information:

The Birmingham Museum of Art is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm and Sunday Noon-5pm. Admission is free. Docents offer free tours of the permanent collection Tuesday-Friday at Noon and topical tours on Sunday at 2pm. The Museum is located at 2000 8th Ave North. Parking is free to Museum guests. For information, call 205.254.2565 or go to www.artsbma.org.

Explore the World. Discover Yourself.

The Birmingham Museum of Art, one of the finest regional museums in the United States, houses a diverse collection of more than 17,000 paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and decorative arts dating from ancient to modern times. The Museum's extensive holdings of Asian, European, American, African, Precolumbian and Native American art presents a rich panorama of cultures. Surrounded by breath-taking works created by the masters of antiquity and icons of the art world, Museum visitors take part in global discovery.

Related Programs:

ArtBreak
Tuesday, April 8, Noon
Birds of the Amazon
Tim Snyder, Curator of Birds, Birmingham Zoo
With 17 years’ experience in zoo aviculture, Snyder is an expert on a wide variety of bird species. He is an active conservationist and recently led a trip to Costa Rica, home to some of the most colorful species of birds including Macaws, Parrots and Toucans. In this presentation, Snyder will give an illustrated talk on the varied species of birds from this region.

Family Day
Amazon Adventure
Saturday, April 12, 11am - 3pm
Members Only from 10-11am
Embark on an adventure into the Amazon rainforest with live animals, art activities, face painting, and more. Museum family days typically draw thousands of visitors, so you will not want to miss this special occasion!

Lecture
Sunday, April 13, 2pm
Dr. Jeremy Narby, Anthropologist and Author of The Cosmic Serpent
Narby will give a public lecture about his research on shamanism in the Amazon. He is an anthropologist with Nouvelle Planète, a non-profit organization based on the ethics of Albert Schweitzer, seeking a balance between all forms of life.

Amazon Tour and Film
Sunday, June 8
Topic Tour, 2pm: Vanishing Worlds: Art and Ritual in Amazonia
Film, 2:30pm: The Burning Season, 1994, 123 minutes
Raul Julia won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild award for his portrayal of Brazilian rubber tapper Chico Mendes. The film is based on the true story of Mendes, who led his people in protest against government and developers who razed the rainforest for a new road and ranch land. Also starring Edward James Olmos.

Media Contacts:

Melanie Parker
205.254.2076 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Julie Mann
205.254.2707 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Karaá: A feather mosaic headdress. Worn by adult men during initiation ceremonies.