Centuries of Art at Your Library: Antiquity (WL)

As a student of the nineteenth century, and as a one-time student of the Classical world, I am intrigued by Aby Warburg’s “afterlife” or “survival” of antiquity unto our own time. The artists discussed are drawing upon Classical and Neoclassical artworks and motifs, reactivating them to question, critique, and explore the artistic and intellectual ideals within those artworks. In these moments of inspiration and reinterpretation, artists connect to the past to illuminate current issues and ask how and why these works still speak to us. Artists to be discussed include Sanford Biggers, Igor Mitoraj, Simon Starling, Lily Cox-Richard, Karen LaMonte, Vik Muniz, Kehinde Wiley, and others.

Presenter: Kate Sunderlin is a Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently writing her dissertation on how plaster objects in Edward V. Valentine’s studio and the early Valentine Museum play into the critical and art historical discussion surrounding the repercussions of racism, slavery, colonialism, and empire. She is acting as a consultant for the Valentine Museum’s reinterpretation of Edward Valentine’s studio to address its problematic narratives and redeploy the space as a location for community conversations about Lost Cause public art and mythologies, the Jim Crow era, and their continuing impact on the city of Richmond. She balances work on her dissertation and as a museum consultant with her work at the B.A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry, a business she co-owns with her husband. She runs the tour program, introducing guests to the field of campanology – the study of bells – as well as the daily workings of an active bronze foundry.

This program is a part of the Centuries of Art series, brought to you in partnership by Williamsburg Regional Library, the Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.