Neanderthal Museum
The Neanderthal Museum is located a few miles
from Dusseldorf, Germany, and opened in 1996, telling the incredible
story about the uncovering of skeletal bone "fragments" in a
limestone cave in the mining valley of the Neander (Neander Tal) in
1856, that ignited a quest for the true discovery of mankind and its
earliest ancestors and created the new science of paleontology.
Evidently that discovery wasn't considered very important until
Charles Darwin's publication of the Origin of Species in 1858, so
that earlier find became more relative and important than the
discovers first imagined. Since the bone fragments, not an actual
skeleton, were found in a cave, the Fedhofer Cave to be exact, it
was decided that the human ancestor would become the "caveman".
There are five magnificent floors in the museum, with a marvelous
spiral ramp that takes you on a journey through interactive
displays, dioramas, models, and relics; but doesn't have any
authentic skeletons or bones or even fragments. The original bones
and fragments had long ago been claimed or acquired by larger and
older museums, so these that are showcased are merely replicas and
copies, and entails more of a large story book, complete with visual
examples to help children and adults understand what these early
human beings resembled and lived. It does talk about the Neander
site and the discovery made there more than a century ago, and
continue to evolve as the Darwinists imagined it would. The museum
tells of the varies other discoveries and finds that have occurred
since then that pertain to evolution and megalith sites. It
showcases the five stages of their perception of human development
and evolution; called Life and Survival, Communication and Society,
Tools and Knowledge, Myth and Religion, and finally, Environment and
Nutrition. There are many life sized models of early man, giving
visitors a chance to stand face to face with one of the "neanderthals"
and to imagine what it's existence would be like. There do have a
naked cave lady, so they caution parents to be aware of this sight,
which could be something quite startling to youngsters, but with
long hair and rudimentary features, she isn't anymore interesting
than the males. There are also interactive, audio-visual and
hands-on displays that try to involve visitors more with the
numerous exhibits, and has become quite the popular place for
children and their families, since some of them are as big, if not
bigger, than the imagined replicas. One of the favorite venues there
is the photo booth that morphs your picture into a caveman's
features, with an equally popular stone age handcrafts workshop that
offers children the perfect opportunity to make their own stone
tools and utensils.
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
The
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is found in the German state of
North Rhine-Westphalia's state capital of Dusseldorf, Germany and
contains two separate museums; the K20 for 20th century artworks and
K21 for this century's works. The arts museum started in 1960 when
it bought some 88 works of art by Paul Klee, being housed originally
in the small castle, Schloss Jagerhof in the Central Park of the
city. In 1986, a new structure was built in Graggeplatz as the
collection outgrew its former spaces. During the 1990s, a second
building was opened in the old Standehaus, thus allowing the
curators to separate the large collection into two different periods
of artworks. In 1990, the directorship changed from Werner
Schmalenbach to Armin Zweite, which also changed the direction and
focus of the artworks acquired. The former Werner was more
interested in drawing, while the director, Armin, concentrated on
photographs, installations and sculptures. The K20 concentrates on
the classical modern period, with one aspect of the marvelous
collection focusing on the works between 1900 and 1945, which
pertains to Cubism, expressionism, Fauvism and Pittura metafisica
with special attention given to surrealism, dadaism and "der Blaue
Reiter" or the Blue Rider group that was living in Munich at the
time. More than 100 paintings of Paul Klee are found here, who had
been a professor at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf until he retired
and went back to his home in Bern, Switzerland in 1933. He had to go
back since the oppressiveness of the Nazi party was overpowering and
not conducive to enlightened art. The works that began appearing
after 1945, and the end of the Nazi regime, was more American
influenced, with examples of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Andy
Warhol becoming more appreciated. The works that began appearing at
this time were produced by such notables as Gerhard Richter, Per
Kirkeby and Markus Lupertz, as well as Joseph Beuys, an instructor
at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf for many years. Gunther Ulbricht
donated 60 works that were created by Beuys, as an avid collector,
he enjoyed the wonderful works of Joseph and it became part of a
permanent collection. Starting in 1989, there has been a project
that was started to include at least one artist from around the
globe and showcase these exceptional artists in one collection.
Richard Serra, Daniel Buren, Dani Karavan and Richard Long were
among the group partaking in this exciting venue, with many rotating
exhibits appearing to complement the entire collection. In 2005,
they opened a magnificent exhibit of Henri Matisse in the K20 and
have begun such outstanding displays to encourage more visitors to
come in and enjoy the works of artists from around the world. There
is a huge library in the K20 building that include some 100,000
works, volumes, magazines, videos, bulletins, CDs and catalogues
that assist in the further information and enjoyment of their
collections.