The Stories Behind the New Northwest Branch Library Art Inspirations

From the What is a Masterpiece? Collection at the Dayton Art Institute

Relief Fragment from Persepolis, Achaemenid, Hellenistic Carved Gray Stone

Persepolis was built for the express purpose of holding ceremonies, receiving tributes and showing off. The reliefs that covered the city's walls depicted subjects from all over the Achaemenid (ancient Persian) Empire bringing gifts of tribute to the king for the Spring New Year festival, Nowruz. tone relief carvings were also prominently featured in Fairview High School. Relief techniques, such as embossing, incising and carving are a rich tradition in contemporary craft.

See the piece and learn more by clicking here or visit Gallery 211 at the DAI.

Kuosi (Elephant Mask) Society Costume, Bamileke People, Manmade and Natural Materials

The beads on this mask were a form of currency, making it more than just a symbol of wealth and privilege. Costumed Kuosi society members performed a special costumed dance in honor of the king every two years, protecting his power symbolically. This object makes use of both manmade and natural materials (fabric, fur, hair, beads, ivory, feathers, and twine) – a methodology embraced in contemporary mixed-media artwork. It could also be viewed as an aesthetic pre-cursor to Dayton's funk scene.

See the piece and learn more by clicking here or visit Gallery 101 at the DAI.

 
Artwork commissions for this building have been selected.
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