Art History Happy Hour

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Parthenon (a temple atop the Acropolis in Athens that was constructed in the 5th century BCE) had fallen into a state of ruin. From 1800 until 1812, Lord Elgin, who had been England's Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, removed approximately half of the Parthenon's remaining marble sculptures, eventually selling them to the British Museum where they are currently housed. In today's episode, we discuss the history of the marbles, and the various arguments for keeping them in England and for returning them to Greece.

In today's episode, we discuss New York's summer blockbuster exhibition, Kara Walker's A Subtlety. Walker is a prominent but controversial artist who makes art that comments on social problems related to race and gender; this work was the result of an invitation to make a work inside the defunct and soon-to-be-demolished Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and drew tens of thousands of people in two months.

In today's episode, we discuss the current situation with the Detroit Institute of Arts. Since the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy in July 2013, there have been numerous discussions of selling off the DIA's collections in order to pay down the city's debt.

As we prepare our first episodes, please enjoy this teaser!