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July 31-August 13, 2008

Exhibition

Uncovering the Copan Dynasty
--- Maya History and Archaeology (Spring, 2001)

The Henry H. Wiss Center for Theory and History of Art and Architecture, College of Architecture and Urban Studies, announces the special exhibition Uncovering the Copan Dynasty, Maya History and Archaeology: A Tribute to Leonard J. Currie between February 5-9, in the Cogwill Hall Lobby, Virginia Tech campus. The exhibition features original drawings and early-photographs by Currie documenting his pioneer work at the Classical Mayan site of Copan, Honduras dating from AD 300-825, and contemporary photographs by Kenneth Garrett and a painting by Christopher A. Klein from an exhibition underwitten by the National Geographic Society and Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. Leonard J. Currie (1913-1996), well-known architect and award winner designer, was head of the Department of Architecture at Virginia Tech between 1956-1962 and is generally credited with laying the foundations of the present College of Architecture and Urban Studies. During the time, he built his famous “Pagoda House” in Blacksburg, later named to the National Register of Historic Places. His outstanding career as an educator and practitioner is a matter of record: He was one of the co-signers of the original Charter of Machu Picchu of 1977; he archieved important status as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and in 1993, received the Virginia AIA Chapter's highest award, the William C. Noland Medal; in 1996 he was presented with the Lifetime Contributions Award by the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.

Less known, however, is Currie's major contribution to the early archaeology of Copan, highlighted in this exhibition. This work which was conducted by Currie in 1941 while on an Arthur W. Wheelwright Fellowship at Harvard, gave him the opportunity to serve as assistant to Dr. Gustav Stromsvik, then the archaeologist in charge at Copan. The documentation gathered during this period was to provide an invaluable reference for all subsequent archaeological research in Copan.

A lecture by Dr. Mark Schneider, “The Maya Architecture as Cosmic Vision,” is also scheduled in conjunction with this exhibition for Thrusday, February 8, 2001, at 2:15 PM in the Hancock Auditorium, Virginia Tech, with a reception to follow in the Cowgill Hall Lobby. In addition, the video “Lost Kingdoms of the Maya” will be shown at 7:00 PM in the Hancock Auditorium on the same day.

The exhibition was curated by Dr. Humberto Rodriguez-Camilloni in collaboration with Dr. Mark Schneider and student assistants Robin George and Li-wen Sung.