"Robocop" Star to Speak at ODU
February 22, 2019
Peter Weller, best known for his starring roles in the first two "Robocop" movies, will deliver two lectures at Old Dominion University on Feb. 28 that draw on his background as an actor/director and an expert in Italian Renaissance art.
His first talk, "Why School? My Ph.D. and Me," will be from 2 to 3:15 p.m. in Room 1006 at the Strome Entrepreneurial Center in the Visual Arts Building on 49th Street. This event is geared primarily for undergraduate and graduate students. It will address the value of pursuing graduate studies (particularly a Ph.D.), career pathways and the value of the arts and humanities, all framed within his career and experiences.
The second talk, "Why the Renaissance Matters: Old Art and Modern Film," will be at the Darden College of Education & Professional Studies Building, Room 1106, at 43rd Street and Hampton Boulevard. A reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with the lecture set for 7-8:15 p.m. This talk will center on the intersections between Italian Renaissance art and modern cinema. It will draw from his research as an art historian and as a TV and film actor and director. His latest work argues that the Renaissance development of narrative provided a critical visual guide for modern filmmakers, such as Stanley Kubrick.
Both talks are free and open to the public. Please RSVP at this link for the second lecture.
Free parking will be available in South Constant Garage, 1067 W. 43rd Street, on floors 1, 2, 3 and 5; ticketing will be suspended from 3:30 to 10 p.m. Visitors should not park in any of the clearly marked reserved spaces as those areas are enforced at all times.
In addition to his roles in "Robocop" (1987) and "Robocop 2" (1990), Weller starred in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai" (1984) and "Naked Lunch"(1991). His more recent appearances include "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013) and the TV series "Dexter" (2010) and "24" (2006).
Weller has also directed numerous episodes of "Sons of Anarchy" (2011-2014), "Longmire" (2012-2017) and "Hawaii Five-O" (2013-2019).
Weller received his Ph.D. in art history with a specialization in Italian Renaissance art from UCLA. He is the author of an important peer-reviewed article on the Italian Renaissance sculptor Donatello ("Donatello's Bronze David in the Twenty-First Century," 2012) and an essay on the Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina (in "Visualizing Sensuous Suffering and Affective Pain in Early Modern Europe and the Spanish Americas," Brill, 2018).
Weller's visit is organized by the Art Department's art history program and sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs, the Graduate School, the Strome College of Business, the Office of Research, the College of Arts and Letters, the Institute for the Humanities, the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts, and the Department of Art.
