World Media on Greece - Acropolis and the Parthenon Marbles
A Home for the Marbles (The New York Times, 18.06.2009) |
Prominent
author, journalist and literary critic Christopher Hitchens reports
on the New Acropolis Museum: "The crucial floor is the top one. Here, all the
available treasures of the Parthenon have been lovingly and logically arranged in a gallery that is
layered differently from other levels so as to replicate and mirror the layout of the temple, up at
which it directs the visitor’s gaze. [...] This is the nearest that one can currently come to a full
enjoyment of the aesthetic whole."
In regards to the huge portion of the Parthenon Marbles that are currently at the British Musueum, Hitchens argues that "it is not a question of denuding one great and old European museum, so much as of completing another great and new one. The British people, when asked, have repeatedly shown that they want to do the right thing and reunify the sculpture.
It is impossible to visit Athens and not yearn for the day when Britain decides to right an ancient wrong and show that a beautiful artefact is more than the mere sum of its parts."
Read the entire article here
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Romancing the Stones (Newsweek, 06.06.09) |
In
view of the opening of the new Acropolis Museum, Newsweek’s Cathleen McGuigan writes on the issue of
the Parthenon Marbles – "not the Elgin Marbles", as she
notes.
The issue of the Parthenon Marbles is the most controversial in the debate over the restitution of the ancient artworks. The new museum is Greece’s most strong argument for the return of the Marbles. The frieze that encircled the temple is installed in the new museum in its original configuration on the Parthenon, with the missing marbles in white plaster to accentuate the absence.
"The British said, you don't deserve them, you don't have a place to put them. Now we have one of the best museums that can be," says Antonis Samaras, the minister of culture in Greece. "We are presenting in a visual way what was, to this point, a verbal discussion," says the museum's president, Prof. Dimitrios Pandermalis. Read the whole article here.
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Lecture on Acropolis Museum (ANA-MPA, 12.06.09) |
In
view of the opening of the new Acropolis Museum, the Alliance Francaise in Bern,
Switzerland, organised a lecture under the title “The New Acropolis Museum
- An opportunity for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece?”
Olivier Vodoz, Vice President of the International Red Cross and Vice President of the Swiss Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles, who was the speaker, referred to the efforts made by the Greek state and the International Committee for the Return of the Marbles.
He also expressed his hope that with the construction of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, the Parthenon Marbles will return to Greece.
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Return Elgin Marbles, Says Acropolis Museum Creator: Interview (Bloomberg.com, 26.05.09) |
Bernard
Tschumi, the architect who, in collaboration with Greek architect Michael Fotiades,
designed the New Acropolis Museum, gave an interview to Bloomberg.com.
Tschumi argues that the Parthenon Marbles should be the centerpiece of his gleaming concrete and glass building and says: “You can have a Van Gogh at the Metropolitan and another at the Louvre. But, the Parthenon Marbles are one story. It’s got to be together at the same place and there’s no better place than here.”
Moreover he talks about the materials and technology used in the museum, as well as the construction of the new museum and the difficulties he faced in his attempt to protect and showcase the ancient city found below the building of the new museum. Read more…
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Elgin Marbles question renewed as Athens museum opens (The Independent, 23.05.09) |
The
New Acropolis Museum is scheduled to open in Athens on 20
June. One of Britain's longest-running international disputes, the
return of the Parthenon Marbles, takes a potentially decisive turn.
Of the surviving 94 frieze panels, 56 are in London, along with 15 metopes and 17 pedimental figures. The new museum contains a reconstructed frieze, where the absence of the originals is strengthened by glaring white copies.
Bernard Tschumi, the museum's Swiss-born architect, said: "I'm convinced the marbles will come back. Their return will make sense straight away." Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, the Director of the new museum states: "We have here the surrealistic picture of a divided monument. It's clearly ridiculous when you have a body in London and a head in Athens to keep the two pieces separate."
The New Acropolis Museum, the new permanent home of the marbles 300 metres below the original site, beats all the arguments against their return to Athens. Read more…
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Acropolis treasures on display for euro1 (AP, 21.05.09) |
Greek
Culture Minister Antonis Samaras announced on Wednesday May 20, that
the admission to the New Acropolis Museum will cost euro1 for
the first six months — as much as a public bus ticket.
"The price is unexpectedly low ... but I believe that is totally necessary to allow everyone to visit the New Acropolis Museum," Samaras said. "We have taken into account the difficulties stemming from the global crisis" he added.
