Robert Kanigel with Rick Shelley: UNCOVERING ANTIOCH

Who has a right to a work of art--the country of origin or the archaeologists who dig it up? Is art more interesting for its beauty, its history, or the craft and intelligence that goes into its making? What elevates a craftsperson into an artist?

We'll consider these questions on the patio with Robert Kanigel and Rick Shelley, in celebration of Kanigel's new book, Uncovering Antioch: The Ancient City and Its Lost Treasures of Mosaic Art!

An exciting new volume from a nonfiction writer of uncommon range and depth, Uncovering Antioch tells the story of the making, loss, and recovery of some of the greatest treasures of antiquity. It raises questions about ancient mosaic art and its creation, the work of archaeology, and museum practice.

Rick Shelley, who joins Robert Kanigel in conversation, is an accomplished mosaic artist. In his words: “Mosaics are a rich medium involving texture, color, pattern, and the play of light. They are made with the most durable materials: glass, marble, gemstones, ceramic, and shell. A mosaic can be plain or opulent, the subject abstract or naturalistic, the style ancient or modern. I delight in the infinite possibilities.”

Come delight with us!

Order UNCOVERING ANTIOCH here!

Robert Kanigel is the author of The Man Who Knew Infinity, Eyes on the Street, The One Best Way, Hearing Homer’s Song, and six other nonfiction books—in biography, history, history of science, and memoir. He has been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar award as well as a Guggenheim fellowship. He spent earlier lives as a mechanical engineer, a professor of science writing at MIT, and a freelance writer of magazine articles, essays, and reviews. An avid cyclist and amateur mosaicist, he lives in Baltimore.

For thirty years, Rick Shelley has created mosaics and taught over a thousand students at The Mount Royal Studio, the Creative Alliance, and the American Visionary Art Museum. His mosaic His mosaics are inspired by the ancient masters and blend traditional methods with his own to create mosaics in all materials and styles.

For the Walters Art Museun in Baltimore, Rick was commissioned to create a nine by twelve-foot Byzantine style mosaic map of the Ancient and Medieval World for the lobby wall outside the Egyptian Collection.

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