Stone: Making and Breaking Legacies

What happens when the unbreakable breaks? Throughout art museums around the world, you’ll find ancient stone statues of rulers and marble monuments immortalizing noblemen. These objects were made to survive decay and destruction, to remain intact and whole. But from the moment that stone is extracted from the earth, it is bound to become a more fragmented version of itself–chiseled, chipped, and sometimes shattered over time. In this episode, we examine the many ways that stone breaks. How can a statue’s cracks and cavities tell a more complex story of our humanity? Guests: Jack Soultanian, Conservator, Objects Conservation, The Met Carolyn Riccardelli, Conservator, Objects Conservation, The Met Robert Macfarlane, nature writer and mountaineer Erhan Tamur, former Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, The Met Sarah Graff, Curator, Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Met Featured artworks: Tullio Lombardo, Adam, ca. 1490–95: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/197822 Statues of Gudea, Neo-Sumerian, ca. 2120–2090 BCE: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/329072 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/324061 https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010119539 For a transcript of the episode and more information, visit metmuseum.org/immaterialstone #MetImmaterial Immaterial is produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Magnificent Noise and hosted by Camille Dungy. Production staff includes Salman Ahad Khan, Ann Collins, Samantha Henig, Eric Nuzum, Emma Vecchione, Sarah Wambold, and Jamie York. Additional staff includes Julia Bordelon, Skyla Choi, Maria Kozanecka, and Rachel Smith. Sound design by Ariana Martinez and Kristin Muller. Original music by Austin Fisher. Fact-checking by Mary Mathis and Claire Hyman. Immaterial is made possible by Dasha Zhukova Niarchos. Additional support is provided by the Zodiac Fund.