National Gallery of Art | Audio

Max Marmor, president, Samuel H. Kress Foundation. When the National Gallery of Art opened its doors in March 1941, the original Andrew W. Mellon gift was augmented by a collection of Italian art donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Kress was the first to offer a donation in response to Andrew Mellon's call for contributions for the new national art museum. For the Gallery's opening, Kress gave almost 400 paintings and sculptures. Ultimately, the foundation gave the Gallery a total of over 700 paintings and sculptures, in addition to over 1,300 small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. In 2010, the foundation awarded the Gallery a grant to conduct provenance research on the entire Kress collection of paintings, distributed nationwide to regional museums and study collections in university-affiliated institutions. Discoveries included both new information about the histories of specific paintings and ways to look at the collection as a whole. Max Marmor, president of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation since 2007, opens this program held on May 23, 2016 to celebrate the 75-year relationship of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the National Gallery of Art, the enduring legacy of the Kress gifts nationwide, and recent research into the Kress Collection. Marmor also offers brief remarks on the foundation’s history. This program is supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Project.

Richard Mason, lecturer on classical archaeology and art and history of museums, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The exhibition Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World, on view at the National Gallery of Art from December 13, 2015, to March 20, 2016, presents some 50 bronze sculptures and related works, dating from the fourth century BC to the first century AD. They span the Hellenistic period, when the art and culture of Greece spread throughout the Mediterranean and lands once conquered by Alexander the Great. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to witness the importance of bronze in the ancient world, when it became the preferred medium for portrait sculpture. In this public symposium held on March 18 and 19, 2016, in conjunction with the exhibition, Richard Mason offers a broad overview of Hellenistic science and technology—suggesting connections between developments in diverse fields as a result of royal patronage that supported the scholarly community. Select examples cited include Eratosthenes on measuring the Earth’s circumference, Herophilos and Erasistratos on anatomical research, Ktesibios on hydraulics and pneumatics, Ktesibios’s successors on instruments, the Antikythera mechanism, and the ancient sailing vessel Syracusia of Hieron designed by Archimedes.

David Sider, professor of classics, New York University. The exhibition Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World, on view at the National Gallery of Art from December 13, 2015, through March 20, 2016, presents some 50 bronze sculptures and related works, dating from the fourth century BC to the first century AD. They span the Hellenistic period, when the art and culture of Greece spread throughout the Mediterranean and lands once conquered by Alexander the Great. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to witness the importance of bronze in the ancient world, when it became the preferred medium for portrait sculpture. In this public symposium held on March 18 and 19, 2016, in conjunction with the exhibition, David Sider concentrates on how contemporary science and art appear in the poetry of this period. The deservedly well-known mathematicians Archimedes and Eratosthenes each wrote technical epigrams on mathematical problems, perhaps the most technical examples of one of Hellenistic poetry’s most famous genres, didactic poetry. Sider also focuses on Posidippus, his published book of epigrams, and his ekphrastic poems on statues and carved gems.

Nick Sousanis, comics artist, educator, and postdoctoral fellow in comics studies, University of Calgary. Unflattening began as an experiment in making an argument through images and as a challenge to traditional scholarship as it is currently produced in American universities. It embodies the importance of visual thinking in teaching and learning. In this lecture recorded on June 12, 2016 at the National Gallery of Art, Nick Sousanis delves into the distinct ways that comics create meaning through the constant play of word and image. He explains how to see and read comics better, and may even inspire you to make your own comics.

Kenneth Lapatin, associate curator of antiquities, The J. Paul Getty Museum The exhibition Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World, on view at the National Gallery of Art from December 13, 2015, through March 20, 2016, presents some 50 bronze sculptures and related works, dating from the fourth century BC to the first century AD. They span the Hellenistic period when the art and culture of Greece spread throughout the Mediterranean and lands once conquered by Alexander the Great. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to witness the importance of bronze in the ancient world, when it became the preferred medium for portrait sculpture. In this public symposium held on March 18 and 19, 2016, in conjunction with the exhibition, Kenneth Lapatin uses economic arguments to challenge the notion that bronze sculpture was as highly valued in antiquity as it is today. He then examines the Hellenistic production of artifacts fashioned from gold, silver, hard stones, ivory, and other expensive, exotic materials and explores how they were deployed by ancient elites in a variety of contexts.

Wendy Sepponen, Joseph F. McCrindle Fellow, department of sculpture and decorative arts, National Gallery of Art. Recent technical examinations have revealed that a bronze bust of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the National Gallery of Art, formerly attributed to imperial sculptor Leone Leoni (Milanese, c. 1509–1590), was in fact most likely cast in an unidentified bell or canon foundry. In this lecture held on April 25, 2016, as part of the Works in Progress series at the Gallery, Wendy Sepponen argues that though we do not know who made the portrait, it nevertheless exemplifies the longstanding practice amongst Habsburg rulers to rely on foundries throughout their territories to satisfy their diverse needs for instruments of war and dynastic portraiture, thereby reinforcing the status of bronze as the ideal imperial material.

Kobena Mercer, professor, history of art and African American studies, Yale University. Kobena Mercer’s art criticism has illuminated the aesthetic innovations of African American, Black British, and Caribbean artists. In his new book, Travel and See: Black Diaspora Art Practices Since the 1980s, he reflects on the transformative impact of artists such as Renée Green, Isaac Julien, Kerry James Marshall, and Yinka Shonibare. In this lecture, recorded on June 5, 2016 at the National Gallery of Art, Mercer discusses his publication and the future prospects of the critical discourse of hybridity and transculturation that diaspora artists have brought to debates on identity and diversity in our time.

