Clark Art Institute to Host Spring Scholarly Lecture Series

Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute has announced its spring schedule for the Research and Academic Program (RAP) lecture series. The events, which are free to the public, will be held in the Manton Research Center auditorium starting at 5:30 p.m. Each presentation is preceded by a reception at 5 p.m. in the Manton Research Center reading room.

The series begins on March 17 with Luis Vargas-Santiago of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. His lecture, "Sur Marica, A Mobile Cartography of Art, Sex, Affect, and Collaboration in the Americas," examines case studies of artworks from Latin American capitals during the 1980s and 1990s. Vargas-Santiago will discuss how queer artists challenged traditional formations of sexuality, religion, and authorship to redefine national and racial identities.

On April 10, Rachel Lee Hutcheson from the Rochester Institute of Technology will present "Technical Difficulties: Early Color Photography and Conditioned Viewing." The talk analyzes turn-of-the-twentieth-century photographic technologies, such as lantern projectors and screen-plates, which achieved color through red, green, and blue separations rather than hand-application.

Independent scholar Alice Miceli will speak on April 28 regarding "Cities As Battlegrounds: How Urban Warfare Shapes—and is Shaped by—the Lens of History and Photography." Drawing on research from battles in Stalingrad, Fallujah, and Mosul, Miceli will examine the physical and psychological relationship between urban landscapes and military strategy.

The series concludes on May 5 with Ana Lucia Araujo of Howard University. Her presentation, "Global Slavery: A Visual History," analyzes artworks and images depicting human trafficking and enslavement across several centuries. Araujo's work compares the common elements of the institution of slavery from antiquity to the plantation systems of the Americas.

The Manton Research Center provides accessible seating. Interested parties may contact 413 458 0570 for additional information.


Tags: Clark Art,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Town Meeting Facing Bylaw to Ban Agricultural Biosolids

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Town meeting may be asked to outlaw the application of fertilizer derived from human waste.
 
On Monday, Select Board Chair Stephanie Boyd asked the body to sponsor an article that would prohibit, "land application of sewage sludge, biosolids, or sewage sludge-derived materials," on all land in the town due to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
 
Last year, concern over PFAS, which has been linked to cancer in humans, drove a large public outcry over a Hoosac Water Quality District's plan to increase its composting operation by taking in biosolids, or sludge, from other wastewater treatment plants and create a new revenue stream for the local facility.
 
Eventually, the HWQD abandoned its efforts to pursue such an arrangement. Today, the district still runs its composting operation — for locally produced sludge only — and needs to pay to have it hauled off site for non-agricultural uses.
 
On Monday, Boyd presented a draft warrant article put together by a group of residents in consultation with the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and Just Zero, a national anti-PFAS advocacy group based in Sturbridge.
 
"What this warrant article would do is not allow anybody who owns or manages land in Williamstown to use sludge or compost [derived from biosolids] as a fertilizer or soil amendment on that property," Boyd said.
 
Her colleagues raised concerns about the potential for uneven enforcement of the proposed bylaw and suggested it might be unfair to penalize residents who purchase a small bag of compost that contains biosolids at their local hardware store and unwittingly use it in a backyard garden.
 
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories