Word: monreal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When Mullah Mohammed Omar announced on Feb. 26 that the big Buddhas were to be destroyed, Luis Monreal had a bright idea. Archaeologist, art historian and director of Fundació la Caixa , the cultural foundation in Barcelona sponsored by the Catalan savings bank of that name, Monreal decided to display a side of Afghanistan little known in Europe. In six months, a quarter of the time it normally takes to plan and mount an international exhibition, the Caixa Foundation, in tandem with the Guimet Museum of Asiatic Art in Paris, brought together 230 pieces from U.S. and European museums...
...Monreal wanted to call the exhibition "Afghanistan: The Forbidden History," but after the events of Sept. 11 - when some of the exhibits still had not arrived in Barcelona - his banker patrons asked for a less provocative title for security reasons. So the exhibition is called "Afghanistan: A Millenary History." Its success in Barcelona, with long lines some days, has drawn the interest of other museums. Monreal says there are negotiations with London's Royal Academy and a possibility of eventual travel...
...emanates from one large room where a cinema-size screen is showing continuously a 1-min., 45-sec. clip of the Bamiyan explosions - the great clouds of smoke and dust when, despite pleas to the Taliban from around the world, the giant Buddhas were blasted on March 11. Monreal says the muffled shouting is mainly Allah Akbar , Allah is Great...