The World Made Wondrous: The Dutch Collector’s Cabinet and the Politics of Possession
The World Made Wondrous: The Dutch Collector’s Cabinet and the Politics of Possession
Filled with over 300 objects including paintings, prints and sculptures, as well as gems, shells, and taxidermy, World Made Wondrous recreates a fictive 17th-century Dutch collector’s cabinet in order to examine the political and colonial histories of European collecting practices in the 17th century. As Europeans assembled their cabinets, they ordered the world in deliberate ways, asserting judgments and hierarchies on the value of natural materials, forms of labor, forms of craftsmanship, as well as human worth, often with dire and deadly consequences. The exhibition will interrogate the underlying agendas and structures that were fundamental to these collections—which are precursors to today’s European and American museums, including LACMA.
The visitor will be led through the exhibition with a digital audio guide that includes commentaries from experts across a wide variety of fields, produced expressly to expand the narratives of each object and their makers. The exhibition benefits from the important contributions of four contemporary artists: Jennifer Ling Datchuk; Todd Gray; Sithabile Mlotshwa; and Uýra Sodoma; whose works, along with their commentaries in the audio guide, provide essential context and reflection on the historical narratives woven through the exhibition.
This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Generous support provided by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the FRench American Museum Exchange, Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross, and The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation.
Additional support provided by the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.
All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by Meredith and David Kaplan, with generous annual funding from Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Emily and Teddy Greenspan, Mary and Daniel James, Justin Lubliner, Jennifer and Mark McCormick, Kelsey Lee Offield, Koni and Geoff Rich, Lenore and Richard Wayne, and Marietta Wu and Thomas Yamamoto.
The exhibition’s digital guide has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
(Left) Ambrosius Bosschaert, Bouquet of Flowers on a Ledge, 1619, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA. (Right) Abraham Gessner, Globe Cup (detail), c. 1600, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, William Randolph Hearst Collection, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
- Sep 17, 2023–Mar 3, 2024
- Resnick Pavilion
This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Generous support provided by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the FRench American Museum Exchange, Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross, and The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation.
Additional support provided by the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.
All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by Meredith and David Kaplan, with generous annual funding from Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Emily and Teddy Greenspan, Mary and Daniel James, Justin Lubliner, Jennifer and Mark McCormick, Kelsey Lee Offield, Koni and Geoff Rich, Lenore and Richard Wayne, and Marietta Wu and Thomas Yamamoto.
The exhibition’s digital guide has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
(Left) Ambrosius Bosschaert, Bouquet of Flowers on a Ledge, 1619, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA. (Right) Abraham Gessner, Globe Cup (detail), c. 1600, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, William Randolph Hearst Collection, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA