Jim Sanborn: On the Fusion of Art and Science

Artist Talk by Jim Sanborn

Thursday, February 20, 4:10 p.m.; Williams Center Room 108

For Jim Sanborn, science is an integral part of his artwork. In his artist’s talk Sanborn describes his early works that blend art and science before discussing the works in Looted?, the current exhibition at the Williams Center.

Looted? is the latest in a series of installations that offers a glimpse into the antiquities trade in Cambodia, a country whose heritage sites are subject to a global market of looted artifacts, and asks whether a more ethical kind of collecting can be fostered. Working with master Cambodian forgers to produce reproductions of 8th through 13th century Khmer sculptures that are indistinguishable from genuine artifacts, Sanborn offers an intriguing proposal: to make high-end reproductions he describes as “contemporary antiquities” available to collectors in place of ancient artworks. Is this experiment capable of effecting positive change in an industry shadowed by illicit and destructive practices?