Conrad Thake, Associate Professor within the Art and Art History Department, Faculty of Arts, was invited to deliver a paper at the Getty Scholar Year Symposium that was held on 7-8 May 2019 at the J. Paul Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, US. This year’s theme was on Monumentality.
Monuments and the monumental address fundamental questions of art and architectural history such as size, scale, and cultural memory. Monumentality also takes distinct forms, as embodied by various cultures and powers throughout history. Contributors considered the role of monumentality as a tool for nation building, the subversive potential of monument making, and the monumental in large-scale infrastructure, buildings, sculptures, installations, murals, film, and even small-scale objects.
Prof. Thake delivered a research paper entitled 'Monuments and Monumentality: Perspectives from Malta – From Megalithic Temples to Renzo Piano’s Parliament building'.