Public Scholarship & Art Writing

During In-ruins artist residency, I harvested and refined wild clay from Lago Giuliano in southeastern Basilicata near the ancient Greek polis of Metaponto. During this process, I found sherds of ancient ceramics, common throughout the region. Fascinated by the way fired ceramic vessels return to the land, to raw materials, I used the clay I harvested to make and destroy a series of small cups inspired by forms associated with ancient Greek and local Oenotrian material culture. I documented and produced a video of this process.

I composed a lecture-performance, which examined this process of material recycling through the myths, histories, and philosophies of Pythagoras, who is said to have died at Metaponto. Accompanied by video documentation of the crafting process, I performed this lecture at the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo at Montescaglioso. This abbey near Metaponto is famous for its frescoes, which feature Pythagoras.

The final cup, which could be viewed during performances, was destroyed and its pieces were buried on the grounds of the abbey.

Further information about this project here.

Video available upon request.

“Sea Without a Shore.” The Pleasure Principle. Arsenale Anafi. Anafi, 2025.

“The Birth of Pandora,” New Digs. The Stimuleye. Athens, 2024.

“Art Alone Cannot Save the Greek City of Elefsina,” Hyperallergic. March 25, 2024.

“Phrasikleia in Footnotes, or Twelve Notes on Death and Grammar.” Responding to Antiquity. 2021.

“The Nashville Parthenon Glorifies Ancient Greece — and the Confederacy,” Eidolon, January 5, 2018.

Ritual Podcast. DraftHouse Media, 2017.