SYMPOSIUM AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE ADDRESSES ISSUES OF PLACE

Accompanies exhibition Sensing Place: Reflecting on Stone Hill

For Immediate Release
September 14, 2016

Williamstown, Massachusetts—A free public symposium celebrating the Clark Art Institute’s exhibition Sensing Place: Reflecting on Stone Hill will be held Saturday, October 1 from 10 am–1 pm in the Michael Conforti Pavilion.

Featuring a keynote address by Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the symposium explores the question of place in art, literature, philosophy, cultural geography, and environmentalism. Following the keynote, two sessions combine short presentations by invited experts and moderated discussions. Participants will engage in a cross-disciplinary dialogue that explores the importance of place for personal and social identity, and consider the local, national, and international implications of the loss of place.

Addressing the idea that modern and postmodern art have contributed to the global transformation brought about by science and technology, the symposium also explores the idea of mobility—a condition often imposed rather than chosen in today’s world.

Sensing Place: Reflecting on Stone Hill and its accompanying programs are generously supported by Herbert A. Allen, Jr. The symposium is supported by The Bafflin Foundation.

Program:

Keynote Speech: “Moving Ancient Boulders in the Digital Age”
Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Session One: “Philosophy of Place”
Mark C. Taylor, co-curator of Sensing Place and professor of religion, Columbia University
Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer
Kevin Hart, Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Christian Studies, University of Virginia

Session Two: “Environmental Geography of Place”
Henry W. Art, co-curator of Sensing Place and Robert F. Rosenburg Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, Williams College
Nicolas C. Howe, assistant professor of environmental studies, Williams College
Brian Donahue, associate professor of American environmental studies, Brandeis University

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

Press contact:
Clark Art Institute
[email protected]
413 458 0471