photo by Anja Oss
The Denver Art Museum’s new samurai exhibit arrives to inspire museum patrons.
On March 3, 2016, several reporters from the TJ Journal staff were able to attend a special media preview for Samurai: Armor from the Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection, the newest travelling exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. Along with reporters from other high schools, newspapers, and freelance work, these TJ students were able to take an in-depth guided tour of the exhibit before it opened to the public on March 6th.
The media preview allowed the reporters to experience journalism in a professional setting. Students were able to hear representatives from the museum speak, learn more about the exhibit, and interact with other reporters. “We’re trying to prepare students for the next stage of their lives to be professionals,” said principal Suzanne Morris-Sherer, who also attended the preview. “If students in the newspaper class aspire to be journalists, it’s great to go to a press conference like that to see the work that’s involved and what the expectations are moving forward.”
The exhibit recounts the iconic tales of Japanese samurai through 140 different artifacts, including armor, weapons, and battle gear. These artifacts have arrived in Denver from one of the world’s largest and most complete collections, The Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum: The Samurai Collection in Dallas, Texas. The ever-expanding collection houses almost 1,000 artifacts, making it one of the world’s biggest and complete museums of its kind. Over the past twenty years, the couple has collected powerful artifacts, many of which have never been released to the public. “It is the combination of art and armor, or the infinite forms and the boundless creativity of these fierce and cultivated warriors, that not only attracted my forefather collectors but also Ann and me,” explained curator Gabriel Barbier-Mueller. “I hope that visitors to our museum will benefit from this juxtaposition of elements. You never know when the next collector will be inspired.”
The samurai were fearsome warriors in premodern Japan, who led their lives according to detailed codes of honor. The term “samurai” comes from the word saburau, “to serve the nobility.” These soldiers, while dedicated to protecting their country, were also trained in poetry, calligraphy, literacy, and culture to become well-rounded and educated individuals. Samurai ideals still have an influence on martial arts, tea ceremonies, and different styles of art.
This is the second large-scale travelling exhibit of the collection, which has already visited Paris, Chile, Canada, and several other states in America. The exhibit will run until June 5th in the Hamilton Building of the Denver Art Museum. Every Tuesday through Friday, tours of the exhibition are available for museum members. These tours cover the entirety of the exhibit and will be 45 minutes in duration.
To enhance the exhibit, the museum has created a new Just for Fun Family Center- Japan, filled with activities for children ages three to 12 to explore. These activities have been created by local artists in order to spark kids’ imagination while informing them about the current exhibit. Youth can create their own samurai helmet, build their own garden out of blocks, or dress up in robes, suits of armor, and masks. “The exhibit was interesting because I got to learn more about Japanese history in a visual manner, rather than reading a textbook,” said sophomore Lucy Peterson. “I also enjoyed it because, while it was like a typical art exhibit, it incorporated kids as well, which would make their experience fun because of the interactive aspects.”
Patrons to the museum and lovers of culture are sure to appreciate the Denver Art Museum’s newest exhibit. Proving to be both interactive and educational, Samurai: Armor from the Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection has something for everyone to enjoy.
