Terracotta Army exhibit: Worth-seeing but not-quite-awesome show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, November 17, 2008
The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics dazzled the world with its cutting-edge stagecraft. Yet the most impressive display, the precision of the vast cadres of performers, was an age-old tradition.
The will to organize human capital and the concomitant values of discipline and uniformity date back 2,000 years to Qin Shihuangdi, China’s first emperor. His life and his afterlife are the subjects of “The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army,” an absorbing exhibit at the High Museum. Artifacts, extended labels and a video tell the story of a brilliant, ambitious leader who, as king of the western state Qin, conquered six states with a vast, well-supplied army. Like the Romans, he bound the states together in an empire with a system of roads and bridges and a new law code. He introduced standardized currency, written language, weights and measures. He promoted efficiency through mass production — of weaponry parts, chariot axles and art.
REVIEW
"The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army"
Through-April 19. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays; until 8 p.m. Thursdays; 12-5 p.m. Sundays. High Museum of Art. 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-4444. www.high.org
Tickets: $18; $15, seniors and students with IDS; $11, children 6-17; free for members and children 5 and under.
Timed tickets in half-hour increments available online or the Woodruff box office. Advance reservations suggested.
Bottom Line: This exhibit is your best opportunity to see the remarkable terracotta and bronze figures short of visiting China, but don't expect a knock-your-socks-off spectacle.
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Qin apparently had no intention of letting a little thing like death interrupt his rule. He built a 22-square-mile underground kingdom that reproduced the amenities of this world for use in the next, protected by an army of 7,000 terra-cotta warriors that have fascinated the world since their discovery in 1974.
The soldiers and more recently unearthed figures, including a beefy strong man and graceful bronze birds, are the heart of the show. They are amazing in their detail and variety, especially given their number. The soldiers wear different uniforms, hats and topknots depending on their rank and duty. Their faces are individualized as well.
As we learn in the exhibit, they were assembly-line produced by (often conscripted) artisans using clay molds. The heads were worked over by hand, then painted in brilliant colors that have since worn off. Chinese artistic prowess is evident, too, in such artifacts as a bronze ritual vessel and an exquisitely simple jade container.
The installation is elegant and informative. But, for all the hype, it seems a bit skimpy. Even though the show is one of the largest display of the figures outside of China and has a photographic-blow-up of soldiers lined up in pits, it’s not enough to convey their vast scale and quantity, which is a big part of their appeal and impact. Many of the other objects seem there to fill out the show.
The plethora of replicas —in the shop window, etc. — may also have diminished the impact of the real thing. It just doesn’t feel right to have reproductions — that goes for the chariots in the show — in an art museum.
“The First Emperor” also suffers by comparison to the bigger, glitzier, more blockbustery “Tut.” This is unfortunate, because it is definitely worth seeing. If visitors bring more realistic expectations, they will probably enjoy the show even more.
