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Now through June 6, 2010
Armed & Dangerous: Art of the Arsenal

Men and animals have always been Armed & Dangerous. From the heroic warrior of the legendary past to the modern military soldier, humankind has relied on arms and armor to convey dominance, power, and status. A society’s weapons reflect its mythology, technology, natural resources, class structure, and identity, and have enormous implications for our understanding of human culture. 

Armed & Dangerous spans centuries and continents, with exquisite examples of early weaponry, including elaborately designed swords, shields, daggers, and scimitars that inspire awe for both their aesthetics and their lethal potential. These artifacts demonstrate how, throughout history, the art of the arsenal has evolved as a means to protect, provide, intimidate, and defend -- and even as a medium for creative expression -- for purposes ranging from lethal functionality to ritual ornamentation. Berkshire Museum has mined its permanent collection of over 30,000 objects, supplemented with artifacts from the Higgins Armory in Worcester, MA, and others, to explore these ideas in Armed & Dangerous: Art of the Arsenal, which has been curated in-house by Berkshire Museum staff, led by Director of Interpretation Maria Mingalone.

The exhibition is not meant to glorify war; rather it presents conflict as an element of human experience, exploring how warfare has changed over time and how weapons-as-artifacts reflect the cultural beliefs, natural environment, technological capabilities, and craftsmanship of the people who made and used them.

Natural Inspiration
Armed & Dangerous reveals how different societies drew upon the animal kingdom not only as inspiration for the design and function of weaponry and defensive gear, but also for the natural materials – including horns, teeth, feathers, bones, and claws -- from which to make their tools of war. Spectacular artifacts reflect the environment and beliefs of diverse cultures, including a turn of the century Sioux war headdress, a 19th century century Indo-Persian horned helmet, a Hawaiian weapon layered with shark teeth, and a machete from Benin, a small country on Africa’s west coast, in the form of a pointing human hand topped by a chameleon -- an African symbol of death. Arrayed in a gallery with a wall of horned and antlered animals, these examples of battle gear explicitly draw the connection between the weapons of the animal kingdom and humankind.

The Warrior Class
Armed & Dangerous explores the role of the warrior insocietywith a focus on the noble Samurai class of Edo-period Japan and the aristocratic knights of medieval Europe. Finely crafted and colorful Japanese swords, helmets, bows and arrows, and an authentic suit of Samurai armor stand in contrast to three gleaming suits of Western European armor, some of which bear heraldic insignia and iconic symbols carved into their protective metal plates. Art from both cultures – 19th century Ukiyo-e prints from Japan and Market Day (1877), Alberto Pasini’s painting of Constantinople – further contextualizes the impressive artifacts on display, including Persian daggers, maces, and helmets; a Corinthian helmet from 500 B.C.E., a bronze-age sword dating back to the time of the Trojan Wars in 1200 B.C.E.; and a rare Etruscan warrior figurine, just over two inches high, dating back to 500-300 B.C.E.

Guns, Camouflage, and Wartime Propaganda
The exhibition moves into the modern world with the development of firearms, including early and finely decorated muskets, pistols, and rifles. The interplay between the modern military and the art world is raised in the early 20th century, when artists were commissioned to study natural camouflage and apply this defensive mechanism to naval forces and uniforms. Today’s camouflage is captured by Lenox-resident Jonas Dovydenas who traveled to Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion. The modern-day camouflage, with its pixilated pattern, pulls the eyes from the soldier and blends the soldier’s profile expertly in the surrounding environment. Armed & Dangerous also includes stunning examples of examples of propaganda posters from World War II whose rich colors remain vibrant because these delicate historical artifacts have remained protected from light and humidity in the Museum’s storage vaults until this exhibition was assembled.

Contemporary Art
Artists have long focused on war as a subject for their work; this focus comes full circle in Armed & Dangerous through the inclusion of work by two internationally prominent artists who explore the concept of camouflage. Chinese artist Liu Bolin literally paints himself into the urban environment until he disappears; his work is a commentary on the destruction of Beijing neighborhoods – often including the residences of artists – in China’s rush to modernize and make way for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In her Wallpaper Collection, Australian artist Emma Hack blends her female models into patterned backgrounds of her own creation through the art of body illustration. The only clues to a human presence in Hack’s installations are the native Australian animals the model holds and the model’s heavily mascara-ed eyes. 

Canadian artist Jeff de Boer combines metalworking skills learned from a blacksmith and a degree in jewelry design to craft intricately detailed armor for cats and mice. Mouse-sized jousting armor and samurai regalia are on view in Armed & Dangerous, along with two elaborate helmets for cats. Other artists imagine a more level playing field between human hunters and their prey. In Peter Gronquist’s The Quick and the Dead (2009), the antlers of the mounted head of an antelope morph into assault rifles, while in Trophy (2009) by Carolyn Salas and Adam Parker Smith, a mounted deer head sports fantastical antlers spanning 25 feet.

In a twist on the phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword,” American artist Robert The fashions real books – such as Baghdad Blues and The World’s Great Handguns -- into the form of pistols. Controversial contemporary artist Shepard Fairey came to the fore during the 2008 presidential election campaign with his iconic “Hope” and “Change” posters for then-candidate Barack Obama. While these posters have spawned a legal battle over copyright issues, Fariey ‘s other works often question political authority; hanging across from the Museum’s collection of World War II propaganda posters, his prints subvert the message of these powerful historic artifacts.

Berkshirebase
During the run of Armed & Dangerous, photography by two local artists will be on display in the Berkshirebase gallery. In the 1980s, Lenox-based photographer Jonas Dovydenas lived with the Mujahedeen in the mountains of Afghanistan and documented villages in ruins during the fight to expel Soviet Russia. Dovydenas traveled to the country again after the U.S. invasion in 2001. The photographs taken during this recent trip document U.S. soldiers as they adapt to the harsh environment of the region as well as the toll war takes on the land and its people. Dovydenas’s work will be on view through March 7. Photographs of contemporary Vietnam by Becket-based artist Joseph Wheaton, who has spent several months over the past seven years traveling throughout Southeast Asia, will be on display from March 13 through May 2.

Interactive Experiences
Armed & Dangerous offers numerous interactive learning experiences. Visitors can step into a replica Samurai suit, try on various helmets, or disappear into patterned backgrounds by donning camouflage ponchos. Every Saturday at 1 p.m. the Museum rolls out the Battle Ready! Discovery Program cart, offering visitors an opportunity to learn about, and even try out, replica swords, shields, chain mail, and other tools of battle, including an authentic bulletproof vest from Pittsfield’s Armored Solutions, under the supervision of Berkshire Museum education staff.

Related Programming
Berkshire Museum has planned a host of demonstrations, workshops, performances, and other events for children, families, and adults in conjunction with Armed & Dangerous: Art of the Arsenal. Please check our calendar listings for details.