Special Exhibitions
Special Exhibitions, Treasures from Our Attic, Gallery Views ... see what's new at the Fairbanks Museum in these changing exhibit spaces.
Gallery WingSound Waves: Many Shapes of Music
February 2009 - January 2010For anyone with even a passing interest in music, Sound Waves: Many Shapes of Music displays of a range of beautiful and unusual instruments. Some of the instruments are from Franklin Fairbanks’s original Victorian-era collection; other pieces were collected by his family and colleagues. The 100-year old horns, drums, pipes, and guitars, along with more recent additions to the Museum’s collection, inspire wonder at the variety of ways people have devised to blend sounds in harmony. "You’ll see over 60 musical instruments from around the world that are visually intriguing — crafted with great care and talent. Add to their visual appeal the ability to make music with these beautiful pieces," says curator Joanne Adams. It’s intriguing to imagine how they would have been used in performances, to inspire dance, or as part of community or religious rituals. We are planning to have recordings of many of the instruments to give visitors access to the way these amazing objects can produce sometimes surprising sounds.
Taken as a whole, the instruments inspire thought about the meaning of music in our lives. This exhibit takes a look at differing attitudes toward musical instruments and the people who make them, Adams points out that each culture devotes precious time and resources to creating instruments, and the instrument craftsmen in some cultures are held in high esteem or imbued with special powers. Some cultures expect that music is part of everyone, while others have the notion that music is performed by professional artists.
Don't miss the amazing music machine -- try your hand at harmony!
Upper Gallery
Wild New England: Nature Photographs by Roger Irwin
Walking among these candid portraits of birds and mammals gives the impression of being invited into a world rarely seen by most men and women – a world that surrounds us but is invisible except to someone like Roger Irwin, who is patient enough to wait for the moment to capture it on film, and the rest of us who are lucky enough to see his work.
The photographs take you to a one-on-one encounter with a black bear and her cubs, so close you can read the vigilance in mama-bear’s eyes. Another photograph seems to surprise a snowshoe hare popping out of a fresh layer of light powder. Moose and deer are encountered as they wander peacefully through their domain. Fairbanks Museum Exhibit designer Joanne Adams comments, “It’s as though we’re seeing the animals in the midst of their mission – not posing or startled by a human presence. Roger found a way to be invisible to them, so he catches them in calm, unguarded moments.”
A bobcat’s morning stretch, loons crossing each other in the water, a Bohemian Waxwing in winter – each full color photograph invites us to contemplate how the animal lives. “Over a century ago, naturalist William Balch opened a similar window into the intimate lives of animals as he created the dioramas that are at the core of the Museum’s collection,” says the Museum’s Executive Director Charlie Browne. “This exhibit offers a new perspective on our natural world that is especially relevant as habitats are threatened.” And the photographs are stunningly beautiful.
The animals in Roger Irwin’s photographs are found in northern New England, but it is unusual to see them so close and so tranquil. Four years ago, Irwin decided to focus on his passion for nature photography after 16 years of running a busy dairy farm along the banks of the Connecticut River in Maidstone, VT. Irwin, 56, who grew up on his parents' Maidstone farm, had started capturing his world with an eight-millimeter movie camera when he was a boy. Wildlife photography soon became his obsession.
Nature Photography takes patience, said Roger. "You spend a lot of time waiting and watching to get just a few photographs. During the moose rutting season I'm out three or four days a week searching for just the right shot. You use a lot of film and a lot of time to get just a few good photos. It's very challenging and I love it."
The photographs in this special exhibit are available through his web site, www.rogerirwinphotos.com.
Treasures from Our Attic
A rotating exhibit showcasing prize pieces in the museum’s collections that are not often on display.
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