About the Event
The Program in Museums and Cultural Heritage Studies invites everyone to attend a public lecture featuring Mechtild Widrich, Professor and Department Chair of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, on Thursday, November 14. Dr. Widrich works on the intersection of contemporary art and architecture and researches on art in public space and the question of the public sphere (in particular contemporary monuments), on performance art and its mediation, and on aesthetic theory.
The lecture will be moderated by Dr. Fabiola López-Durán, Associate Professor of Art History.
“Monumental Cares and Sites of Activism”
November 14, 2024 | 4:00pm
Fondren Library, Kyle Morrow Room (3rd floor)
***RSVP Below***
This lecture is free and open to the Rice community and public.
About the lecture This presentation examines case studies from Mechtild Widrich’s book, Monumental Cares, which explores the monument debates of the past decade in the context of monumental phenomena like climate change, migration, and political tensions. Widrich argues that understanding how specific dates or events can represent these overwhelming processes requires a foundational approach, focusing on sites, artifacts, and their diverse audiences. This site-directed analysis highlights the importance of history in shaping a functioning, democratic public sphere. Mechtild Widrich is Professor and Department Chair in Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her most recent book Monumental Cares: Sites of History and Contemporary Arts (2023) was a finalist for this year’s ASAP book award for most impactful book of the year in the art of the present.
