Afunny thing happened on my way to the museum, I found myself waiting on line for a new show in Philadelphia, and in front of me was a line of people from all corners of the globe, Africans, Latin Americans, I even heard a few Portuguese words as we waited to get into the exhibit. The show in question was “Journeys to New Worlds: Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Art from the Roberta and Richard Huber Collection”, and upon later reflection I realized how appropriate the place and setting for this exhibit was. As we here in the America take for granted that we live in such a unique melting pot, our colonial ancestors did not, and worked very hard to keep perceptions of class, race and religion, in line with their perceived notions of the new society they were building in the colonies. The art of this exhibit, exemplifies that world view in stunning variety and detail, and affords us a glimpse into the minds of a ruling class, which in many ways has not been phased out in the new world.
