Water, Art and Archaeology

About

Water plays a crucial role in shaping human civilizations, acting as both a life-sustaining force and a destructive power. It serves as a symbol of both division and connection, influencing cultures, economies, and environments worldwide. The course Water Art and Archaeology explores water’s function as an ecological mediator in art, architecture, and archaeology through a global comparative approach. Using Venice and its Lagoon as a case study, students will analyze the interplay between water and human creativity, including site visits to cultural landmarks and artists' studios.

Archaeological perspectives will examine how geography and material culture shaped settlements, myths, rituals, and religious practices, from indigenous communities to the ancient Greeks and Romans in Italy. In the arts, the course traces representations of water as an ecological mediator from Antiquity to contemporary art, emphasizing how artists address environmental concerns and the dynamic relationship between water, society, and artistic expression.

Particular attention will be given to the aesthetics of iridescence, exploring how artists have captured water’s shifting, reflective, and ephemeral qualities to evoke its transformative and mediating role across diverse cultural and historical contexts. Through interdisciplinary analysis, at the end of the course students will gain a deeper understanding of water’s cultural significance, developing critical skills in interpreting material culture, visual representation, and ecological dynamics and fostering a comprehensive perspective on the ways water shapes human experience across time and space

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