輝煌的瞬間，脆弱但美好 ——蔡國強談費城特展

圖：蔡國強於紡織工房美術館的作品〈時光畫卷〉

「蔡國強：花開花落」特展於12月11日在費城美術館及紡織工房美術館揭開序幕，呈現對於時光流逝、記憶與紀念行為的冥想。展覽開幕隔天，蔡國強接受《藝術家》雜誌的專訪，談及這次展覽的想法及過程。

問：本次的展覽是以安和凱皮的友誼為出發點而擴大。請說說這個想法的開端及發展。

蔡國強：每年暑假，凱皮都邀請上百位藝術界人士到她在緬因州海邊的別墅度假，其中包括館長、策展人、藝術家、記者等，大家都帶著自己的家庭，在海邊交流、互相觀摩及討論藝術。

2004年，我到那裡，凱皮就跟我提道她很希望做我的展覽，她也跟安討論，說好要一起做。當時凱皮問我何時可以展出，我說要等到2008年北京奧運之後，她就說：「那太晚了，我可能活不到那個時候。」我說：「不會的，你肯定活到那個時候。」後來，她總是隨著我的步伐到處跑，不管我在世界的哪個地方展覽，總是可以看到她出現在我的開幕式，所以就經常討論何時可以在費城展出，她也時常表示她一直在等著我。

奧運之後，本來應該開始進行她的部分，結果又插入了一個在台北的展出，而且還做得很大，這點對她是不太好意思。我跟她這麼漫長的友誼過來，因此想要很認真地將一個主題呈現得很好。奧運結束後，我開始啟動、構思在費城的展覽，結果安在這個時候去世了。每次凱皮跟我談話時，總感歎安已經不在了，「要是她在，我們可以一起跟你談展覽，多好。」談話之間，常在懷念安、說她的故事。因此，觸發了我的想法，把她對安的美好回憶錄起來，以此為主軸呈現一個與時光、生命、無常相關的主題，這是一個比較溫情也比較詩意的主題。由於兩位館長與我的關係太近，所以這樣的作品其實不是很好做，重點是不能鎖定在這個人身上，而是以她做為一個靈感，擴大到更廣義的層面，關於人性整體的表現，而不只是對安的悼念。昨天的開幕，很多美術館館長都來了，大家看了都很喜歡、很感動，這是一種力量、一種人性。

問：火藥似乎是一種十分無法預測的藝術形式，以這次的作品為例，所有的呈現都在你的預期之中嗎？你對於昨天的結果滿意嗎？

蔡國強：我們在計畫的時候，都是看電腦圖，那是沒有煙、沒有溫度、沒有聲音的，真正執行時，這些能量常會跟預期的不太一樣，但每次都很感動，因為那是真實的。這樣的創作也是有危險的，昨天進行〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉時，上面有些火藥掉下來，以致於底下燒起來，有人跑去滅火，其實本來不應該是這樣炸起來的。原本我建議在台階上舖木板並在木板上噴水，這樣就不容易燒起來，但由於美國的法令，他們堅持用防火布。其實防火布是耐火，並不表示它不燃，很激烈地燒，它還是著火。他們倒不是擔心火災，消防隊見過太多了，而是擔心燒的時候所產生的黑煙把建築物給燻黑了，那會很不好看。

昨天做完後，我感覺大家都感到很好，雖然風大，但仍做得很漂亮、很乾淨，這很不容易拿捏。爆破是短暫的，會讓觀眾看了以後感到不過癮、意猶未盡，但是只要有理念及作品的衝擊力，就能夠讓大家感動，而不要求保留很久。尤其費城美術館正面的廣場俯瞰前方的城市，這個地點有其不可取代性。一開始他們希望我在美術館背面進行爆破，因為那裡比較好管理，但我堅持要在正面。根據多年來的傳統，費城市政府在感恩節過後，就會在美術館前方放一棵很大的聖誕樹，不過後來市政府開會，決定延到我的爆破結束後再放上聖誕樹。

