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 a wide variety of art and discuss many 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.  Since prints have their own particular aesthetics, 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 from inventive printmakers such as Albrecht Durer, Rembrandt, Kathe Kollwitz and Mary Cassatt.

This will increase your enjoyment of the exhibition In Your Dreams: 500 Years of Imaginary Prints at the Detroit Institute of Arts Sept 8, 2010 - Jan 2, 2011.

Art in the City - (1) London

This is the first in a series to be offered over the next few years looking at the best art to be seen in public places and museums in cities around the world.  You will enjoy the images presented whether you are looking for ideas for a future visit, want to remember past joys, or just sample the best art the world has to offer.

Since I grew up in the Tate, the Victoria and Albert and the National Gallery in England, the series begins with highlights from these and other less well known collections in London.

Art in the City - (2) Madrid

This is the second in a series offered over the next few years looking at the best art to be seen in public places and museums in cities around the world.  

Madrid boasts the Prado Museum but also other treats for the art lover to enjoy in the city and its environs.  

Art in the City - (3) Chicago

This is the third in a series offered over the next few years looking at the best art to be seen in public places and museums in cities around the world. 

Chicago is a winning city despite losing its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.  An easy trip from Detroit, it is a city full of delights for art lovers from sculpture in Millennium Park and world famous architecture to high quality museums.  The Art Institute of Chicago boasts some of the best loved paintings in America and a new wing for modern art.

We will sample the Chicago's treats old and new in this richly illustrated talk. 

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

(1 talk or 3 part series)

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 or lecture series 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.

Session 1:     How the male gaze has rendered the
                    female over the centuries
Session 2:     Women struggle for a place in the art
                    world (15th though 19th century)
Session 3:     Women artists get to speak for
                    themselves (20th century)

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.