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CONTENT AREA 1
Bayeux Tapestry
embroidered wool on linen, 1070 CE, Canterbury (England)
This embroidered textile celebrates the military strategy of the Norman army during the Battle of
Hastings, though despite its reverence to William the Conqueror does not glamorize or
romanticize the struggle. A majority of the 230 foot long tapestry is not the battle itself; rather, it
depicts in great detail the training, preparation, and travel undergone by the Norman troops
before even meeting with their opposition. The focus placed on all this preparation is the
opposite of the glorification of a miraculous victory; the Norman troops had to put physical effort
into their endeavor. Thus, the embroiderers chose to depict reality, and the preparation humans
do to ensure against chaos, rather than a sudden superhuman victory which no viewer could
personally relate to. But the most visceral depiction of chaos in the textile is the battle itself.
Once again, the style of storytelling is upfront and depicts dying troops and horses bleeding out
on the battlefield. The top and bottom decorative registers are even affected by the tragedy of
these scenes, with the corpses uncontrollably spilling out of the center register. The Battle of
Hastings, as interpreted in the Bayeux Tapestry, was a story of humans struggling and suffering
for hard-earned victory.
CONTENT AREA 4
Electronic Superhighway
Naum June Paik, video installation, electronics, neon lighting, steel, wood, 1995, USA
Viewing video clips from each of the fifty states of America intentionally gives the audience an
overload of information, referencing the overload of content in a modern America. The neon
lights symbolize the interstate highway system, with the neon medium alluding to the signage of
motels and restaurants, providing a distanced perspective on the overwhelmingly bright and
ever-present consumerist culture connecting the United States.