Fifth World Archaeological Congress, Washington, DC, June 21-26, 2003
Interpreting Archaeology Theme

Archaeology and the Arts The Ancient Muses and other Inspirations Monday, June 23, 2003, 9-11am, 11:30-1:00pm, 4-6pm Organized by John H. Jameson, Jr. (USA) and Lance Foster (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska)

The practice of archaeology, as well as archaeologically derived information and objects, can inspire a wide variety of artistic expressions ranging from straightforward computer-generated reconstructions and traditional artists' conceptions to other art forms such as sculpture, poetry, and opera. The cognitive connections between archaeology and art reflect an inductive approach in defining and explaining the resource and making it more meaningful to the public. The book "Ancient Muses: Archaeology and the Arts," examines a variety of examples of this new approach as it applies to more meaningful and effective approaches to interpretation that emphasize public awareness, access, and inspiration.

Part of the discussion of this session will focus on the development of the Ancient Muses book and the initial reactions from the reading audience. Panel members will be composed of several of the book authors plus other contributing artists and archaeologists. Position papers will be prepared by panel members that describe why they were drawn to this theme and how they view the connections between art and archaeology. The session agenda, abstracts, and position papers are posted on the WAC-5 web site. At the beginning of the session, panel members will give brief synopses of their respective position papers. This will be followed by discussions and feedback with audience participation/interaction followed by a question-and-answer period.

Panel members:

John H. Jameson, Jr., USA, co-organizer (interpretive art)
Lance M. Foster, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, co-organizer (Native American art)
Nicola Laneri, Italy (multimedia)
Alessandra Lopez y Royo, UK (dance and architecture)
Christine A. Finn, UK (poetry and film)
John E. Ehrenhard, USA (opera)
David Middlebrook, USA (public sculpture)
David G. Orr, USA (historical archaeology as art)
Sarah M. Nelson, USA (fiction writing)
Martin Henig, UK (classical art)
Kirsten Brett, Australia (Indigenous art)
Claire Smith, Australia (Indigenous art)
Peter Manabaru, Australia (Indigenous art)
Jimmy Wesan, Australia (Indigenous art)
Gamini Wijesuriya, Sri Lanka (music and songwriting)