Christina Smylitopoulos - Edit 1
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- I am a specialist
in 18th century British art,
and I have for the past two years
also been the faculty curator
of the Bachinski Chu Print Study
Collection, which you see here.
And this is a remarkable collection
that has 2,200 works
from the 16th century to yesterday.
What I learned by examining
these works was that...
this work didn't just reflect history,
it actually drove history.
It changed the way in which people
thought about things.
So in my teaching
and in my research,
I am trying to underscore
the importance of these objects
as not mere reflections,
but as agents of change.
Part of what we're wanting to do
with this collection
is to underscore it's importance
as a research tool.
This research helps us
to demonstrate
how arts and science
are inextricably linked,
and how they can be
mutually beneficial.
I think what motivates me the most
as an art historian
is the position art can play in society.
Art collections are profound teaching
research and learning environments.
And so what motivates me as an art
historian as well as a faculty curator
is to seize upon and marshall
the power that works of art have
in helping people pursue
their research questions.