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Notes on Monumentality at the BMA

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Painting by Matthew McConville

LECTURE & CLOSING RECEPTION – Front Room:
Notes on Monumentality – Thursday, May 22, 6-9 p.m.

The latest installation in the BMA’s experimental project space reconsiders historic and contemporary conceptions of the monument and monumentality through the presentation of photographs, prints, drawings, paintings, video, and sculpture.

Traditionally monuments have served to mark significant historic events, represent heroic figures, or symbolize universal ideals. Magnitude, grandeur, stability, and solemnity are common characteristics of the monument. Our cities are sprinkled with figures carved from marble or forged in bronze whose relevance has faded in the public’s memory. To whom do the monuments of the past now speak? Can the idea of the monument continue in an era when social consensus no longer exists? Front Room: Notes on Monumentality reflects on these questions, along with the monument as an art form, by considering historical monuments and more recent conceptions.

The exhibition is curated by guest curator Mark Alice Durant. The Front Room series is generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation.


Photo by Adam Fuss

Join Mark Alice Durant, guest curator of Front Room: Notes on Monumentality in a conversation with the contemporary artists featured in exhibition, followed by a reception and meet and greet with the artists. For more information and to reserve your space, call 443-573-1832.

6 p.m.: Gallery talk with curator Mark Alice Durant and featured artists Penny Forester, Matthew McConville, and Deirtra Thompson

7 p.m.: Light reception

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