The “Glimpse Series” began in this column a year ago as a forum for current Rome Prize winners to give the AAR community a peek into their studios or studies, their daily routines or work in progress. The scholarly and artistic work being pursued continues to be as varied as the fellowship recipients themselves. The following “Glimpse” focuses on Laurie Rush, the Booth Family Rome Prize Fellow in Historic Preservation and Conservation, and represents the first feature in our 2011 series.
Before Laurie Rush arrived at the Academy, she had no idea she was about to become part of a tradition of military service at the AAR. Overwhelmed by her new studio space and the view of the sun rising over Monte Cavo from her room, Laurie was also moved by the memorial in the cortile to two former fellows, lost during World War I. Subsequent research in the special collections of the Arthur and Janet C. Ross Library revealed a connection between the Academy and the Monuments Men, the World War II Officers who courageously served in Europe attempting to save, recover, and stabilize masterpieces of artwork and architecture across the war-ravaged continent.
World War I Memorial, Cortile, American Academy in Rome
Laurie works in a similar capacity within the U.S. Department of Defense, developing cultural property protection curricula for military personnel. Using places and features within Rome, she hopes to offer the soldiers from the many countries who attend the NATO Defense College in Rome opportunities to develop a greater appreciation for heritage issues. She expects to bring back examples and lessons learned to military educational institutions in the states.
Italy also offers Laurie an opportunity to learn more about the Carabinieri, the only military force in the world that specifically prepares to offer archaeological site protection. The Carabinieri offered to introduce her to their Command for the Protection of Cultural Patrimony and to visit some of their regional programs, allowing their ideas and methods to be used as examples for U.S. forces. In what she calls her “Rome is the Gateway to the World” program, Laurie is using the this opportunity to live and work in Rome as a base from which to teach and discuss cultural property protection with interested audiences from Italy to Jordan and places in between.
Carabinieri Headquarters, Piazza Sant’Ignazio, Roma
Laurie Rush with Ms. Najiba Mustafayeva, a Student from Azerbaijan, at the Cultural Property Course
From Laurie’s perspective, the biggest challenge of life at the Academy is balancing time for research, writing, teaching, and experiencing the City.