Layering, fragments, appropriation, cutting, higher cribbing, collage, and what artist Marshall Brown has called “creative miscegenation,” are all part of the crucible in which familiar themes are recast in art and literature. Is the resulting cross-disciplinary mashup an homage to what is left, what is kept, and what is removed? Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Lethem joins artist, Urbanist, Princeton University professor of Architecture and critical-thinking futurist Marshall Brown in a conversation about what Lethem termed the “Ecstasy of Influence.” This event is part of the opening celebration and catalogue release for the exhibition The Architecture of Collage: Marshall Brown (October 2, 2022 – January 7, 2023) on view in the Contemporary and Ala Story New Media Galleries.

Book signing to follow.

Parallel Stories is a literary and performing arts series that pairs art and artists with award-winning authors and performers of regional, national, and international acclaim. This series functions as a multidisciplinary lens through which to view the Museum's collection and special exhibitions.

This event is in person at Santa Barbara Museum of Art's Mary Craig Auditorium.

In an effort to create the safest possible environment, please note visitors who plan to attend an event in SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium must show proof of being fully vaccinated with a booster (if eligible) OR, in some cases, supply a negative Covid-19 medical test result (taken within 72 hours prior to each event), along with an official photo ID, before entering the venue. All visitors must also follow SBMA’s mask policy and wear a mask while attending events in SBMA's Mary Craig Auditorium.