The Weiwei exhibit at the Farnsworth

Today, after we had lunch with Phil and Deborah McKean, Jim and Mary, at Claws Lobster Shack in Rockport (Very good lunch - I had steamers, Ellen had a haddock sandwich and we shared sweet potato fries), Ellen and I went to the Farnsworth Museum. We had free passes because last time, we went when most exhibits were closed. Today the featured exhibit was 12 gold sculptures by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei: 12 animal heads representing the Chinese Zodiac. These are the smaller, gold-leaf-over-bronze sculptures that are touring the country. There is a larger bronze exhibit also by Weiwei which is touring in larger museums.

"Created in 2010, the zodiac heads (a Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig) are inspired by those which once comprised a water clock-fountain at the Old Summer Palace, which is a complex of palaces and gardens in Beijing that were constructed by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty.^[1] The Old Summer Palace was eventually destroyed by French and British troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War, at which time the fountainheads were looted. They were originally made by an Italian Jesuit, Giuseppe Castiglione."

The sculptures were spectacular. We were amazed to be able to stand inches from these creations and just let their power wash over us. I inadvertently Ieft my iPhone/camera at home, but here are some images gleaned from the web:

The Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Farnsworth

Another exhibit of the same sculptures: Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon

Side view of the snake

The Dragon, the most auspicious of the twelve

These animals actually represent not the months of the year, as in the Western Zodiac, but twelve double-hours of the day. The series begins with the Rat, which represents 11p.m. to 1 a.m., and continues in the order listed above in two-hour segments. So, e.g., right now, at 5:10 p.m., I am in the Rooster. A child born at this time would presumably have traits related to the Rooster. I'm not sure how you deal with time zones in figuring that (or, even more puzzling, DST!).