Exhibition presents ancient tools and gathered objects as evidence of the earliest forms of artistic intention

2/14. Artist Unknown, Makapansgat Pebble, ca. 2.5 million

Jasperite, 3 x 2 1/2 in. (7.6 x 6.3 cm)
University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

DALLAS, TX.- The Nasher Sculpture Center opened First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone, an exhibition exploring prehistoric tools and collected objects as evidence of the beginnings of artistic intention and craft. The show is on view January 27 - April 29, 2018. The exhibition is the product of a unique curatorial collaboration between Los Angeles-based artist Tony Berlant and anthropologist Dr. Thomas Wynn, Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

13/14. Artist Unknown, Neanderthal figure stone, Fontmaure, France, ca. 150,000-50,000

Flint, 12 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (31.7 x 19 x 11.4 cm)
Tony Berlant Collection

First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone is the first museum exhibition to present ancient handaxes as works of art. Traditionally understood as the longest-used tool in human history, the handaxe is equally fascinating for its non-utilitarian, aesthetic qualities. While handaxes are not rare—millions have been discovered throughout the world—First Sculpture presents a refined and exemplary collection of these objects, which date from 2.5 million to 50,000 years old, as evidence of the earliest forms of artistic intention. The exhibition highlights the aesthetic qualities of each stone and provides crucial historical and scientific information to give the viewer a deeper understanding of human history, as well as an enriched appreciation for humankind’s early ability to sculpt beautiful objects. Whether carved from visually interesting stones using stone flaking techniques, called knapping, or rendered at unusual sizes that would inhibit use of the object as a tool, a case can be made for the handaxe as the first sculpture our prehistoric ancestors conceived. [...] artdaily.com


Vídeo.  Tom Wynn Gallery Opening - UCCSnews
Ver en PaleoVídeos > L.R.2.15 nº 17.


Actualización. Was Australopithecus an Artist? - The New York Times

The Nasher Sculpture Center here is devoted to the art of the modern era, and its elegant pavilion and garden, designed by Renzo Piano, have recently welcomed exhibitions by living masters like Roni Horn, Pierre Huyghe and Giuseppe Penone. Its new show, though, exhibits sculptures from far, far earlier: So far back in human history that the artists — and we’ll come back to whether that term applies — are not even of our own species...