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Night and Day at the Museum
Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai); photo made with the Kurt Mottweiler pinoramic 120 camera.
On the impossibly far away evening of March 3rd, I was in the RISD Museum to photograph some exhibitions after hours. As I worked in another gallery, I took the opportunity to set up a pair of simple pinhole cameras in front of one of my favorite objects, the statue of Buddha.
Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai); photo made with Peter Olpe designed cardboard pinhole camera.
Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai) photo made with the Kurt Mottweiler pinoramic 120 camera
The next day I finished each roll with some pictures of some other favorite objects, the two Roman sarcophagi. The truth is every object in the museum is a favorite of mine, and I miss seeing them and being there terribly, as I'm sure many of you do. When I consider such objects as these, especially when I'm looking through the little time tunnel that is my camera's viewfinder, and maybe especially when the world is in the grip of a pandemic and life has been upended, I think of all that these objects have witnessed. Even just in their time in the museum: depression, wars, changes large and small, they have endured. Going back to their creation, they have survived wars and fire and dismemberment, and with the help of people who care for them, they survive. I think we shall too.
Roman Sarcophagus; 21.076; photo made with the Kurt Mottweiler pinoramic 120 camera
Roman Sarcophagus; 21.074; photo made with the Kurt Mottweiler pinoramic 120 camera
Information about these objects:
Buddha Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai) with the accession number of 36.015
Sarcophagus (coffin) with the accession number of 21.074.
Fragmentary sarcophagus front and lid depicting The Slaughter of the Niobids with the accession number of 21.076
