Last month we reported on our visit to the King Tut Exhibition at the LACMA. Like any good rock concert, the house lights must come on and the band must move on. So it is with Tut. On November 15, the show ended in LA and the roadies moved in to pack up the 130 objects and sent them on to Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art where they will dazzle fans from December 15 to April 23, 2006.
The show is like a rock event in more ways than one. Behind the exhibition galleries darkened to heighten the mysteriousness of these wonderful and solemn ancient artifacts, lurks the cash register. Megastar rock concert producer AEG LIVE is managing the boy king's 2004-2007 USA Tour. Not surprisingly, you won't get an overfill of mysteriousness....the layout of the galleries is expertly designed to ensure the throngs of history-loving visitors shelling out big bucks for their tickets are swiftly conveyored through the exhibit to the bountifully stocked souvenir shop. I wondered as I was dumped into the shop in LA, how many people actually spend more time in the shop than the exhibit.
According to the Art Newspaper, the exhibition has been assailed as profit-motivated popular entertainment. The LA Times critic Christopher Knight called it "an ethically dubious ode to the cash register."
It should not be a surprise. The Egyptian government set the tone by slapping a $5-million fee per venue for each of the four USA locations, and refusing to send any additional objects. Cairo apparently has learned well from the agents of American sports heroes that talent is finite and it must be milked for every dime. Exposure is great but costly, and over-exposure is to be avoided. Always hold something back and keep them wanting more.
Not that the exhibition is not worthwhile. Floridians will gladly shell out $30 per ticket for their chance to be whisked through Tut on weekends this winter. Enjoy the exhibit. The Egyptian government and AEG appreciate your business. Just don't linger, the next show is about to begin. And remember, no cameras allowed....that could cut into sales of the exhibition catalogs.
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