問：除了現場的爆破之外，在費城美術館展出的〈時光〉及〈99艘金船〉都是以前的作品。請問你為何選擇這幾件作品來搭配新的作品？

蔡國強：〈時光〉是2007年在日本做的，那是一個紀念資生堂贊助我十五年的展覽，從我以前在日本的時候，他們就開始贊助我，這十五年的歲月中，不論有沒有刊登他們的標誌，他們永遠悄悄地在全世界的活動內贊助我。我不是日本人，而且做的是爆炸，跟化妝品沒有關係，因此有人問過他們為什麼贊助我，他們的回答也讓我很感動，他們表示，創造性及挑戰「美」的可能性是他們的企業精神，而我的作品就是表現他們的精神。這件作品跟時間、歲月相關。

至於〈99艘金船〉，是在神戶地震之後，安藤忠雄設計的新的神戶美術館開館時展出的，它不僅跟外面的〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉對應，也跟紡織工房美術館的〈時光畫卷〉那條河流對應，表現歲月、時光及河流的關係。我平時的作品都是比較暫時性的，而黃金相對是比較永久性的媒材，是永恆的。

問：於紡織工房美術館展出的作品，是看到場地後所引發的靈感嗎？

蔡國強：由於這個美術館的名稱是「紡織工房美術館」，因此一開始我就想做跟紡織相關的作品。我不希望使用印花布，這個他們平常就在做了，我希望有真正的紡織，真正用傳統的手法來編織。我們在全中國找紡織者，這很不好找，現在很多地方都使用電腦，圖案輸入進去就編織出來了，也有一些地方雖然是手工編織，可是他們只會織圖案，不會織造形。最後找到了湖南的土家族，他們既是用傳統的手法紡織，又能織造形。我們並不是刻意要找少數民族來讓觀眾看，而是因為那裡太偏遠、太山區了，最沒有受到現代文化影響，仍保留著原始的方式，一梭一梭地編織故事，能夠把「日月如梭」的概念表現出來。

我們把安和凱皮之間的故事寄給這些紡織者，讓她們以自己的想像創造圖象，所以我到現在還不知道她們紡織什麼圖案，她們也不太想讓我看，這也不要緊，因為這樣我不怕受到她們的影響，也不讓她們受到我的影響，而用最傳統的角度來呈現這些故事。

費城以前是著名的紡織城市，而且這裡也跟花很有關係。這些我以前都不知道，不過在我提出這些創意之後，策展人說我很敏感地捕捉到費城的這些特性。

問：那〈時光畫卷〉這件作品的呈現呢？

蔡國強：紡織工房美術館跟一般恆溼、恆溫的美術館很不一樣，因此他們更可以接受我這樣臨時性、有變數的作品。昨天點燃火藥、燒過之後，在這三個月的展期之內，絲絹上留下來的燒焦的痕跡會被流水慢慢洗掉，最後只會剩下一點點較大的燒痕。一件作品，花了功夫去做，又再去破壞它、消滅它時，心裡特別有感覺。

紡織工房美術館二樓展出〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉的錄像，我特別將瞬間的爆炸編成好幾分鐘，讓花慢慢地開又慢慢地凋零，呈現「想把美好的事物留住」的心情。花的意義就在於那輝煌的瞬間，而之後就要凋零，這是它的詩意所在。人生也一樣，它是美好的，但也是脆弱的，然而，就因為它是脆弱、會消失的，它才是美好的。

（原文刊載於《藝術家》雜誌416期2010年1月號）


A Splendid Moment, Fragile but Beautiful

-- Cai Guo-Qiang talks about his exhibition in Philadelphia

The exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms, which meditates on the passage of time and memories, opened at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Fabric Workshop and Museum on December 11^th. The day after the opening, Artist Magazine did an interview with Cai, who talked about the concept of the exhibition and the preparing process.

