Museum Blog

Articles in category Anthropology: 18

Migration Nation

Posted 11/14/2012 by Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh | Comments

Mauritius is a country of migrants. When colonists first landed on the island they found only wild plants and animals. Every person came from somewhere else, either by choice or by force. One remarkable story of migration here begins in 1834, when 30 men and 6 women from Calcutta arrived in…
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- Anthropology
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- Mauritius
Cultural Antipodes

Posted 09/05/2012 by Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh | Comments

What is life like on the other side of the world? This is the question that led me from Colorado to a tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean. The country of Mauritius is nearly Denver's antipode, where you would end up if you dug a hole in Coors Field all the way to the other side of the E…
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- Anthropology
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- Mauritius
How The Smokey Bear Effect Led to Raging Wildfires

Posted 08/23/2012 by Steve Nash | Comments
Check out today's NPR article, How The Smokey Bear Effect Led to Raging Wildfires: http://www.npr.org/2012/08/23/159373691/how-the-smokey-bear-effect-led-to-raging-wildfires
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- Anthropology
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New Work by James Luna @ DMNS

Posted 08/01/2012 by Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh | Comments

What will James Luna do at our Museum? Before we get to that question, let us begin with some background. James Luna is a critically acclaimed installation, performance, and video artist whose work has appeared in the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Whitney Museum and The Ne…
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- Anthropology
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- James Luna
- Native American
What is a Pow Wow

Posted 04/27/2012 by Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh | Comments
You have likely heard the term "pow wow" -- but, what is a real pow wow? Join me as I tour the Annual Denver March Pow Wow, and speak with participants about the song, dance, food, and cultures of this unique gathering and celebration. Special thanks to Grace B. Gillette and Denver March Po…
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Categories:
- Anthropology
Tags:
- Native American
The Konovalenko Project: Day 5 Update!

Posted 03/30/2012 by Steve Nash | Comments
As Rick continues to process his photographs (they'll need more work back in Denver), we thought we would share some more with you so that you can again see the results of his many talents. Today, we send along five photographs: a close-up of the face of the old man in Balilaika…
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- Anthropology
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- Konovalenko
The Konovalenko Project: Day 4 Update!

Posted 03/29/2012 by Steve Nash | Comments
Rick and I finished our work with the Konvalenko family today! Rick took photographs of another sculpture, Balilaika Player, which has the oldest character we've seen in the collection. He's a jolly old man, with bony figures and a lively disposition. His face is really expressive, and Konoval…
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- Anthropology
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- Konovalenko
The Konovalenko Project: Day 3 Update!

Posted 03/28/2012 by Steve Nash | Comments
Today Rick faced the biggest photography challenge to date, with two really big pieces (photos will follow soon) and three smaller pieces. The Painter is not a typical Konovalenko sculpture -- note the figure is static, not dynamic. The Fisherman is more dynamic, having just lost the big one t…
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- Anthropology
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- Konovalenko
The Konovalenko Project: Day 2 Update!

Posted 03/27/2012 by Steve Nash | Comments
Today I conducted more interviews with Ms. Konovalenko, focusing on the Museum's sculptures and family archives. Rick took photographs of a Fisherman statue and various clay sculptures that Konovalenko used as models for the stone sculptures. Note the rabbit -- the pencil marks …
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Categories:
- Anthropology
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- Konovalenko
The Konovalenko Project: Day 1 Update!

Posted 03/26/2012 by Steve Nash | Comments
We just finished our first day of work with the Konovalenko family. I conducted two hours of oral history with Anna Konovalenko, the artist's wife; Rick Wicker photographed two clay models of sculptures in the DMNS collection. The photos above include overviews of Sauna I: The Thin a…
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Categories:
- Anthropology
Tags:
- Konovalenko