National Gallery Of Art | Audio

August 2011 - Michael Fried, J. R. Herbert Boone Professor and director of the Humanities Center, The Johns Hopkins University. In a series of six lectures, Michael Fried offers a compelling account of what he calls "the internal structure of the pictorial act" in the revolutionary art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The accompanying publication, The Moment of Caravaggio, is available for purchase from the Gallery Shops. In this audio podcast of the first lecture, originally delivered at the National Gallery of Art on April 14, 2002, Professor Michael Fried opens the lecture series with a discussion of Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard. He argues for its significance as a disguised self-portrait of the artist in the act of painting.

July 2011 - Meryle Secrest, author. In this podcast recorded on June 19, 2011, at the National Gallery of Art, author Meryle Secrest reveals a portrait of one of the twentieth century's master painters and sculptors, Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920). Secrest is an accomplished biographer of art-world personalities such as Bernard Berenson, Joseph Duveen, Salvador Dali, Kenneth Clark, and Frank Lloyd Wright. In her new book, Modigliani: A Life, Secrest shows to what lengths Modigliani went to hide his tuberculosis and cement his status as a major artist.

July 2011 - Jim Dine, artist, in conversation with Ruth Fine, curator of special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art. Shortly after the opening of the exhibition Graphicstudio: Contemporary Art from the Collaborative Workshop at the University of South Florida, Jim Dine discussed his works in the Graphicstudio archive at the National Gallery of Art with Ruth Fine on September 29, 1991. On view from September 15, 1991, to January 5, 1992, the exhibition featured 140 works by 24 artists, including two sculptures given by Dine from his own collection to complete the archive formed in 1986. Instead of looking back on his well-documented career, the conversation also focused on his recent work in printmaking and on a drawings series completed in the dead of night at a European museum.

July 2011 - Britt Salvesen, curator and head, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department and prints and drawings department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In his Prototypes series of photographs, Lewis Baltz represented the built environment of the 1960s and 1970s. He critiqued modernist aspirations while examining commercial realities. In this lecture recorded on June 5, 2011, at the National Gallery of Art, Britt Salvesen examines Baltz's work and several different visual sources available to him, from the Case Study houses as photographed by Julius Shulman to minimalist painting and sculpture, to Ed Ruscha and New Topographics. This lecture was presented in conjunction with the Gallery's exhibition Lewis Baltz: Prototypes/Ronde de Nuit, on view until July 31, 2011.

July 2011 - Roy Lichtenstein, artist, in conversation with Jack Cowart, curator of 20th-century art, National Gallery of Art; introduction by Ruth Fine, curator of the department of graphic arts, National Gallery of Art. American artist Roy Lichtenstein appears in conversation with curator Jack Cowart to celebrate the exhibition Gemini G.E.L.: Art and Collaboration, on view at the National Gallery of Art from November 18, 1984, to February 24, 1985. In this recording from January 27, 1985, Lichtenstein discusses some of his 134 prints in the Gemini G.E.L. collection. Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Edition Limited) is an artists' workshop and publisher of hand-printed limited-edition lithographs. Gemini G.E.L. played a pivotal role in the formation of the Gallery's contemporary collection when Sidney B. Felsen and Stanley Grinstein, owners of Gemini, donated 256 prints and sculpture editions by 22 contemporary American artists working at Gemini G.E.L. of Los Angeles. The archive collection now has more than 1,200 work

July 2011 - Maygene Daniels, Chief of Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art. On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the completed West Building of the National Gallery of Art and the collection of financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon on behalf of the people of the United States. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of this event, Maygene Daniels presented this lecture on March 17, 2011. Daniels provides a comprehensive and fascinating overview of the Gallery's past seven decades, including the opening of the East Building on June 1, 1978, when President Jimmy Carter accepted it on behalf of the nation; and the May 23, 1999, opening of the 6.1-acre Sculpture Garden. Blockbuster exhibitions and visits by celebrities, royalty, and heads of state are also highlighted.