Artist Magazine: This exhibition started off with the friendship between Anne and Kippy. Please talk about how the idea initiated and developed.

Cai: Kippy invites many art people, such as museum directors, curators, artists, and journalists, to her villa in Maine every summer to relax and meet one another.

When I went there in 2004, Kippy mentioned to me that she would like to do a show of me. She also discussed with Anne and they agreed to work on it together. When Kippy asked me when I could put up a show in Philadelphia, I told her I was not able to do it until I finished the project at 2008 Beijing Olympics. She said, "That is too late. I might not be able to live until then." I told her, "you will definitely live until then." Since then, she followed me all around the world. No matter where I was exhibiting, I could always see her in my exhibition openings. We, thus, could often discuss the time to put up a show in Philadelphia. She constantly emphasized that she had been waiting for me. I should have worked on the project for my Philadelphia show right after the Olympics, but an unexpected show in Taipei came up, and it was a really big one. I feel a little sorry to Kippy about it. I shared such a long-time friendship with her, so I wanted to work on the show seriously to present a theme as well as I could.

After the Olympics, I started to think about the show in Philadelphia. Anne, however, passed away. Whenever Kippy talked to me, she always mentioned sadly the passing of Anne. "How great it would be if she was here and we could talk about the exhibition together," she said. She was always telling stories of Anne, which then inspired me. I recorded her recollection of Anne and used it as a main source, which was developed into a theme related to time, life, and ephemerality. This is a poetic and intimate theme. Because of the close relationship between the two directors, this kind of exhibition is actually difficult to execute. I did not want the exhibition to be simply about these two people, but I wanted to take their friendship as an inspiration and extent it to a broader level. In other words, this is not only some mourning for Anne, but also the manifestation of human nature in general. A lot of museum directors came to the opening last evening. They were moved by the exhibition, which presented a certain kind of strength and human nature.

Artist Magazine: Gunpowder, as a medium for art, seems to be incontrollable in many ways. Take the projects you did yesterday for example. Did everything happen just as what you have expected? Are you satisfied with the outcome yesterday?

Cai: When planning for an explosion project, I look at computer-simulated graphics, which show the explosion without smoke, temperature, and sound. The actual execution is usually not totally the same as the graphics, but I am always strongly moved by the real thing. There is obviously a certain degree of danger with this kind of medium. While we were doing Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project yesterday, some gunpowder dropped to the stairs, which caused some unexpected burning at the bottom. My original suggestion was to put wooden slabs on the stairs and spread water on the wood to prevent unexpected burning. They, on the other hand, insisted on using asbeston because it was the state rule. Asbeston, however, is inflammable regardless of its heat-resistance. In fact, the people from the Fire Department have seen a lot that they were not afraid of burning. They were just afraid that the smoke would blacken the façade of the museum.

I feel like everyone was happy with the project yesterday. Although it was windy, the outcome was clear and beautiful, which was something that was not easy to control. Explosion is temporary, but it leaves the audience with an impact that lasts for a long time. Also, the location of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is especially irreplaceable. It overlooks the whole city. At first, they asked me to do the project at the West Terrance because it would be easier to control, but I insisted on doing it on the East Terrance.

Artist Magazine: Besides the explosion project, the two pieces of work, Light Passage and 99 Golden Boats, on exhibit in the museum are both your earlier works. Why did you select these two works to be exhibited in this show?

Cai: Light Passage, a piece I did in Japan in 2007, was about the passing of time. It was done for an exhibition that commemorated the fifteen-year sponsorship of the cosmetics company, Shiseido, to me. They started to support me since I was in Japan. In the last fifteen years, they have always been supporting me around the world no matter whether they were credited or not. There were people asking them why they supported me since I was not a Japanese and explosion projects had absolutely nothing to do with cosmetics. Their response to such questions has been very encouraging to me. They said that my works "present creativity" and "challenge the possibilities of beauty," which is exactly the spirit of their business. 

