History of Arts and Architecture

Photographer Jane Fulton Alt will discuss her photographic project, The Burn, for which she photographed controlled burns conducted by ecologists on the Illinois prairie, as well as her latest project, Fire and Water. In conjunction with Land and Lens: Photographers Envision the Environment, on view at the Middlebury College Museum of Art. Free

Public lecture by John Cort, Professor of Asian and Comparative Religions at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. John will talk about the sectarian differences between the Digambar Jains and Shvetambar Jains. He will focus on disagreements concerning: the biographies of the 24th Jina Mahavira; whether a true monk should be naked or can wear white robes; and whether or not women can directly attain liberation. Sponsored by the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Johnson Enrichment Fund. Free.

Middlebury’s terracotta relief The Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila has been attributed to Tommaso Amantini, a Baroque sculptor trained in Bernini’s circle in Rome, on the basis of a similar, signed relief in Vienna. Dr. Jessica Boehman of CUNY LaGuardia Community College will link both reliefs to high-profile church patrons in Le Marche, Italy. Part of the Fridays at the Museum series. Free

Using unpublished archival sources and a photographic survey undertaken in 2017, this talk by Gauvin Alexander Bailey reconstructs the circumstances, influences, and builders of this extraordinary monument to demonstrate its position at the nexus of a global network of cultures at the dawn of Caribbean and Latin American independence. A History of Art and Architecture event. Free

Annu Palakunnathu Matthew will present her photo-based work, which is a striking blend of still and moving imagery. Her work is influenced by her experiences of having been born in England, raised in India, and now living in the United States. Her work draws on archival and family photographs as a source of inspiration for exploring memory, cultural assumptions, and national identity. Free

Dennis Carr, Carolyn and Peter Lynch Curator of American Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Beginning in the 16th century, direct trade between Europe, Asia, and the Americas spurred a remarkable interchange of artworks and artistic styles.

For the past year, artist Diana Matar has been photographing at over 200 sites where police violence has occurred in America for a project entitled “This Violent Land”. In this lecture Ms. Matar will speak about how she uses her camera to question not only the romantic photographic interpretation of the American dream, but also the nation’s acceptance of violence against its citizens at a time of deep social and political change.

Please join Middlebury’s intermediate architecture studio for a project exhibition and reception displaying their process towards creating a schematic design for a two-unit housing project in the town of Middlebury. The studio has been collaborating with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter in the first part of a three semester long project that is projected to begin construction in the spring of 2019. Refreshments and music will be provided. 

Architectural Film Series - Within Formal Cities (2016) by Abe Drechsler and Brian Gaudio http://www.withinformalcities.org

Architectural Film Series - PlayTime (1967) by Jacques Tati