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Syncretism and Sustainability

  • National Academy of Design (map)

National Academicians Sanford Biggers, Willie Cole, and Mel Kendrick will participate in a moderated discussion about formal innovation through the use and reuse of materials, hybridity, and the melding of different traditions of making. The discussion is presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Rail, and moderated by William Corwin.

National Academicians Sanford BiggersWillie Cole, and Mel Kendrick will participate in a moderated discussion about formal innovation through the use and reuse of materials, hybridity, and the melding of different traditions of making. The discussion is presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Rail, and moderated by William Corwin. In ancient Greek, the term synkrētismos meant a “union of communities,” specifically to oppose a common enemy. Only in the seventeenth century was the word Anglicized to mean “the union of different religious beliefs.” This term now filled an emerging descriptive need for a process of cultural diffusion and hybridity that emerged through colonization. The artists will discuss how syncretism, with its fraught history, relates to their sculptural practices, and how looking back to move forward informs their work.


RESERVATIONS: Admission is free, but reservations are required. To make a reservation for this program, click HERE. The program will begin at 6:30 PM EST