99 Golden Boats was first exhibited with the newly opened Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art designed by Ando Tadao after the Kobe Earthquake occurred. It not only responds to Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project, but also echoes with Time Scroll at the Fabric Workshop and Museum. They present a relationship between river and the passing of time. My works are usually temporary, but gold is a comparably lasting medium. It signifies eternity.

Artist Magazine: Did the gallery space of the Fabric Workshop and Museum inspire you by any means?

Cai: I have wanted to do something related to fabrics there from the very beginning because of the name of the museum. I wanted to do something other than printed fabrics, which was what they have always been doing. After contemplating, I decided to do a project of traditional weaving. We went all over China to look for the right group for this project. It was not easy. A lot of places are using modern technology now. You input the images into the computer system and the machines work them out accordingly. Some other places have people weaving by hand, but the patterns were not what I was looking for. We finally found this Tujia group from Hunan Province. They weave with traditional looms, and they also do some designs. It was not our intention to show the visitors a minority group, but it just happened that their village was located in such remote mountains that their tradition was not influenced by outside cultures. They kept their weaving tradition and wove the stories shuttle by shuttle, which perfectly delivered the message of "time flies like a weaving shuttle."

I gave the weavers the stories between Anne and Kippy and let them come up with the images themselves. As a result, I still have no idea what images they came up with. They do not feel like showing me the images, either, which is perfectly fine because we would not be influencing each other then. They could apply the most traditional weaving techniques in the project.

Philadelphia has been a well-known weaving city since the past. It has a close relationship with flowers as well. I did not know this before working on this show. After I presented my ideas, however, the curator said that I caught the spirit of this city in a sensitive way.

Artist Magazine: Can you talk a little about the piece Time Scroll?

Cai: The Fabric Workshop and Museum is very different from other art museums, which have strict temperature and humidity control. It is more flexible with works that contain uncertain factors. The gunpowder on the scroll has been ignited and burned yesterday. What is remained there will gradually be washed away by water in the following three months. It gives me an especially strong feeling after I spend time finishing a piece of art and then destroy it.

As for the video recording of Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project, I edited it to prolong the one-minute explosion to several minutes so that people would see the flower bloom and wither slowly. What I want to deliver from this video is the feeling of longing to grasp the beautiful moment. The significance of a flower is right at the splendid moment of its blossom, but it withers soon after that. This is exactly where its poetic quality lies. Our life has the same quality. It is beautiful, but it is fragile as well. Nonetheless, it is just because of its fragility and disappearing quality that it is beautiful.

(The original article was published in Chinese in Artist Magazine, vol. 416, January 2010.)

「花開花落」驚豔費城 ——蔡國強首次費城個展

圖：蔡國強於費城美術館進行的〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉

12月11日下午，費城是攝氏零下的氣溫，費城美術館前方的廣場卻聚集了滿滿的人群。眾人頂著風寒，為的是觀看蔡國強的〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉。這項爆破計畫為時一分鐘左右：開頭的四秒鐘，火焰由中心向外蔓延，接下來的大約五十秒，一朵遮蓋美術館整面大門的花朵在火焰中燃燒，而最後的幾秒鐘，則在逐漸「凋零」的花朵中有數個爆炸點，於打雷般的聲響中結束整個爆破計畫。

〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉為費城美術館及紡織工房美術館攜手展出的「蔡國強：花開花落」特展揭開序幕。這次的展覽靈感，來自於紡織工房美術館創始人瑪莉安．博爾頓．斯特勞德（Marion Boulton Stroud，或稱「凱皮」〔Kippy〕）對於2008年過世的前費城美術館館長安．特哈農庫特（Anne D’Harnoncourt）的悼念，並以她們之間四十多年的友誼為主軸，探討記憶、逝去、時光等概念。兩間美術館的展出作品各有特色，也多有呼應之處。

