National Gallery Of Art | Audio

June 2012 - Catherine Roach, assistant professor, department of art history, Virginia Commonwealth University. Scholars from around the world gathered at the National Gallery of Art to discuss Samuel F. B. Morse's newly conserved Gallery of the Louvre, which is on view at the National Gallery of Art from June 25, 2011, through July 8, 2012. In a 2-day public symposium, held and recorded on April 20 and 21, 2012, academics, conservators, and curators examined the historical context of the work, its conservation treatment, and the techniques used. This program was coordinated with and supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

June 2012 - Richard Read, Winthrop Professor, School of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts, The University of Western Australia. Scholars from around the world gathered at the National Gallery of Art to discuss Samuel F. B. Morse's newly conserved Gallery of the Louvre, which is on view at the National Gallery of Art from June 25, 2011, through July 8, 2012. In a 2-day public symposium, held and recorded on April 20 and 21, 2012, academics, conservators, and curators examined the historical context of the work, its conservation treatment, and the techniques used. This program was coordinated with and supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

June 2012 - Alexander Nemerov, Vincent Scully Professor of the History of Art, Yale University. Scholars from around the world gathered at the National Gallery of Art to discuss Samuel F. B. Morse's newly conserved Gallery of the Louvre, which is on view at the National Gallery of Art from June 25, 2011, through July 8, 2012. In a 2-day public symposium, held and recorded on April 20 and 21, 2012, academics, conservators, and curators examined the historical context of the work, its conservation treatment, and the techniques used. This program was coordinated with and supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

June 2012 - David Adjaye, principal architect, Adjaye Associates; Elizabeth Diller, principal architect, Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Tom Finkelpearl, executive director, Queens Museum of Art; Sarah Lewis, art historian, author, and curator; and Robert Storr, chairman of FAPE's Professional Fine Arts Committee and dean of the Yale School of Art. In collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) and in the spirit of its Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts, the National Gallery of Art hosted this annual panel discussion on May 15, 2012. Featuring noted architects David Adjaye and Elizabeth Diller, and moderated by Robert Storr, the program focused on how architecture and art bring people together in public spaces. Adjaye currently serves as the lead designer for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is slated to open on the National Mall in 2015. Diller, along with Ricardo Scofidio and Charles Renfro, recently co

June 2012 - Harry Cooper, curator and head of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art, and Matthew Gale, head of displays, Tate Modern. Celebrated as one of the greatest modern artists, Joan Miró (1893–1983) developed a visual language that reflected his vision and energy in a variety of styles across many media. On view at the National Gallery of Art from May 6 through August 12, 2012, the retrospective exhibition Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape reveals the artist's politically engaged side. Harry Cooper, the Gallery's consulting curator for The Ladder of Escape, presented an overview of the exhibition's 120 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints in his opening day lecture, which is recorded in this podcast. Following the lecture, Cooper sat down with Matthew Gale, one of the exhibition's two organizing curators from Tate Modern, and discussed the creation and production of this landmark retrospective. The exhibition was organized by Tate Modern, London, in collaboration with Fundació Joan

May 2012 - Helen I. Jessup, guest curator of Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory. To celebrate the opening of Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory at the National Gallery of Art on June 29, 1997, exhibition curator Helen I. Jessup provided an overview of the first comprehensive exhibition of Cambodian sculpture to be shown in the United States. The exhibition—on view through September 28, 1997—presented 99 works spanning more than 1,000 years, from the 6th to the 16th century, many from the collections of the National Museum of Phnom Penh and the Musée Guimet in Paris. Included were statuary, monumental works in sandstone, and sculpted architectural elements. The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, the Royal Government of Cambodia, and the Réunion des musées nationaux/Musée national des Arts asiatiques-Guimet, Paris.

May 2012 - Yukio Lippit, professor of Japanese art, Harvard University. Exhibition curator Yukio Lippit discusses one of Japan's most renowned cultural treasures, the 30-scroll set of bird-and-flower paintings by Itō Jakuchū, in this lecture recorded on April 29, 2012. To mark the closing of the month-long exhibition Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū (1716–1800), Lippit provides an overview of the 30 scrolls and the Buddhist triptych that served as their centerpiece. In addition to celebrating the centennial of Japan's gift of cherry trees to the nation's capital, the exhibition represents the first time these works were shown together in the United States—being lent to the National Gallery of Art by the Imperial Household Agency and the Zen monastery Shōkokuji in Kyoto. Lippit also offers a multifaceted understanding of Jakuchū's virtuosity and experimentalism as a painter—one who not only applied sophisticated chromatic effects but also masterfully rendered the richly symboli

