Warburg Institute The Shock of the Old. Art in the European Ice Age Dr Jill Cook (British Museum) Recent discoveries have pushed the boundaries of art making into unimaginable depths of time and across diverse geographies bringing to light the crucial role of images in the cognitive development of the human mind. Taking up Aby Warburg’s lead in the questioning of the formations and fundamental principles of image making and its cultural values, this lecture series seeks to explore the origins of art in a cross-disciplinary perspective. Six leading experts will share their research on prehistoric art, from climate change to early faces, asking fundamental questions that open up a think space for all researchers. The Origins of Art speaks to an interdisciplinary audience who are interested in thinking about art in the widest possible sense and the theoretical implications this has for visual culture of all ages.