The First Emperor

I've just got (much coveted) tickets to see The First Emperor in January. I'm dead excited! Anyone already been? Is is any good? Would also be interested to hear from anyone who is going to see the Tutankhamun exhibition at the 02. Have seen lots of coverage of it on the news this week. Looks and sounds like a very 'commercial' type of display, but one which employs some of those techniques that I find really appealing, like atmospheric music in the gallery space. But, is it worth the money?

Comments

Unknown said…
Jonathan Jones *hated* Tutankhamun with quite astonishing - and very personal - passion. But he hated it precisely because he loves Egyptology museums so much. He's certainly succeeded in putting me off!
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/heritage/story/0,,2211279,00.html
Anonymous said…
I went yesterday night see the First Emperor. and I had mixed feelings.
First of all, be prepared to stay in queues, at 2 different points before entering the exhibition and in front of every display case... I would recommend to take the audioguide (with Mac Gregor's voice!), as sometimes you can't get close enough to read the labels.
Also I didn't feel this theatrical and intimate atmosphere that the posters for the exhibition create. and I know many people have been disappointing seen "only" 10 warriors, as they expected to see the whole army.
It seems to me that the exhibition only celebrates the great achievements of the First Emperor and avoid to talk about the terror he probably caused.
All in all, I prefer the memories I have from the exhibition of the terracotta warriors I saw 15 years ago in France...
The Attic said…
Interesting, in that review, the King Tut exhibition comes across as being very commercial and very tacky. I love his comment about simulacrums of culture for the cultureless. What is also very revealing is everything he says about authenticity. That the general atmosphere created by the gallery space kind of 'falsified' the objects themselves.

And it links very well with the comments (above) about the First Emperor. That both much-hyped exhibitions are ultimately disappointing, because one doesn't get to see the really iconic stuff. Plus, both are essentially money-making schemes for the governments of their countries of origin, and - as such - cultural propaganda (perhaps more so in the case of the terracotta warriers). Interesting stuff!

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