●費城美術館
〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉的花朵，是蔡國強手繪後，再以等比例搭建上費城美術館的東邊大門。整個爆破過程，呈現了花朵短暫的美麗，也暗指人生的稍縱即逝。除此之外，美術館內展廳並展出了〈時光〉（2007）及〈99艘金船〉（2002）兩件作品。

〈時光〉由四幅火藥草圖所組成，分別表現春、夏、秋、冬四季，大尺幅的作品覆蓋著展廳兩側牆面，頗富氣勢。抬頭一望，則可看到懸吊在天花板、從展廳一邊延伸到另一邊的〈99艘金船〉，由黃金做成的葉形小船有如漂浮在隱形的河流上。這兩件作品一起展出，使展廳充滿詩意，並創造出時光如流水般的意象。

●紡織工房美術館
開幕當天，在費城美術館進行〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉之後，蔡國強即前往紡織工房美術館，點燃〈時光畫卷〉。裝置作品〈時光畫卷〉為一道金屬製成的人造河，裡面鋪著一條接近40公尺的絲絹，以安的故事為基礎，於絲絹之上放置紙形圖樣並灑上火藥。蔡國強點燃火藥後，絲絹上便留下燒過的圖象痕跡，而在三個月的展期內，這些痕跡將被流水漸漸洗淨。

另一項作品〈日月如梭〉則有湖南湘西土家族的五位編織工藝家的參與。這五位來自傳統村落的紡織者之前從未出國過，僅憑著凱皮懷念安而述說的故事，以想像設計出掛毯圖樣。展覽期間，她們每天都在館內，以傳統的紡織機，將圖樣一幅一幅編織出來，參觀者可以觀看她們紡織的過程。由於她們以往多編織傳統、較抽象的圖樣，而本次設計了具象的圖樣，因此對她們來說，也是一種新的嘗試。

除了上述兩件作品之外，紡織工房美術館也展出編輯過的〈花開花落：爆破計畫〉錄像。

●友誼、回憶、時光
「蔡國強：花開花落」是蔡國強的首次費城個展，策展人卡洛斯．巴蘇阿多（Carlos Basualdo）表示：「這整個展覽特別適合費城的背景，因為歷史及回憶向來在這座城市的市民生活中扮演重要的角色。它以一種既普遍、又私密的方式探索並呈現這項主題。」紡織工房美術館的展覽將展至3月7日，而費城美術館則展至3月21日。

（原文刊載於《藝術家》雜誌416期2010年1月號）


Fallen Blossoms in Philadelphia
-- Cai Guo-Qiang's First Solo Exhibition in Philadelphia

A huge crowd gathered at the East Terrace of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the evening of December 11th, 2009, regardless of the twentish-degree weather. They were there to watch Cai Guo-Qiang's Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project. The explosion project lasted for about a minute: in the first four seconds, a flame spread out from the center of the flower that covered the façade of the museum entrance. The flower remained burning for another fifty seconds, and in the last few seconds, there were a few explosion spots among the petals of the "withering" flower, ending the whole project with thunder-like sounds.

Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project opened up the curtain of Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms, an exhibition collaborated by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Fabric Workshop and Museum. Marion Boulton Stroud (Kippy), the director of the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and Anne d'Harnoncourt, the late director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, shared a forty-year friendship. Inspired by Kippy's memories of their friendship, Cai explores the themes of life, memory, and the passage of time in the exhibition.

Philadelphia Museum of Art
The flower frame of Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project was put up on scale according to Cai's drawing. The explosion process not only presented the ephemeral beauty of flower blossoms, but also implied the transience of life as well. Besides the explosion project, two other pieces of art, Light Passage (2007) and 99 Golden Boats (2002), are on view in the Honickman Gallery inside the museum.

Light Passage is composed of four gunpowder drawings, each representing one of the four seasons. Covering the walls of the gallery, the large scale of the drawings creates quite a spectacular scene. Hanging down from the ceiling is 99 Golden Boats, an installation extending from one side of the gallery to the other. The leaf-shaped golden boats suspended from the top in a wandering row as if they are floating in an invisible river. Displaying the two pieces together generates a poetic atmosphere and refers to the idea that time flows like a river.

