Living With Death: How Artists, Historians, and Museums Create Meaning In a Time of Loss
2021-10-06
Historically, artists, museums, and everyday people have used objects and materials to create meaningful artifacts that shape our understandings of war, death, and loss. Underlying those actions is an assumption that art and creativity are useful responses in the face of such trauma. But what, specifically, is the role of artists and museums in any era of catastrophic loss? How do artists and museums help us make sense of seemingly senseless suffering and grief? How has this legacy continued to today?
In this shared conversation, artist Dario Robleto and art historian Ellery Foutch will discuss their responses to the tragedies of September 11, 2001 and our current pandemic moment, sharing what their research and practices have revealed about the historical past and future paths of what we might call a "history of the creative response to loss."
This program is presented as part of the "Elephant in the Room" lecture series, supported by Vermont Humanities. This talk is co-sponsored by the following Middlebury College departments and programs: American Studies, Studio Art, History of Art and Architecture, Associate Dean for the Arts, and Middlebury College Museum of Art.