The destruction of sculptural plaster cast collections, whether through simple neglect or targeted demolition, sheds light on the aesthetic ideals, political ideologies, educational and scholarly practices, and ideas of race that underpin these decisions, according to Annetta Alexandridis, associate professor in the Classics and History of Art and Visual Studies departments.

In a live, hybrid Chats in the Stacks book talk, Alexandridis will discuss Destroy the Copy - Plaster Cast Collections in the 19th-20th Centuries (De Gruyter, 2022) which is the first volume to explicitly address the destruction of plaster cast collections of ancient Mediterranean and Western sculpture. The volume has gathered art historians, archaeologists and a literary scholar to explore how different museum and academic traditions, notions of value and authenticity, or colonialism have impacted the fate of collections. Alexandridis will also be joined in the closing Q&A by Hannah Hume ’14, a former anthropology major now at the Newark Museum of Art, and author of the article on Cornell’s own plaster cast collection which is featured in the book.

This talk is hosted by Olin Library. Light refreshments will be served.