What Can the Ancient World Teach Us About Living Sustainably?
Wednesday, May 2, 2018, at 7:30pm The Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater Co-presented with Zócalo Public Square.
Ancient peoples had sophisticated ideas about living in harmony with nature. From Greek city-states to the Mayan civilization, people thought that what humans did could influence both the Earth’s behavior and their own fate. What can the ancients teach us about how collective moral values and social habits impact the world around us? What were the blind spots that sometimes led to ecological catastrophe?
Princeton political scientist Melissa Lane, author of Eco-Republic: What the Ancients Can Teach Us About Ethics, Virtue, and Sustainable Living, archaeologist and director of the UC Santa Barbara MesoAmerican Research Center Anabel Ford, and Yale historian of Ptolemaic Egypt Joseph Manning explore what ancient civilizations can teach us about how to live with nature today. Moderated by Scott Tong, sustainability correspondent for Marketplace.
The Villa Council Presents
Egyptology Meets Science: Giving Ancient Objects a Voice
Sunday, May 6, 2018, 3:00pm Villa Auditorium
Christian Greco, director of the Egyptian Museum of Turin, Italy, discusses how his museum breathes new life into old discoveries and prevents artifacts from “dying.” The insights that grow from multidisciplinary research and dialogue generate new ways to tell the stories of the 6,500 objects on display, while cutting-edge scientific collaboration contributes to their long-term preservation. Greco’s enthusiasm for presenting the stunning collection in a new light led to a major renovation with expanded exhibition space, refreshed artefact descriptions, modern displays and lighting, and innovative 3D content.
About Christian Greco
Christian Greco is a noted Egyptologist and director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, which houses one of the largest and most important collections of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world. Dr. Greco was previously professor of Egyptology at the University of Leiden, Netherlands and served as curator of the Egyptian collection at the Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, organizing exhibitions not only in the Netherlands but also in Finland, Spain, and Japan.
Plato in America: Edward Hopper, Mark Rothko, Mike Kelley
Saturday, May 19, 2018, at 2pm Villa Auditorium
How do philosophical ideas drive artistic expression? Art historian John C. Welchman traces the influence of Plato’s thinking on three emblematic American artists. Welchman begins with a discussion of Edward Hopper’s enigmatic painting Excursion into Philosophy created in 1959. He explores the Platonic ideas that influenced Mark Rothko’s aesthetic, and describes how Mike Kelley “backed into” a relationship with Plato in one of the live performances and associated installations that launched his career, Plato’s Cave, Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile, first seen in 1986.
This program complements the exhibition Plato in LA: Contemporary Artists’ Visions on view through September 3, 2018.
About John C. Welchman
John C. Welchman is Professor of art history in the Visual Arts department at the University of California, San Diego and Chair of the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts. He specializes in modern and contemporary art history and critical theory. His books on art include Modernism Relocated: Towards a Cultural Studies of Visual Modernity (Allen & Unwin, 1995), Invisible Colours: A Visual History of Titles (Yale, 1997), Art After Appropriation: Essays on Art in the 1990s (Routledge, 2001) and Guillaume Bijl (JRP|Ringier, 2016).
All programs are free, but an advanced ticket is required. Tickets are available by calling 310–440–7300 or at Getty What's On.