Christina Smylitopoulos - Edit 1

- 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.