July 2011 - Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, artists, in conversation with Germano Celant, senior curator of contemporary art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; introduction by Marla Prather, associate curator of 20th-century art, National Gallery of Art. Claes Oldenberg (born 1929) and Coosje van Bruggen (1942-2009) transform familiar objects through their sculptures and give them a new reality filled with mystery, humor, and sensuality. Gemano Celant, organizing curator of the travelling exhibition Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology, on view at the Gallery from February 12 to May 7, 1995, joins the artists in this lecture. In this recording from March 5, 1995, the trio discuss the art in the exhibition�the first survey of their art since 1969�and how it offers a sense of interaction unlike anything else in a museum.

July 2011 - Robert Storr, Yale School of Art, and artists Odili Donald Odita, Joel Shapiro, and Carrie Mae Weems. Moderated by Harry Cooper, curator of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art In collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the National Gallery of Art hosted this panel discussion on May 20, 2011. The panel discussed FAPE's landmark project at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City. FAPE contributed the art collection for this important post, including three site-specific installations and more than 200 works by more than 50 American artists. Odili Donald Odita completed two wall murals in the lobby and on the second floor, and Carrie Mae Weems donated her photographs to the collection. Also discussed was Joel Shapiro's future installation at the Consulate General of the United States in Guangzhou, China, commissioned by FAPE for 2012.

July 2011 - Christo and Jeanne-Claude, artists To celebrate the opening of the exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the Vogel Collection on February 3, 2002, at the National Gallery of Art, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude discussed their realized and non-realized projects. Featuring 72 works representing four decades of the artists' careers, the exhibition included preparatory drawings, collages, scale models for proposed large-scale works, and photographs of completed projects. In this podcast, the artists share their thoughts on The Gates, Project for Central Park, New York City; Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin; and Valley Curtain, Grand Hogback, Rifle, Colorado.

June 2011 - Jim Dine, artist, in conversation with Judith Brodie, curator of modern prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art. In the first of two appearances at the National Gallery of Art to celebrate the Drawings of Jim Dine exhibition, Jim Dine participated in the annual Elson Lecture Series with Judith Brodie on March 16, 2004. Dine begins by discussing his life as an artist, the formative events in his career, and the emotional and romantic qualities entailed in the act of drawing. A consummate draftsman, Dine explains that "drawing is not an exercise. Exercise is sitting on a stationary bicycle and going nowhere. Drawing is being on a bicycle and taking a journey. For me to succeed in drawing, I must go fast and arrive somewhere. The quest is to keep the thing alive..."

June 2011 - Richard Brettell, Margaret McDermott Distinguished Chair of Art and Aesthetics, Interdisciplinary Program in Arts and Humanities, University of Texas at Dallas. Professor Richard Brettell examines the self-exploration that is present in the many portraits artist Paul Gauguin painted of himself. Brettell offers a new and introspective insight into the artist's life, showing him not only as a painter, but also as a man. This podcast was recorded on June 4, 2011, at the National Gallery of Art, during the last weekend of the exhibition Gauguin: Maker of Myth.

June 2011 - Sam Gilliam, artist, in conversation with Ruth Fine, curator of special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art. For the 10th annual Elson Lecture, recorded on April 28, 2003, at the National Gallery of Art, Sam Gilliam discussed his artistic training at the University of Louisville (BFA 1955, MFA 1961) and his DC-based career since 1962. In conversation with Ruth Fine, Gilliam explained his transition from an expressionistic figurative style to the abstract painting associated with the Washington Color School. His painting took on several three-dimensional formats, starting with his draped canvases that eschewed the use of stretchers to take their own forms in space. By 2003, Gilliam's work had been the subject of more than 30 solo exhibitions internationally and was represented in dozens of museum collections and public installations. His painting titled Relative (1969) was acquired by the Gallery in 1994.

June 2011 - Last Looks, Last Books: The Binocular Poetry of Death Helen Vendler, A. Kingsley Porter University Professor, Harvard University. This six-part lecture series considers the final works of five modern American poets, as they "take the last look"�reconciling the interface of life and death, without the promise of an afterlife. The accompanying publication, Last Looks, Last Books: Stevens, Plath, Lowell, Bishop, Merrill, is available for purchase in the Gallery Shop.In this audio podcast of the sixth and final lecture of the series, originally delivered at the National Gallery of Art on May 20, 2007, the esteemed poetry critic and professor Helen Vendler discusses James Merrill's "montage of self-portraits while dying," as he bids farewell in various lyric genres, sketching his life-death state in verse.

