Illustrated lecture with Ava Forte Vitali, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: Saturday, October 18th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8 ( Ticket Here )
Location: 424 Third Avenue, 11215 Brooklyn, NY
Death and The Occult in the Ancient World Series
From ithyphallic gods, crocodile dung birth control, mythological necrophilia, and even porn-y doodles, the Egyptians had a complicated, but fascinating relationship with their own sexuality.
Compared to other ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, however, they could almost be considered prudish in their visual representation of sex and gender. This talk will discuss some of the ideological reasons behind this, given the Egyptian’s complex world view, and their close association of sex with death and the afterworld, while giving you a glimpse at the lesser known erotica that we do have!
Ava Forte Vitali completed her Master’s Degree in Art History and Archaeology, with a specialization in the Egyptian and Classical World, at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Her research interests include the interaction of the physical and spirit world in Ancient Egypt, archaeology of the household, and Ancient Egyptian domestic and ancestor cults, on which her Master’s focused. She has excavated at sites in Egypt and Turkey, and is a Collections Manager for Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of art. She is currently writing a contribution on the Arts and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, for an upcoming text book on the introduction to Art History.
DEATH AND THE OCCULT IN THE ANCIENT WORLD SERIES
This is a new series of monthly lectures, workshops and tours which aim to examine the way people along the ancient Mediterranean interacted with the unseen forces in the world. While many basic ancient myths and mortuary traditions are known to most people with a casual interest, often this barely scrapes the top of a rich wealth of information and long history of interesting, engaging, and surprisingly weird traditions and beliefs. Through illustrated lectures, guided tours, and occasional workshops, we will strive to understand the different approaches that the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had to explaining the world around them and challenge popular misconceptions held by the public today.
Through this series we hope to bridge the gap that often exists between academic disciplines and the public audience, bringing the two together in an approachable forum. Led by a trained Archaeologist and Art Historian Ava Forte Vitali of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this series will expand upon topics including religion, art, archaeology, and texts, in order to further our understanding of both our world and theirs.
Photo: Sculpture of Erotic Group, 305-30 B.C.E., Egyptian Collection of the Brooklyn Museum