Contemporary Art and the Display of Ancient Egypt

Book excerpt: Artistic interventions are now a popular means of delivering fresh perspectives on museum displays, including in galleries devoted to ancient Egypt. Installations are commonly said to put the past and present ‘into dialogue’ with each other, offering external critical voices on the work of decolonisation. Contemporary Art and the Display of Ancient Egypt argues that the contemporary and the ancient do not necessarily inform each other. Instead they are mediated by, and mediations of, the museum that produces them. Rather than explore how contemporary artists have been inspired by Egypt, this book examines how they have shaped the language and discourse around study of the Egyptian past by looking at the wider field of public display in which both have been historically situated. Building on this critical history of practice, the book draws from experiments in bringing contemporary artistic sculptures, conceptual pieces, multimedia films, sounds, smells and performances into galleries: at the British Museum in London, the Egyptian Museum in Turin and the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich. These are used to explore what contemporary art does in these spaces, the motivations for inviting artists in, and the legacies of those interventions. It ends with a reflection on how academics and curators can be involved in the creative process and how artists contribute to academic research. Praise for Contemporary Art and the Display of Ancient Egypt ‘This is an important and innovative study on the recent history of incorporating art installations in galleries of Egyptian antiquities. Offering a thoughtful, critical analysis of the ways in which contemporary art and ancient artefacts are juxtaposed in museum settings, the book calls for a more nuanced and politically engaged practice of collaboration between artists and Egyptologists.' Stephanie Moser, University of Southampton ‘Archaeologist Alice Stevenson provides a thoughtful consideration of the goals and intent behind contemporary art interventions in exhibitions of ancient Egyptian art. She challenges the curators, scholars and museum professionals who design these exhibitions to move beyond the simplistic ancient art/contemporary art juxtaposition, and instead use contemporary art interventions to create spaces for both artistic and academic insight and inspiration. I look forward to such dialogue!' Kara Cooney, UCLA