B. Scott Crawford Lecture Series

Presentation #4
Art vs. Tyranny: The Ultimate Selfie

Pierre Daura, Modern Artist and resident mid-20^th century Rockbridge County, Virginia, resident, created a unique Cubist inspired work of art in late 1945, possibly early 1946. The painting, titled Pax Pacific, depicts an abstract figure kneeling at a grave. However, the symbolism present within the work, along with a poem discovered as the inspiration of the work, carries this painting into a very different interpretive arena! Through an engaging interpretive journey, this presentation will demonstrate how works of art can easily contain much deeper meanings, and ultimately, in this case, suggest the possibility that a much richer meaning behind the work exists, allowing for the possibility of the abstract figure being a heretofore unknown portrait. Crawford published a short overview of his work on the painting Pax Pacific in The Volunteer, found here: https://albavolunteer.org/2015/06/art-vs-tyranny-daura-rossen-and-bottcher/

B. Scott Crawford holds a master’s degree in history from Old Dominion University and has an extensive background in education, having taught at the high school and college levels, as well as serving as the social studies coordinator, K-12, for a Virginia school division and as the Director of Education for the Museum of Western Virginia and then Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia. Scott currently serves as President & CEO for Virginia 811. He has been with the Notification Center since December 2016, serving as Director of Operations and then Vice President prior to moving into his current position in July 2020.

This event is free and part of our 2025 Lecture Series which will focus on Blacksburg history, community, and culture plus intriguing history and arts topics in general.