Dance Mask from New Ireland Island
The Bowers Museum of Santa Ana www.bowers.org is Southern California’s most under-appreciated general museum about history and culture. It is best-known for its permanent collections of Native American art (24,000 objects, including many first-rate pieces from Mexico and Peru), paintings by local artists, and 30,000 items from early California history, ranging from military uniforms and rare photographs to toys and furniture.
The Bowers should be a magnet for those with wider, deeper, and more exotic interests, as well. Its special exhibitions are always outstanding: the lead one through June 25 is a vast collection of fascinating photos on the personal life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. In April, a display of the gemstone carving masterpieces by Harold Van Pelt opens, as well as one of movie posters from Ghana. In June, an exhibit will focus on Frank Lloyd Wright’s lesser-known designs for interiors, while another opening in November will be about Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908).
Then there are the truly amazing “ongoing” exhibits: these alone would make a visit from a distant place worthwhile. As you walk down the hallway to the Kahlo rooms, the walls are covered with brilliantly-colored sacred mandalas by a Buddhist monk in Nepal. The Chinese room has many terrific pieces, especially the elephant tusks carved in mind-boggling detail. Save for last the stunning “Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific Islands,” which has dance masks so wild that they must have been designed through the inspiration from visions.
Also note that the Bowers’ museum for children is nearby
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Carved wooden corbel from 18th century China (goes on top of column supporting a roof or balcony)