Me in Cahokia Museum Diorama by goldie
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Description
In late spring of 1990, while I was a post-grad student at CUNY, one of the contractors for the Cahokia Museum asked CUNY if they could recommend a CUNY Post-Grad Anthropology Student to use as a model for one of the museum's dioramas. The head of the department suggested that I would be a good candidate. Some years later on one of my cross-country trips I decided to take a small detour to visit the museum, which is truly a gem, and to see how my finished figure turned out. So, here you see some pics of that finished product. Photos could be better, but I did it on the sly since there was no photographing in the museum at that time. Guess it looks like me :) though the hair isn't spot on...I wore mine up and it was considerably lighter. The modeling aspect for the molds was quite an experience, especially the head part with straws sticking out of my nose so I could breath. Do wish I had the presence of mind to have someone take photos during the modeling process. If you are ever in south western Illinois, it is a worthwhile experience to see the mounds as well as the museum.
P.S. Have been MIA since I had a mountain of personal stuff I simply had to tackle. Hope all are well.
Comments (14)
eekdog
great info you provided with these nice shots, Barb. hope all is well..
bakapo
how cool, congratulations!
tetrasnake
Excellent work and it is good to hear from you again!
doarte
Wonderful Barb, will have to stop in someday on my travels....
zaigodou
Very nice, my friend!!!!!!
kilroywashere
Flash back. I was an anthro student at university of missouri, one summer in field school at the end of our dig, we went to the mounds and visited the crews digging there and then on up to the Koster site on the river. It was a cool place, interesting dig; nice post, thanks for the remembrance. .
bebopdlx
Excellent.
giulband
Very good work !
ontar1
Wow, that is cool, outstanding captures!
flavia49
amazing shots!! :)
soffy
:) nice to you post again,wonderful shots and info,thank you**
loligagger
Great shots and great read!!!!!!!!!
e-brink
A very interesting story - not an everyday occurrence! An interesting snapshot into your life.
anahata.c
(a whole bunch of faces here i haven't seen in a while...) I hope you get this---it's from 2014. (I expect to see cobwebs and a few skeletons scattered around, plus a gallery guard who passed out in 2016...) Wow, Barb, thank you for bringing these links to my attention! I didn't know you had that extensive background. I'm not surprised, given what you post, and what you reveal from time to time in your comments and descriptions (ie from your background in these fields). There's no surprise: Your posts show an intense involvement in history, esp in the mysteries of history, as well as in cultures from everywhere. And some of your comments show you've been in many places, with an acute eye to details most people wouldn't know or think about. Learning this about you makes total sense...I had my first encounters with anthropology---and to some degree archaeology---in grad school; though I was in the 'interrelation of the arts', I took a few anthro classes, and knew several who were getting degrees in it. I also met a number of people who worked in the field, with and without academic degrees, who were profoundly knowledgeable and experienced. It was a whole other world to me which I knew only tangentially via my study of world art and culture. (My parent field was cultural history.) But I saw how anthropologists and archaeologists did so much hands-on work, giving up long periods of their lives; and I sensed a deep conviction, even obsession, in most of them. (I was a grad stud. at U. of Chicago who had a big antropology dept, so it wasn't hard to run into people in that field, or take a few courses in it...I was a fish out of water, but I loved being there.) I can understand how you have this innate, intuitive sense of the subjects you post, and your sense of celebration of seemingly every kind of culture on earth. Also, you looked really cool in those photos. So you did work with display as well---museum display etc---that's a whole other art. (I knew people who did it in art and the physical sciences---like a science museum---but never in the anthropological sciences or archaeology.) My respect for the breadth of your life grows even greater. Like you say, you look on those days with love and fondness...we're lucky to get some of its fruits in these galleries. I also glanced through some of your earliest posts here (after seeing these), and saw a render of an older person, and you saying that you want to show people who aren't just 20-something nubile beauties (my words, I don't remember yours exactly): To which I say, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. You do show all ages and cultures here, and find beauty in them all--even in sinister and mean ones. I bow to your experience and commitment. (I know of the Cahokia mounds, but only the basics; and have heard of Gordion, but only the basics. I do remember those I met who did digs and had this energy that was so unique to them. They complained about things---what field doesn't have conflict and politics---but they had a drive and obsessive conviction that came out every time they talked about their actual work. There are a lotta worlds behind your presence here, and I'm grateful to have some glimpses, Barb.