Clark Art Lecture 'As They Saw It'

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Saturday, March 5 at 2 pm, in conjunction with the opening of "As They Saw It: Artists Witnessing War," the Clark Art Institute presents a lecture by Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Anne Leonard. 
 
The lecture will be presented live in the Clark's auditorium and broadcast simultaneously via Zoom and Facebook Live.
 
Examining the role artists played in documenting the events and experiences of war, both before and after photography, "As They Saw It: Artists Witnessing War" showcases a diverse selection from the Clark's holdings: both pro- and anti-Napoleonic imagery (including Francisco de Goya's The Disasters of War); Civil War photographs and wood engravings; and multiple perspectives on World War I. Also featured are images of Black Americans in military service, whose contributions have often been underrepresented.
 
According to a press release, visual media have long played a role in documenting military conflict. Especially for those far from the front, eyewitness imagery is crucial to understanding what may be happening on the battlefield. Yet artists' depictions of the wrenching conditions and consequences of war may even transcend their historical origins to become lasting monuments to suffering and sacrifice. Spanning four centuries of European and American art (1520–1920), this exhibition shows how prints, drawings, and photographs have put a human face on the sometimes abstract idea of conflict.
 
Advance registration for both the live talk and the Zoom transmission is required. For more information and to register, visit clarkart.edu/events.
 
"As They Saw It: Artists Witnessing War" is organized by the Clark Art Institute and curated by Anne Leonard, Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs; the exhibition will be on view March 5–May 30, 2022. Veterans, active duty service members, and their families receive free admission to the Clark through May 30.

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WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) opens a new exhibition, "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art."
 
The exhibit opened on March 22.
 
According to a press release: 
 
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. Rooted in the Babylonian science of astrology, medieval Christian numerology taught that God created a well-ordered universe. Deciphering the universe's numerical patterns would reveal the Creator's grand plan for humanity, including individual fates. 
 
This unquestioned concept deeply pervaded European cultures through centuries. Theologians and lay people alike fervently interpreted the Bible literally and figuratively via number theory, because as King Solomon told God, "Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight" (Wisdom 11:22). 
 
"Cracking the Cosmic Code" explores medieval relationships among numbers, events, and works of art. The medieval and Renaissance art on display in this exhibition from the 5th to 17th centuries—including a 15th-century birth platter by Lippo d'Andrea from Florence; a 14th-century panel fragment with courtly scenes from Palace Curiel de los Ajos, Valladolid, Spain; and a 12th-century wall capital from the Monastery at Moutiers-Saint-Jean—reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. 
 
"There was no realm of thought that was not influenced by the all-consuming belief that all things were celestially ordered, from human life to stones, herbs, and metals," said WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval, who curated the exhibition. "As Vincent Foster Hopper expounds, numbers were 'fundamental realities, alive with memories and eloquent with meaning.' These artworks tease out numerical patterns and their multiple possible meanings, in relation to gender, literature, and the celestial sphere. 
 
"The exhibition looks back while moving forward: It relies on the collection's strengths in Western medieval Christianity, but points to the future with goals of acquiring works from the global Middle Ages. It also nods to the history of the gallery as a medieval period room at this pivotal time in WCMA's history before the momentous move to a new building," Sandoval said.
 
Cracking the Cosmic Code runs through Dec. 22.
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