Greece hopes the long-delayed venue will boost its campaign to regain the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum in London. “The presence of thousands of visitors will be much stronger than any public statement” Samaras said.
About 2.5 million visitors are expected every year and 2,200 tickets will be on sale online for the first three days. Read more…
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The New Acropolis Museum, Designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects (archinnovations.com, 07.04.2009) |
The
historic masterpieces of the New Acropolis Museum—from
the archaeological remains of ancient Athens left visible beneath the building to the glorious Parthenon
frieze installed at the top— will be displayed in total for the first
time when the Museum celebrates its much-anticipated official opening
on Saturday, June 20, 2009.
Designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects of New York/Paris with Michael Photiadis of Athens as local associate architect, the Museum has presented a number of temporary exhibitions in a lower-floor gallery over the past year. With the official opening, visitors will at last view the full suite of galleries, presented in a dramatic architectural experience designed explicitly for this collection.
With more than 150,000 square feet of exhibition space—ten times more than the previous Acropolis museum—the New Acropolis Museum will display surviving antiquities from the Acropolis and serve as a catalyst for strengthening international interest in the classical world. The 226,000 square foot Museum is both a defining cultural project for Greece and a key reference point for the art community around the globe. Read more...
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New Acropolis Museum Will Boost Tourism, Greek Minister Predicts (GlobalAtlanta.com, 01.04.09) |
Panos
Livadas, Greece’s secretary general of information, talks to Phil Bolton of GlobalAtlanta.com
about the forthcoming opening of the New Acropolis Museum and the
boost in tourism after the Olympic Games of 2004.
The New Acropolis Museum in Athens, has attracted more attention from the world media than any topic other than the economy, Panos Livadas noted. “From Bejing to Washington, from Cairo to Scandinavia, we’re taking hundreds if not thousands of questions per year about the New Acropolis Museum,” he said.
The new museum, designed by New York-based architect Bernard Tschumi in collaboration with Greek architect Michalis Photiadis, is set to officially open on June 20, 2009.
Regarding the boost in tourism, Mr Livadas said that, after the Athens Olympics, Greece was repositioned and the stereotype sun-sea-hospitality was enriched by the advanced infrastructure, the major energy projects and the ability Greece has to host events of great international caliber. Read the interview and see the video here
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Ancients modernised (dompost.co.nz, 24.02.09) |
Nikki
MacDonald of “The Dominion Post” travels to Athens and reports from the inside of the New
Acropolis Museum just a few months before its official opening.
The New Acropolis Museum is the ideal place to house the entire collection of the Parthenon Marbles. Among the winning touches of the new museum, is the building's upper gallery, which houses the all- important marble relief and matches exactly the dimensions and orientation of the Parthenon itself. Moreover, the main idea is to keep conditions as close to those of the original Acropolis as possible, making simplicity the actual beauty of the museum. Sited on third, fourth and seven-century ruins, the museum features a glass floor that both protects and exposes the archaeological dig below.
Athens holds only about 40 per cent of the remaining marble sculptures. Most of the rest of the collection is housed in the British Museum and is represented in the New Acropolis Museum by plaster casts to distinguish them from the marble originals. Read more…
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Greece to open new Acropolis museum in June (IHT, 13.02.09) |
The
formal inauguration of the New Acropolis Museum has been scheduled
for June 20 according to Greek Culture Minister Antonis Samaras’ announcement.
Designed by Swiss-born architect Bernard Tschumi and Greece's Michael Photiades, the new glass and concrete museum will contain more than 4,000 ancient works in 20,000 square meters of display space.
Crouching at the foot of the Acropolis, the new museum is the centerpiece of Greece's campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum in London. Greek officials say the new building will allow all the surviving Parthenon sculptures to be displayed together, with the 5th century B.C. temple appearing as a backdrop through glass walls.
Construction work brought to light the ruins of an entire neighbourhood of ancient and early Christian Athens, many of which are visible through glass panels at the museums basement. Read more…
Opening date set for long-delayed Acropolis Museum
(cbcnews.ca, 13.06.09)Greece sets
opening date for New Acropolis Museum (The China Post, 16.02.09)
Read about the Press Center for the
Inauguration of the New Acropolis Museum See
also: 2008 Archive of World Media Reports on Acropolis
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