Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Fame. Infamy. Immortality.



Striking new signage was being pasted to a wall this morning at the corner of Larkin and Fulton on the side of the Asian Art Museum.



The installers discovered that the title wasn't quite straight as it spelled out China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy, so they took the section down and started again.



Finally, it was as uniform as the slickly designed Fame. Infamy. Immortality. section of the wall sign.



On the Asian Art Museum website, they explain:
The First Emperor, Qin Shihuang (259-210 BCE), conquered much in this life, but his driving purpose was even greater: He sought to conquer death. In order to achieve immortality, he built himself a tomb—a vast underground city guarded by a life-size terracotta army including warriors, infantrymen, horses, chariots and all their attendant armor and weaponry. First unearthed in 1974, the underground burial complex of the First Emperor is a revelation for the ages, an astonishing discovery on par with Egypt’s mummies and elaborate tombs.



The exhibit of ten warriors and assorted objects from the tomb will be opening February 22nd for four months, and should be quite a crowd-pleaser.

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