Event

Today, when we speak of a compressed image, we typically mean a digital image whose size has been reduced by deleting or grouping together some of the initial file’s components. The lecture shows how various types of reproduction used from the eighteenth century to the present had a similar effect of compressing ancient Greek images; engravings, lithographs and plaster casts of Greek painted vases and relief sculpture have removed or merged together some of the originals’ traits. More profoundly, modern replications have compressed our understanding of ancient Greek images, so we have lost grasp of fundamental subtleties and nuances. We may undo the processes of image compression by examining the impact of the technologies we use for documenting artworks.

Free and open to the public.

Reception to follow at 7:30pm in Jaffe 113.