Fabric Workshop and Museum
After doing Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the opening evening, Cai went directly to the Fabric Workshop and Museum and ignited another project, Time Scroll. In this installation, a metal artificial river flows through the length of the gallery. A 40-meter silk scroll was placed inside the river. Before the ignition, pieces of paper cut with patterns according to the pictures of Anne were placed upon the silk. Cai spread gunpowder through the river and ignited it, which left imprints on the silk. The last step was to allow flowing water gradually wash away the imprints during the exhibited period.

Time Flies Like a Weaving Shuttle is a piece of work done by Cai's collaboration with five Tujia weavers from Hunan Province, China. The five weavers, never been to a foreign country before this exhibition, creates twenty tapestry images according to the transcribed stories of Anne told by Kippy. During the exhibition period, they weave the tapestries with traditional looms shipped from China. Visitors could see their weaving process and are encouraged to interact with them. Since the weavers are used to weave traditional and abstract images, the figurative design in this project is a new challenge for them as well.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum also displays an edited video of Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project, which shows the explosion process in slow motion.

Friendship, Memory, Time
Cai Guo-Qiang: Fallen Blossoms is Cai's first solo exhibition in Philadelphia. Curator Carlos Basualdo states, "the exhibition is especially suitable for the background of Philadelphia because history and memory have always played an important role in the lives of people in this city. Cai explores and presents the theme in a way both prevailing and private." The exhibition goes through March 21st.

(The original article was published in Chinese in Artist Magazine, vol. 416, January 2010.)

杜象的最後祕密創作 ——〈給予〉於費城美術館展出

圖：杜象〈給予︰1. 瀑布，2. 發亮的油燈〉（費城美術館提供）

費城美術館於月前推出的重點特展「杜象：給予」，將杜象生前所創作的最後一件作品〈給予︰1. 瀑布，2. 發亮的油燈〉，以及將近一百件與其相關的照片、文件、習作及模型等一同展出，讓這件如謎一般的作品，從最初的想法、組構到成品完整地呈現在觀眾眼前。

1920年代初，杜象將生涯的焦點從藝術創作轉到棋藝，外界均認為他不再創作，然而1946至1966年間，他卻於紐約格林威治村的工作室祕密進行〈給予〉的創作，就連他最親近的朋友都不知情，因此當杜象在1968年去世後，作品於1969年在費城美術館曝光之時，帶給藝壇不小的話題。

走進展區，首先看到的是一系列的紀錄照片及筆記，接著是許多攝影習作及人體模型。〈給予〉的背景是以杜象於1946年在瑞士貝爾維的瀑布所照的黑白照片為基礎，經過拼貼、塗色，以及印刷而完成最後的成品。作品內的女體模型，則是以杜象當時的情人——駐美國巴西大使的妻子，同時也是超現實主義藝術家的瑪利亞．馬丁斯——為模特兒，她的身體激發了杜象的想法，展覽中相關的拼貼及素描呈現出杜象的構想，而這個模型從一開始的製作到最後細部的調整，總共花費了超過十年的時間。

在一系列的紀錄及習作鋪陳之下，觀眾走到展區後方〈給予〉的裝置處。觀看〈給予〉可謂一種奇異的經驗，傑斯帕．瓊斯曾形容它是「在任何美術館所能出現最奇怪的作品」。走到作品前，觀眾面對的是一扇緊閉的木門，門上僅有兩個小孔供視線穿過，眼前所見的，是一幅似真實又似虛幻的景象，一位與真人尺寸相當的全裸女體模型躺在落葉及枯枝上方，她的左手捧著一盞過時的油燈，觀眾不論以什麼角度，都無法看到她的頭部，僅能看到肩上的幾束頭髮。她的後方是一幅以相片拼貼而成的地景，這個明亮的背景由蔚藍的天空及濃密的樹叢所組成。除了右方唯一動態呈現的瀑布流水以外，整件作品散發出一種詭異的靜謐。

