OBJECTS & THE THEATRE OF MEMORY with Valerie Krips

Proust’s Marcel remembers when he dips his madeleine in linden tea, the woman at the sink remembers her mother as she washes an inherited cup: objects and memory go together.

It’s no surprise, then, that museums have long been called theatres of memory. In this talk objects, some from The Johnston Collection, will open into memories as we think about the role museums and their objects play in the interaction of past and present today.

Valerie Krips retired from the English Department, University of Pittsburgh, in 2006. She now lives in Melbourne, where she is a Fellow in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne and a co-editor of Arena Magazine. Her research interests lie in cultural studies, and in particular heritage and memory.

Pompeian painter around 70 AD, Still life with glass bowl of fruit and vases Still Life, between 63 and 79 Height: 70 cm (27.5 ″); Width: 108 cm (42.5 ″)