Clark Opening Lecture for 'Trembling Earth' Exhibit

Print Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.— On Saturday, June 10, in conjunction with the opening of its newest exhibition, "Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth," the Clark Art Institute hosts a lecture by Jay A. Clarke, the exhibition curator and Rothman Family Curator, Art Institute of Chicago, in its auditorium at 11 am.
 
Free; no registration is required. 
 
According to a press release:
 
"Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth" is the first exhibition in the United States to consider how the noted Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) employed nature to convey meaning in his art. Munch is regarded primarily as a figure painter, and his most celebrated images (including his iconic The Scream) are connected to themes of love, anxiety, longing, and death. Yet, landscape plays an essential role in a large portion of Munch's work. Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth considers this important, but less explored aspect of the artist's career.
 
Trembling Earth features more than seventy-five objects, ranging from brilliantly hued landscapes and three stunning self-portraits, to an extensive selection of his innovative prints and drawings, including a lithograph of Munch's most celebrated work, The Scream. The exhibition includes more than thirty works from the Munch Museum's world-renowned collection, major pieces from other museums in the USA and Europe, and nearly forty paintings, prints, and drawings from private collections, many of which are rarely exhibited.
 
On Friday, June 9 at 7:30 pm, the Clark hosts an opening reception. Visitors are invited to enjoy light refreshments and be among the first to view the exhibition.
 
Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth is co-organized by the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts; the Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany; and Munchmuseet, Oslo, Norway, and curated by Jay A. Clarke, Rothman Family Curator, Art Institute of Chicago; Jill Lloyd, independent curator; and Trine Otte Bak Nielsen, curator, Munchmuseet. Generous funding for presentation at the Clark and Munchmuseet is provided by the Asbjorn Lunde Foundation, Inc.
 
This exhibition is made possible by Diane and Andreas Halvorsen. Major funding is provided by Carol and Richard Seltzer, with additional support from Lady Gibbons, Robert D. Kraus, the S & L Marx Foundation, and the Norwegian Consulate General, New York. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Tags: Clark Art,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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.
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories