History of Arts and Architecture

Disiecta Membra: What can small and broken black-figure pots tell us about festivals in ancient Athens?

An analysis of the ceramics of Classical Athens known as ‘late black figure’ has begun to reveal that they served very important functions for participants in the ample festivals in ancient Athens. In this talk Prof. Smith will reveal the clues—shape, size, and images—that point to the festival use of these small and fragmentary vessels that are found in abundance in Mediterranean excavations and the storerooms of museums.

Roopika Risam will draw on her work editing Anti-Racist Community Engagement: Principles and Practices and her experience as a digital public humanities practitioner to explore the tremendous opportunities and occasional challenges of doing digital and public humanities.

Welcome by Pieter Broucke, Director of Architectural Studies
Introduction and Q&A by Sam Ostrow, Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture

Mahaney Arts Center, Dance Theatre

Kevin Bubriski’s fifty year career as a documentary photographer began in the mid 1970s with his years in the Peace Corps as a community water supply technician in Nepal’s remotest mountain villages. He has returned to Nepal numerous times, done extended documentary work in South Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia and the USA and has published a number of photographic books. He will be speaking retrospectively about his work in Nepal, the USA, Syria, Tibet and Xinjiang.

Objects of Wonder
In the upcoming exhibition Objects of Wonder, students, faculty, staff, and alumni offer an intersection of research, art, history, and academia. These objects are curious snapshots-sneak peeks at the varied interests and endeavors present across this campus. Free and open to the public. Johnson Exhibition Gallery, Johnson Memorial Building room 208.

Eric Whitacre Lecture
“The Architecture of Music”
Featuring a live performance from the Middlebury College Choir

Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, is among today’s most popular musicians. His works are programmed worldwide and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united over 100,000 singers from more than 145 countries. In this lecture, Eric will discuss his music and process through the lens of Architecture, exploring how the two art forms overlap and inform each other. 

Free and open to the public

photo:Judy Chicago, Purple Atmosphere, Santa Barbara California, 1969

Air and Danger circa 1970: Judy Chicago’s Southern California Atmospheres

During World War II, Black people living in Nazi Germany and occupied Europe were in some cases incarcerated in internment and concentration camps. One of the most significant visual documents of this neglected chapter of the war are a series of drawings and paintings created by Caribbean artist Josef Nassy during his internment. This talk introduces the little known Josef Nassy Collection as a unique visual record of the experiences of Black prisoners in the Nazi camp system.

Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since World War II. “Human Flow,” an epic film journey led by the internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei, gives a powerful visual expression to this massive human migration. The documentary elucidates both the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. All are welcome at this free event.