Calendar

In this conference we explore key moments in the history of the American Academy in Rome to explore the ways in which the institution reflects cultural changes that have occurred in Europe and America during the 125 year history of the AAR. The day is organized around a series of five keynote lectures by Antoine Picon, Denise Costanza, T. Corey Brennen, Adele Chatfield Taylor, and Mark Robbins and three discussion panels with representatives of the various disciplines at the AAR.

In the morning we focus on the founding of the AAR and its pre-1945 history whereas in the afternoon we look at the post-1945 history. Topics will include the Beaux Arts context in which the AAR was founded along with its role in the broader context of the establishment of foreign institutes in Rome and their role in nation building during the late 19th century. We will explore the challenges faced by different constituents such as the role of women within the institution and the tension in the arts between Classicism and Modernism. The post World War II period brought radical changes to the Academy under the leadership of Laurance Roberts when the conservative restrictions that had been established in earlier times were lifted. We will explore ways in which this was manifested through the work of particular scholars and artists and their interactions with the city and people of Rome and Italy. The day will end with a gallery tour of the AAR exhibition, "Encounters", which examines the way in which the interdisciplinary environment of the AAR affected the work of Fellows as they engaged monuments and urban space in Rome and elsewhere in Italy.

Conference features: Ingrid Edlund Berry (1984 Fellow), T. Corey Brennan (1988 Fellow; 2020 Resident; former AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities), Martin Brody (2002 Resident, former AAR Heiskell Arts Director), Alberta Campitelli (AAR Advisor), Adele Chatfield-Taylor (1984 Fellow; 2020 Resident; former AAR President), Lavinia Ciuffa (Acting Curator AAR Photographic Archive), Denise Costanzo (2014 Fellow), Valentina Follo (Curator AAR Study Collection), Kathy Geffcken (1955 Fellow), Lindsay Harris (2013 Fellow; former AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities), Sebastian Hierl (AAR Librarian), Lynne Lancaster (2002 Fellow; current AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities), Peter Benson Miller (current Curator of Exhibitions for AAR 125 Anniversary, former AAR Heiskell Arts Director), John Ochsendorf (2008 Fellow; current AAR Director), Antoine Picon (2020 Resident), Mark Robbins (1997 Fellow; current AAR President), Ingrid Rowland (1982 Fellow; 2000 Resident; former AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities, AAR Advisor), Elizabeth Rodini (current  AAR Heiskell Arts Director), Ugo Rubeo, Ilaria Schiaffini, Jane Shepherd (AAR Advisor), and Frederick Whitling.

See program in the attachment.

The event will be held in English and Italian. Watch this event live at https://livestream.com/aarome.

The Academy as a Mirror of Cultural Change is part of a year-long series of programs and events conceived around the theme of “Encounters,” which celebrates the 125th anniversary of the founding of the American Academy in Rome.

A valid photo ID is required for entry into the American Academy in Rome. Backpacks and luggage with dimensions larger than 40 x 35 x 15 cm (16 x 14 x 6 in.) are not permitted on the property. There are no locker facilities available.

Ashley Hahn
Preservation and the life between buildings

Preserving a place is about more than conserving the physical fabric of buildings or monuments – it requires deliberate care for the life between buildings as well. But what does it mean to make public life a preservation concern and what is at stake? Why are some places “sticky” and others are not? What lessons does Rome have to share? This talk will touch on past work and explore a project in progress, weaving together ideas about civic virtue and the public good, social science studies of public space, preservation approaches to cultural heritage, and the urgency of this work in our era of hyper fragmentation and fragile civic infrastructures.

Ashley Hahn is the Adele Chatfield-Taylor Rome Prize Fellow in Historic Preservation and Conservation and Writer, Philadelphia.

Christine Gorby
Writing, Inherited Tradition, and Design: Robert Venturi’s “Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture"

How does the study of manuscripts lead to a deeper understanding of a written work?  Examining the twenty-six drafts which Philadelphia-based architect, Robert Venturi, wrote during a ten-year period for his influential 1966 book, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, yields new ideas and interpretations about its provenance and progression not evident in the final form. Their study helps to answer why Venturi wrote the text and unearths the broad cultural sources from which it arose. Tensions are embodied in the drafts as Venturi shaped them (with others) through hefty alterations to texts, bibliographies, and images. Perhaps the most palpable and poignant of these revisions come from the iterative writing-design process Venturi employed to develop the book. Ultimately, this is a painful struggle to understand and relay the meanings of his buildings for himself and to a broader public. 

Christine Gorby is the Rome Prize Fellow in Architecture and Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Pennsylvania State University.

The shoptalks will be held in English. You can watch them livestreamed at  https://livestream.com/aarome.

Please note: valid photo ID is required for entry into the American Academy in Rome. Backpacks and luggage with dimensions larger than cm 40 x 35 x 15 (inches 16 x 14 x 6) are not permitted on the property. There are no locker facilities available.