May 2012 - Martin J. Powers, Sally Michelson Davidson Professor of Chinese Arts and Cultures and former director, Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan. At the beginning of the 20th century, artists in China found themselves in a no-win situation: if they made use of Chinese brushwork, their art was considered "traditional," and if they adapted European or modernist methods, it was called "derivative." We may call this the East/West conundrum in modern Chinese art. Against the background of a long history of cultural competition in China, Martin J. Powers explores several ways in which Chinese artists managed to transcend the East/West conundrum in recent decades. Professor Powers delivered this lecture in both English and Mandarin on February 19, 2012, at the National Gallery of Art.

May 2012 - Martin J. Powers, Sally Michelson Davidson 中國藝術與文化教授，前密西根大學中國研究中心主任 二十世紀初，中國藝術家們遇到一個吃力不討好的困境：如果他們使用中國水墨畫法，他們的作品會被認為「伝統守舊」，但是如果他們採用歐式或是現代主義畫法，人們則認為藝術家「無創意, 抄襲他人」。我們可稱此一情況為當代中國藝術中東方與西方的難題。以中國長期文化競爭的歷史為背景，Martin J. Powers 探討數種方式中國藝術家使用來超越這數十年來的難題。於2012年2月19日在美國國家藝廊 Powers教授以中文與英文探討此一課題。

April 2012 - Marla Prather, curator and head of the department of 20th-century art, National Gallery of Art. On May 23, 1999, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the completed National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden on behalf of the nation. Designed by landscape architect Laurie D. Olin of Olin Partnership, the Sculpture Garden was given to the nation by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. In this podcast recorded on September 19, 1999, curator Marla Prather explains the history and evolution of the 6.1-acre Sculpture Garden, highlighting the site's historical significance in Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for Washington, DC, the 1974 construction of the fountain, the 1991 transfer of jurisdiction of the Sculpture Garden site from the National Park Service to the National Gallery of Art, and the selection and installation of the garden's 17 original sculptures.

April 2012 - Molly Donovan, assistant curator of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art. A month after the dedication of the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden on May 23, 1999, Molly Donovan discusses the grandeur and significance of its two components: the garden and the sculptures. In this lecture recorded on June 27, 1999, Donovan shares the history of the 6.1-acre space, from Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for Washington, DC, up to its 20th-century realization as the Gallery's Sculpture Garden. On April 22, 1791, while touring the grounds of the Potomac Valley, L'Enfant stated that "nothing can be more admirably adapted for the purpose [for the federal city]; nature has done much for it, and with the aid of art it will become the wonder of the world." L'Enfant's plan for a public, landscaped garden—originally known as L'Enfant Square—was based on the grounds at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, France. A refuge from the linear expanse of the National Mall, the Gallery'

April 2012 - David A. Doheny, lawyer and former general counsel of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In this podcast recorded on June 17, 2006, David A. Doheny presents a lecture in conjunction with the publication of his book, David Finley: Quiet Force for America's Arts. Doheny discusses the relationship between Andrew W. Mellon and David E. Finley Jr., the National Gallery of Art's first director. Finley played an influential role in Mellon's acquisition of works from the Italian Renaissance, in particular the 1936 purchase of 30 paintings and 24 sculptures from Lord Joseph Duveen. In January 1937, Mellon formally presented to President Roosevelt his proposal to create the National Gallery of Art for the American public. On March 24, 1937, an act of Congress accepted Mellon's art collection as well as funds for the museum and approved plans for an elegant building on the National Mall designed by John Russell Pope. When Mellon and Pope both died within a day of each other later that year, Finle

April 2012 - Julian Gardner, Samuel H. Kress Professor, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art. In this lecture recorded on February 5, 2012, at the National Gallery of Art, Julian Gardner, professor emeritus at the University of Warwick, discusses a pair of large works by two of the greatest figures in early Italian painting: Cimabue and Giotto. Miraculously preserved, these two paintings now hang in the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Their current placement at the Louvre mimics the original installation in the church of San Francesco in Pisa. By reconstructing the original setting in Italy, Gardner examines how it is possible to learn more about these paintings, the intention of the artists and patrons, and the works' interrelationship with the Franciscan church.

