Gallery Talk: Building Big in Ancient Mesopotamia and the Modern Imagination
Join Caitlin Clerkin to explore connections between ancient Mesopotamian ideologies about building and modern imaginings of marvelous constructions at ancient Babylon and Babel. We’ll look together at Mesopotamian building inscriptions and European and American prints ranging from the 15th to the 20th century that imagine towers and cityscapes at Babylon and Babel. Given that artistic references to Babylon and Babel have become more symbolic over time, this talk will also consider the ethical problem and the alienating impacts of imagining actual ancient places in primarily metaphorical terms.
Our galleries are full of stories—this series of talks gives visitors a chance to hear the best ones! The talks highlight new works on view, take a fresh look at old favorites, investigate artists’ materials and techniques, and reveal the latest discoveries by curators, conservators, fellows, visiting artists, technologists, and other contributors.
Led by:
Caitlin Clerkin, Frederick Randolph Grace Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art
Gallery talks are limited to 18 people, and it is required that you reserve your place. At 10am the day of the event, reservations will open and may be arranged online through this form. The gallery talk reservation will also serve as your general museum reservation. If required, visitors will pay the museum admission fee upon arrival.
Please meet in the Calderwood Courtyard, in front of the digital screens between the shop and the admissions desk.
- Contact:
- Krystle Brown
- Krystle_Brown@harvard.edu
- (617)-495-9295
_Infinity_by_Santiago_Medina_PhotoCr100x100_c.jpg "Santiago Medina’s “Infinity” is made with highly polished Italian stainless steel and displays in its organic sculptoric form, the infinite symbol. The sculpture measures 24 inches in height by 12 x 10 inches. Infinity is pictured in front of the Colombian landscape where it was cast in stainless steel at Medina’s studio in Medellin, Colombia and will be shipped to its permanent home at the Tisch Library, Tufts University, Boston, MA.")
