Charles Ray on Rome, Trump, and His New Show at the American Academy

Charles Ray (Chicago, 1953) will have a double appointment in Rome: on May 17, a lecture titled "Contemporary Sculpture from the Past" at Villa Aurelia, and on May 18, an opening of his exhibition "Mountain Lion Attacking a Dog" at the American Academy, curated by Peter Benson Miller. In an interview with Artribune, Ray discusses the relationship between tradition and avant-garde, calling the latter a marketing tool for art schools. He reflects on Rome's classical art as its most contemporary aspect, stating "the history of Rome is its future." His new sculpture at the American Academy is inspired by a Hellenistic group at the Capitoline Museums; he describes the work as climbing the surface of the lion-attacking-horse motif, noting the kitsch of the horse's head restored by Michelangelo's studio. Ray was disturbed by the violence of the attack when the sculpture was at the Getty Museum. On Trump's impact on the art scene, he refers to his 2016 Christmas greetings. He contrasts Venice and Rome, saying in Venice he wants to be at the beach, in Rome he wishes to be in 270 AD. On Los Angeles as the new New York, he says they are very different places.