Deborah Forbes Lecture Series: So, what am I looking at? Controversies in Art History
to
Esplanade Art Gallery 401 First Street SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 8W2
Deborah Forbes has for many years taught art education, and art and design history at Medicine Hat College. As an artist, she has presented her work in solo exhibitions in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario and in group exhibitions throughout Canada and the USA.
Thurs. May 3 | Harassment and the Case of Susanna and the Elders
Renaissance and Baroque meet 21st-century news in the hundreds of paintings, prints and drawings of the story of Susanna and the Elders from the Book of Daniel. From about 1470 to the 19th century, the story was depicted by many artists including Lorenzo Lotto, Guido Reni, Rubens, Van Dyck, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Tiepolo, and Artemisia Gentileschi. Who is Susanna? By whom was she harassed? Why in the 21st century do we care about a 2000+ old story? Join us to see the works and find out!
Thurs. May 10 | Libel and the Case of Whistler versus Ruskin
19th century ideas of art end up in a libel suit in court when noted American painter Whistler – an influence upon the Impressionists – is confronted by Ruskin, arguably the most important art critic and writer of his day. The central issue of the suit is that Ruskin publicly slanders Whistler’s painting by saying, “I have seen, and heard, much of cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” Who wins? Who loses? What does that loss mean to the history of art? Join us to learn more, and view the work in question as well as others by Whistler’s contemporaries and those he influenced.
Thurs. May 17 | Public Outrage and the Case of Voice of Fire
It’s been just over a quarter-century since the National Gallery of Canada dove head first and ankle deep into the well of American abstract expressionism, with unprecedented purchases that thrilled some viewers, left others scratching their heads, and drove others into a state of apoplectic outrage. In 1990 the National Gallery of Canada spent 1.76 million dollars of public money on American painter Barnett Newman’s Voice of Fire, and 2.2 million on Mark Rothko’s No. 16. Why were people outraged? What sent the public into a state of near rebellion? Have there been other times in history that provoked this kind of reaction? Join us to look at the paintings and excavate this fascinating occurrence.
Three sessions in the Studio Theatre: Thursdays May 3rd, 10th, and 17th, 2018 from 7-9 PM. Admission is $35 for Members and $40 for Non-Members