How to look at Art

Arthur Schopenhauer said:  Treat a work of art like a prince: let it speak to you first.
Georgia O'Keeffe wrote:  Nobody sees a flower, really – it is so small – we haven't time, and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.
In this richly-illustrated presentation we’ll talk about how to get a work of art to speak, how to visit a museum, and how to make friends with the art you see.

Art Controversies Old and New

Should Britain return the Parthenon marbles to Greece? Did Leonardo put a woman in his Last Supper? 
Is the Mona Lisa a man? 
Are the Rivera murals sacrilegious? 
Was Jackson Pollock a genius or a fraud?
Should museums display nudes? 
Is Marcel Duchamp's urinal art? 
Throughout history much art has been controversial. 
We'll look at the art and discuss the issues.

Magical Multiples:  The Art of the Print
(single talk or 3-part series)

Come and see my etchings!  Prints have intrigued us since the first woodcuts.  Artists from the fifteenth century to today have explored the visual possibilities of printmaking.  We'll talk about how different prints are made and look at a rich variety of fine artworks.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Women in Art

Some of the earliest art we have – from 30,000 years ago – seems to show women barefoot, pregnant, and in the cave.  Over the centuries since then, men making art have tended to portray women either as goddesses or whores.  This lecture looks at how the male gaze has rendered the female and explores the changes when women have the chance to become artists speaking about themselves.

English Accents

Perhaps you thought English art was like English cooking – boring!  Not so as you will find out as we journey from Old Masters like Hogarth and Turner to the sensational, even scandalous, Young British Artists and Turner Prize winners of today.