April 2012 - Alvia J. Wardlaw, associate professor, Texas Southern University and curator of modern and contemporary art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. For the inaugural lecture of the National Gallery of Art lecture series The Collecting of African American Art, recorded on February 10, 2008, Alvia J. Wardlaw provides an overview of the substantial history of collecting African American art. She regards the preservation of objects of cultural importance within the African American community as a holistic endeavor. Collecting was not merely about acquiring items for private holdings but also establishing a connection between African Americans and their African past, enabling families and communities to pass on traditions. Wardlaw relates the role of collectibles, including such cherished items as family photographs and Bibles, to the interest in collecting African American artworks, which arose in the 19th century. She also examines this phenomenon within the context of individual artistic careers, intellectu

April 2012 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States of America. The National Gallery of Art was created on March 17, 1937, by a joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon. Designed by John Russell Pope, the West Building was made possible by construction funds provided by the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. In this speech, recorded on March 17, 1941, during an evening of ceremonies attended by 8,822 people, President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepts the completed West Building of the National Gallery of Art and the art collection of Andrew W. Mellon on behalf of the people of the United States.

April 2012 - James Earl Carter Jr., 39th President of the United States of America. In 1971, on a triangular lot once occupied by tennis courts, architect I. M. Pei broke ground on the East Building of the National Gallery of Art. Funds for construction were given by Paul Mellon and the late Ailsa Mellon Bruce, the son and daughter of the founder, and by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The contemporary building was designed to accommodate the Gallery's growing collections and houses an advanced research center, administrative offices, a great library, and a burgeoning collection of drawings and prints. President Jimmy Carter accepted the new building on behalf of the nation in this speech recorded on June 1, 1978.

March 2012 - Kerry James Marshall, artist. Kerry James Marshall is a master of the human figure. His imposing, radiant paintings and installations draw equally upon African American history and the history of Western art. Born in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama, he moved with his family to the town of Watts in 1963, shortly before the race riots began. At Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles he studied with social realist painter Charles White. Marshall's mature career can be dated to 1980, when, inspired by Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, he developed his signature motif of a dark, near-silhouetted figure. This figure of "extreme blackness," as he puts it, has been important for younger artists including Glenn Ligon and Kara Walker. In honor of the Gallery's acquisition of its first painting, Great America (1994), by the artist last year, Marshall presented the 19th annual Elson Lecture, titled The Importance of Being Figurative, on March 22, 2012.

March 2012 - Kasper Monrad, chief curator, National Gallery of Denmark. Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916) was the most outstanding Danish painter of the late 19th century. Best known for his paintings of interiors, Hammershøi concentrated on a small number of other motifs—landscapes, monumental buildings, and portraits—and his palette was dominated by nuances of grey. Though Hammershøi stands alone in Danish art, it is possible to point at important parallels with international art of the period. In this podcast recorded on November 1, 2011, Kasper Monrad sheds light on the direct influences on Hammershøi's work, as well as the parallel endeavours in contemporary painting in Europe and the United States. Hammershøi is discussed in connection with American artist James McNeill Whistler, French artists Eugène Carrière, Paul Gauguin, and Georges Seurat, Belgian painter Fernand Khnopff, and the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.

March 2012 - David Cannadine, director and professor, Institute of Historical Research, University of London To celebrate the landmark publication Mellon: An American Life, David Cannadine inaugurated and concluded his U.S. book tour at the National Gallery of Art with lectures on the founding benefactor of the Gallery, Andrew W. Mellon (1855–1937). In this second lecture recorded on December 9, 2006, Cannadine concentrates on Mellon's art collecting as his only nonprofessional gratification, and his great gift of the Gallery to the nation. His son Paul Mellon commissioned this biography in the mid-1990s to document the magnitude and range of his father's contributions to American history. Preeminent in the diverse fields of business, politics, art collecting, and philanthropy, Mellon was one of the greatest art collectors and philanthropists of his generation. According to Cannadine, the Gallery remains Mellon's culminating and most tangible legacy, although he did not live to see its completion and dedicati

March 2012 - Michael Fried, J. R. Herbert Boone Professor of Humanities and the History of Art, Johns Hopkins University In his new book, Four Honest Outlaws, Professor Michael Fried considers the work of video artist and photographer Anri Sala, sculptor Charles Ray, painter Joseph Marioni, and video artist and intervener in movies Douglas Gordon. The book's title is derived from a Bob Dylan lyric: "To live outside the law you must be honest." In this lecture, recorded on January 22, 2012, at the National Gallery of Art, Fried explains how each of these four contemporary artists found his or her own unsanctioned path to extraordinary accomplishment, in part by defying the norms and expectations of today's art world.