杜象開始進行〈給予〉這件裝置作品的創作時，正值他積極參與超現實主義展覽之時，因此作品與超現實主義運動的目標及理想一致。二次世界大戰之時及之後的超現實主義者推崇塔羅牌、黑魔法、異教儀式、神祕圖象，以及對於性愛（Eros）主題的重新詮釋，這些元素共同營造出杜象作品的氛圍。

〈給予〉創作之初，就是以費城美術館為設定擺放地點。在這件作品曝光的四十年後，費城美術館首次將所有相關的物品一併展出，讓觀眾對作品有更深入的了解。

（原文刊載於《藝術家》雜誌416期2010年1月號）

吾珥文物於賓州大學博物館展出

圖：「伊拉克的古老過往：重新發現吾珥的王室墓地」展場一景。

一項新的常設展「伊拉克的古老過往：重新發現吾珥的王室墓地」於10月25日在賓州大學考古與人類學博物館開幕，將此1920年代的重要考古發現及最新相關研究，呈現在觀眾眼前，展出內容包括當初的筆記、照片、文件，以及超過兩百廿件文物，並探討今日緊迫的伊拉克文化資產保存議題。

1920年代可謂考古的黃金年代，就在英國考古學家霍華．卡特（Howard Carter）在1922年以發現埃及法老圖坦卡門的墓地而登上頭條之時，賓州大學博物館及大英博物館共組了考察團隊，由英國考古學家伍利（Sir Charles Leonard Woolley）領導，前往伊拉克南邊的古城吾珥舊址（即《聖經》中記載的亞伯拉罕的出生地）進行考察。這項考察同樣震驚世界——伍利發現了西元前2500年的吾珥王室墓地，讓世人對於人類最早的文明之一的蘇美文化的認識向前邁進一大步。1922年至1934年間，他與上百位團隊成員挖掘出將近兩千座墓地，其中的十六座，由於墓地構造、擁有豐富陪葬品及多位陪葬者的緣故，被他稱為「王室墓地」。展覽所呈現的，便是從這些墓地所挖掘出的文物。

展廳中央，擺放著最引人注目的發現之一——皇后普阿比（Pu-abi）的頭飾，這件頭飾由一層層的花朵及葉片所組成，其所使用的金片、天青石及紅玉髓顯示當時傑出的製作技術，而其他的項鍊、耳環、帶狀冠冕也多由這幾種礦物製作而成。另一件出名的展品，則是被命名為〈困在灌木叢中的公羊〉的立飾，這件飾品由金、銀、天青石、銅、貝殼、紅石灰石及瀝青所製作而成，強烈的色彩效果，是蘇美文化中擺放於神殿內及貴族陪葬物品的特色，根據伍利的說法，這件飾品不是單一的雕塑，而是連接在其他物品上的裝飾。其餘的展品尚包括豎琴、避邪物、化妝盒（有些仍裝有化妝用的彩色礦石）、封印、容器……等，精美的製作令人驚豔。此外，展覽也對於當初考古團隊的重要成員做概略的介紹，讓觀眾更加了解當時的情況。而伊拉克文化資產保存的議題，則在展覽的最後提出。

吾珥王室墓地的發現，將美索不達米亞平原古文明的高峰呈現在世人眼前。當初挖掘出的物品，其中一半留在伊拉克，存放於因為這項考古發現而建立的伊拉克國家博物館內，另一半則分屬賓州大學博物館及大英博物館。這些文物一直都是賓州大學博物館的重點展品，直到1998年到其他城市及國家巡迴展出，中間雖短暫回到費城，但大部分的時間都在外地，現在它們又回到費城，並且將長期展出，學者皆表示，這批文物是目前費城所擁有的最好的古文明文物，因此意義十分重大。

（原文刊載於《藝術家》雜誌415期2009年12月號）