FREE LECTURE AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE EXPLORES ANCIENT MAYA BONE

October 26, 2017
[Digital image available upon request]

Williamstown, Massachusetts—Andrew K. Scherer, Mellon Decade Fellow at the Clark Art Institute and associate professor of anthropology at Brown University, presents a free lecture entitled “Baak: The Qualities and Craft of Ancient Maya Bone” on Tuesday, November 14 at 5:30 pm. The lecture will be held in the Clark’s Michael Conforti Pavilion.

Scherer’s illustrated lecture explores the materiality of human and animal bone among the Pre-Columbian Maya (c. 400 BCE–1502 CE). The importance of bone as craft material is apparent not only in the wide range of objects made from bone, but also the broader discourse of bone in ancient text and image.

Andrew K. Scherer is the author of Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul, co-editor of Embattled Bodies, Embattled Places: War in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and the Andes (with John Verano) and co-editor of Smoke, Flame, and the Human Body in Mesoamerican Ritual Practice (forthcoming, with Vera Tiesler). At the Clark, he is working on his next book, Baak: The Qualities and Craft of Ancient Maya Bone.

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 270,000 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.

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