Talks & Conversations

Book Launch: Art & Histories

Our new series Art & signals a bold new vision for a more dynamic study of art. Join us for a discussion with contributing authors from its first volume, Art & Histories.

Each essay in this groundbreaking volume—the first in an exciting new series from the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts—engages aesthetic and cultural debates that situate research on the arts at the intersection of various disciplines, including architecture, film, literature, curatorial and museum studies, and the arts of performance. Reflecting the series’ goal to engage with different cultural contexts and time periods, newly commissioned essays from emerging and established scholars address subjects ranging from medieval dance and ancient Assyrian reliefs to expressions of gender embodiment and the art of the Afro-Atlantic. First-person narratives ground theoretical considerations of the theme.

Reflecting a commitment to embracing the book form as a space for art itself, the book includes a detachable accordion-fold insert with a work from Miami-based artist Glexis Novoa. One of his signature horizon lines unites Washington, DC, and the artist’s native Havana. Meticulous drawings executed on travertine marble entangle the two cities and their monuments, symbolizing both violent and triumphant histories and their ideological reversals.

This event is co-organized with Politics and Prose and will take place at their Connecticut Avenue location in Washington, DC. It is free with first-come, first-served seating. View the event on their website.

Lisa Gail Collins

Lisa Gail Collins is professor of art on the Sarah Gibson Blanding Chair and director of the American studies program at Vassar College. She received her BA in art history from Dartmouth College and her PhD in American studies from University of Minnesota. Her latest book, Stitching Love and Loss: A Gee’s Bend Quilt—a meditation on suffering, creativity, resilience, and grace—was recently published by University of Washington Press.

Glexis Novoa

Glexis Novoa was a key participant in the vibrant art scene known as the renaissance of Cuban art in the 1980s. He was the founder of the Grupo Provisional, a pioneer of performance, political activism, and collectivist practices. Residing in Miami since 1995, Novoa is recognized for his site-specific wall drawings, which exist on the border between ephemeral art and architecture.

Kaira M. Cabañas

Collins and Novoa will be in conversation with Kaira M. Cabañas, associate dean for academic programs and publications at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (the Center) at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. She is the author of multiple volumes, including Immanent Vitalities: Meaning and Materiality in Modern and Contemporary Art (2021) and Learning from Madness: Brazilian Modernism and Global Contemporary Art (2018).

You may also like

This black-and-white photograph shows the Lincoln Memorial from a distance, showing the rows of stairs that lead up to its tall columns. A person stands on the central steps, directly below the large statue of Abraham Lincoln that can be seen between the columns. The person appears to be silhouetted, and we see them only as a black shape in a long dress or skirt, with no other detail visible. On the left, some more people are visible by a dark bush.

Talks & Conversations:  American Art at Home and Abroad: FAPE’s Gift to the National Gallery

–
Registration Required
The image depicts the upper body of a woman with long, wavy hair seen from behind, facing a large window. Her reflection is visible in the window, showing her face framed by straight hair. She wears a pink long-sleeve top under a gray sleeveless garment. The room appears dimly lit with visible objects on a surface to the right and a radiator beneath the window. The partially drawn curtain indicates a domestic setting.

virtual

Talks & Conversations:  The Art of Looking: Yokomizo Shizuka, Untitled (Hitorigoto) 10

–
Registration Required
The painting depicts three children within an oval frame, their upper bodies visible. The central child, a young girl, is positioned with her body facing forward and her head turned slightly to the left. She has a fair complexion, with rosy cheeks, pink lips, and wide brown eyes. Her hair is gray and partially pulled back by a blue ribbon. She is dressed in a white garment with a yellow shawl draped over her shoulders. Her arms are outstretched, holding the ends of a cloth that has been pinned on her dress. Her arms and the cloth extend forward beyond the oval frame that encircles the trio, as if the frame is a window or porthole that she is reaching out of. On the right, a boy leans on the girl's shoulder, also facing to the left, seen in profile. He has light brown, curly hair and a fair complexion. He wears a dark blue-green jacket over a white collar, and he is looking upward towards the third child. On the left, another boy, who also has light skin and light brown curly hair, appears to stand on a chair above the other two children. He is holding a long yellow straw up to his lips. At the other end of the straw, a large bubble hangs over the white cloth that the girl holds out. In his other hand is a small white dish. He wears a muted brown outfit with a dark cloth wrapped around him. The background within the frame is plain gray, and the frame that surrounds the children is light gray and appears to be carved with leaf designs. Beyond the oval frame is gray.

Talks & Conversations:  Finding Awe: Charles Amédée Philippe Van Loo’s Soap Bubbles

–
Registration Required