INTRODUCTION: On October 24, 2000, two dozen newly restored casts of the Parthenon marble sculptures, part of the City College collection, were officially installed in the lobby of Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue, New York. The casts of nineteen panels from the frieze, three metopes and two pediment sculptures are on long term loan to the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) which sponsored their restoration and installation. Additionally, the Foundation sponsored an exhibition entitled Recast: Postmodern Classical curated by City College museum studies students under the direction of Dr. Harriet F. Senie, which opened on March 2, 2002. The exhibition was preceded by a symposium download program that featured a keynote address by Dr. Alan Wallach, Ralph H. Wark Professor of Art and Art History, College of William and Mary, and panels discussing casts in museums, in the academy, and in the artist's studio. The long term loan is renewable for five-year terms. Each renewal will be accompanied by an exhibition focused on the evolving ways contemporary artists interpret both casts and the classical tradition.
MARCH 2002
RE-CAST: Postmodern Classical (download brochure)
Searching for the classical tradition seems nothing short of an alchemical process, an elusive game of hide and seek. What precisely was classical art? Which tradition are we defining? Historically speaking, classical art refers to the period roughly dating from 480 to 323 BCE, during which the Greeks built the Parthenon and created sculptures constituting a canon that until recently held art history in its thrall. Known for centuries only through cast and other reproductions, the classical tradition today evokes images of pristine, white perfection set in stone.