I live parallel lives as a photographer and digital art historian focused on the art and archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean world. With a background as an artist (BFA with honors, Maryland Institute College of Art, 2004), I then received an MA in Classical Archaeology from Florida State University (2007) and a PhD in the History of Art at the Johns Hopkins University. In 2014-15, I was the Graduate Curatorial Intern in the Antiquities Department at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California.
With a growing interest in digital art history, in 2015-17, I was the CLIR/Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Data Curation for Visual Studies in the Department of Art at the University of Toronto. I then worked as a Research and Metadata Assistant in Collecting & Provenance at the Getty Research Institute, using computational methods pertaining to the history of collecting and the art market. I now work full-time in federal grantmaking and am also an instructor for Johns Hopkins' online Masters in Museum Studies program, where (with Judith Barr of the Getty Villa) I have developed a course on provenance research for emerging museum professionals. I also teach provenance research for George Washington University's Masters in Museum Studies program.
My research interests are best described as interdisciplinary, but at their core, I seek to explore the ancient world through the lens of modernity, be it through museum exhibitions, archaeological excavation, or digital methodologies. For more than two years I lived and worked at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, traveling throughout Greece, Italy, and Turkey and documenting extensive archaeological sites and museums through my lens. During this time, my enthusiasm for photography of all kinds deepened significantly, aligning with and complementing my research interests.
If you are interested in my scholarly work and/or photography and would like more information, please contact me here or via the Comments Form.
Photographing the relief on the monumental Gate of Zeus and Hera on Thasos (photo by Clemente Marconi)