Peter Jonathan Bell is the winner of the Robert Lehman Pre-Doctoral Rome Prize and a PhD candidate at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
What part of the United States did you come from?
I grew up in rural Appalachia, but have made my home in New York for several years.
Why did you apply for the Rome Prize?
When I was 18, my first great mentor mentioned in passing his time at the Academy. I went straight from his office to the library to look it up. This has been a dream of mine ever since.
Describe a particularly inspiring moment or location you've experienced in Rome thus far.
Something I won’t soon forget is standing on scaffolding just under a newly-restored section of ceiling in the Vatican’s Borgia apartment, discussing with Vatican Museum conservators and AAR colleagues the unbelievable breadth of materials and techniques that the great 15th-century artist Pinturricchio and his workshop used to decorate the walls and vaults—with it all just an arm’s length away.
To what extent, if any, has your proposed project changed since your arrival?
It has finally begun to become a reality!
Have you had any "eureka!" moments or unanticipated breakthroughs in the course of your work here?
I feel I am on the cusp of one now.
What aspect of your project are you most looking forward to?
Physical interaction with sculpture is what really drives me. That can mean handling statuettes, circumambulating colossi, and many things between. Rome and Italy at large present many opportunities.
What part of your project has been or do you anticipate will be the most challenging?
Writing is always a challenge. I fear there is some unacknowledged separation anxiety that can hold me back from putting ideas on the page. Well, at least now it is acknowledged.
How have you managed the balance between your work (time in the studio/study) and engagement with Rome and Italy (travel, sightseeing, interactions with locals)?
There is no hope of balance here—only a glut of possibility. Work and travel have come in alternating and intense waves. Fortunately, Rome is always there at the bottom of the hill; she is a sturdy anchor.
How do you anticipate your Rome Prize Fellowship will influence future work?
We are only half-way through the year, but already I know that I will be reacting to these experiences—the people I have met, the things I have seen, the time I have had to think—for the rest of my career.
What is your favorite spot at the Academy?
I love my study. If I could take it with me—this changing light, the stately cypress filling my window’s view and the sound of water playing in the cortile—I could be happy and productive for decades.