June 2011 - Christo and Jeanne-Claude, artists. Artists Christo (b. 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (1935�2009) redefined the artistic practice by taking their art out of a museum setting and into urban and natural environments. In this podcast recorded on March 13, 2002, the pair makes their second appearance at the Gallery while the exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the Vogel Collection was on view. By examining their past and future projects, Christo and Jeanne-Claude explain how the communal construction efforts and the temporary status of their installations have contributed to their impressive qualities.

June 2011 - Andy Goldsworthy, artist. Two weeks after finishing his site-specific installation, Roof, on the Ground Level of the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, British artist Andy Goldsworthy returned to the Gallery to present the Elson Lecture on March 17, 2005. His lecture describes the working process involved for his concurrent exhibitions The Andy Goldsworthy Project and Andy Goldsworthy: Roof, which first showed the permanent sculpture of nine stacked slate domes, completed over the course of nine weeks in the winter of 2004-2005. Goldsworthy notes that the installation required him to stay in one place longer than he had in nearly 20 years. As an artist who uses natural materials to create both ephemeral work in landscapes and permanent sculptures, Goldsworthy explains his interest in change and the value of returning to the same place to get deeper and deeper into it.

June 2011 - Helen Vendler, A. Kingsley Porter University Professor, Harvard University. This six-part lecture series considers the final works of five modern American poets, as they "take the last look"�reconciling the interface of life and death, without the promise of an afterlife. In this audio podcast of the fifth lecture, originally delivered at the National Gallery of Art on May 13, 2007, the esteemed poetry critic and professor Helen Vendler traces the placement of life and death in Elizabeth Bishop's late works as they move between division and integration.

June 2011 - Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of northern baroque paintings, National Gallery of Art; Pieter Roelofs, curator of 17th-century paintings, Rijksmuseum; and Adriaan E. Waiboer, curator of northern European art, National Gallery of Ireland. Curators Arthur Wheelock, Pieter Roelofs, and Adriaan E. Waiboer discuss the paintings of Dutch artist Gabriel Metsu. A contemporary of Johannes Vermeer, Metsu had the ability to capture ordinary moments in 17th-century Dutch life with sensitivity and realism. Recorded on April 22, 2011, this lecture was held in conjunction with the exhibition Gabriel Metsu, 1629�1667, on view at the National Gallery of Art from April 10 to July 24, 2011

June 2011 - Wayne Thiebaud, artist. American artist and teacher Wayne Thiebaud discusses the important differences between "painting" and "art" in this podcast recorded on March 1, 2000, at the National Gallery of Art. This lecture was held in conjunction with the exhibition Twentieth-Century American Art: The Ebsworth Collection, on view at the Gallery from March 5 through June 11, 2000, which featured Thiebaud's Bakery Counter (1962). Emblematic of his signature commentary on mass culture, Bakery Counter compliments the Gallery's own Cakes (1963), purchased as a gift to commemorate the Gallery's 50th anniversary in 1991.

May 2011 - Helen Vendler, A. Kingsley Porter University Professor, Harvard University. This six-part lecture series considers the final works of five modern American poets, as they "take the last look"�reconciling the interface of life and death, without the promise of an afterlife. In this audio podcast of the fourth lecture, originally delivered at the National Gallery of Art on May 6, 2007, the esteemed poetry critic and professor Helen Vendler discusses Robert Lowell's last book, Day by Day, which withdraws from his earlier narrative style and instead offers spare, literal "snapshots."

May 2011 - Mary Morton, curator and head of the department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art, and Belinda Thomson, guest curator. Exhibition curators Mary Morton and Belinda Thomson mark the opening of the exhibition Gauguin: Maker of Myth in this lecture recorded February 27, 2011. On view at the National Gallery of Art from February 27 to June 5, 2011, the exhibition features nearly 120 works by Gauguin. Organized by Tate Modern, London, in association with the Gallery, the exhibition is the first major look at the artist's oeuvre at the Gallery since the blockbuster retrospective The Art of Paul Gauguin in 1988.