The Department of Art History and Art will host Rachel Kousser, professor of Greek and Roman art and archaeology at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, for the Julius Fund Lecture on Friday, April 10, at 5:30 p.m. in Clark Hall, Room 309.
Kousser will present “The Afterlifes of Sculptures in Ancient Greece.”
She will discuss how the ancient experience of sculptures was not purely visual, but physical, tactile and interactive. In Greece, statues were washed and clothed and fed. They were believed to move, sweat, and bleed. They were grasped by suppliants, abducted by conquerors, and assaulted by lovelorn madmen. And, at times, they were mutilated, buried or destroyed in attacks, which is testimony to their significance within ancient society. This talk examines the afterlives of Greek sculptures and the ways in which they were similar to, and different from, those of other ancient Mediterranean cultures. In doing so, it offers a new perspective on the role of the image in Hellenic society.
A reception will follow Kousser’s lecture.