Elsa Mora, artist, and Magda González-Mora, curator of Elsa Mora: Timeline, and in conversation with Michelle Bird, curatorial assistant, department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art. Elsa Mora (b. Holguín, Cuba, 1971) graduated from the Professional School of Visual Arts in Camagüey in 1990. Mora was invited to teach as a visiting artist in residence at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996. She has since completed several residencies at US universities and the MoMA Design Store. In her Timeline series, Mora examines her surreal personal journey and the surprising lessons she has learned along the way. Works in a variety of media—from photography and drawing to paper cutting—represent a timeline of events that have shaped her life from childhood in Cuba to adulthood in the United States. In her own words, “I’m endlessly curious about human stories, especially those related to survival, inner growth, and connectivity.” In this conversation, held on May 9, 2016, as part of the Works in Progress series at the National Gallery of Art, Mora discusses the National Arts Club exhibition of Timeline in relation to her full body of work with the show’s curator, Magda González-Mora, and National Gallery of Art curatorial assistant Michelle Bird.

Carol Mattusch, Mathy Professor of Art History Emerita, George Mason University. The exhibition Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World, on view at the National Gallery of Art from December 13, 2015, to March 20, 2016, presents some 50 bronze sculptures and related works, dating from the fourth century BC to the first century AD. They span the Hellenistic period, when the art and culture of Greece spread throughout the Mediterranean and lands once conquered by Alexander the Great. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to witness the importance of bronze in the ancient world, when it became the preferred medium for portrait sculpture. In this public symposium held on March 18 and 19, 2016, in conjunction with the exhibition, Carol Mattusch questions the preference for bronze—citing, for example, that a nude bronze man with flashing eyes, open mouth, copper lips, and reflective physique was as realistic as statuary got.

Paul Jaskot, Andrew W. Mellon Professor, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art. What do we learn when we explore Hans Haacke’s spatial choices for his site-specific works? An emphasis on their physical components and hence their spatial significance is well established in his practice. Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than in his 1993 entry for the German Pavilion at the Venice Bienniale, an installation he titled Germania. For Haacke, this particular German space, originally created in 1908 as the Bavarian Pavilion for the biennial art fair, had been made into a fascist place by Ernst Haiger’s 1938 remodeling, which in turn resonated for him in the moment of post-reunification Germany’s triumph over the Communist east. In this lecture, recorded on May 15, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art, Paul Jaskot discusses the dynamic relationship between the redesign of the pavilion in 1938 as a specifically German site and Haacke’s subsequent engagement in 1993.

David A. Doheny, former general counsel, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and author, David Finley: Quiet Force for America's Arts. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, which opened in March 1941, David A. Doheny reassesses the work of its three principal creators—Andrew W. Mellon (1855–1937), David Finley (1890-1977), and Paul Mellon (1907-1999). Andrew Mellon provided its vision, the funds to build and endow it, and his superb art collection to act as a nucleus of a national gallery before his death. David Finley was his principal deputy in this enterprise from its conception in 1927 onward. Paul Mellon was appointed a trustee of the Gallery in 1937 and had a harmonious working relationship with Finley. After the deaths of both Andrew W. Mellon and his architect John Russell Pope within 24 hours of each other, Finley took charge of completing the design and construction of the West Building. Finley was also instrumental in securing important collections for the Gallery, including those of Samuel H. Kress, Joseph E. Widener, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Chester Dale. In this lecture recorded on April 10, 2016, Doheny uses Finley’s published writings and personal journals to provide insights into his relationships with the Mellons.

Susan Meiselas, artist. In 1990 the National Gallery of Art launched an initiative to acquire the finest examples of the art of photography and to mount photography exhibitions of the highest quality, accompanied by scholarly publications and programs. In the years since, the Gallery’s collection of photographs has grown to nearly 15,000 works encompassing the history of the medium from its beginnings in 1839 to the present, featuring in-depth holdings of work by many of the masters of the art form. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of this initiative, the Gallery presents the exhibition The Memory of Time: Contemporary Photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Acquired with the Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund. On view from May 3 through September 13, 2015, The Memory of Time explores the work of 26 contemporary artists who investigate the richness and complexity of photography’s relationship to time, memory, and history. In this lecture recorded on May 31, 2015, Susan Meiselas discusses the themes and broader historical context of the installation The Life of an Image: “Molotov Man,” 1979-2009 featured in the exhibition. This installation traces the life and authorship of this iconic image taken during the last days of the Nicaraguan revolution in 1979.

Leo Villareal, artist, in conversation with Molly Donovan, associate curator, department of modern art, National Gallery of Art. Born in 1967 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Leo Villareal began experimenting with light, sound, and video while studying set design and sculpture at Yale University, where he received his BA. He earned his Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in the design of new media, computational media, and embedded computing from New York University’s pioneering interactive telecommunications program at the Tisch School of the Arts. There he also learned the programming skills that enable him to push LED (light-emitting diode) technology far past familiar commercial applications. Since the 1960s, a growing number of artworks have exploited light to frame and create spaces in the built environment. While Villareal’s art acknowledges this influence, his concepts relate more closely to the instructional wall drawings of Sol LeWitt and the systems-based paintings of Peter Halley. Villareal’s work is represented in the Gallery’s collection by Multiverse, one of his largest and most complex light sculptures. As part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Lecture Series held at the National Gallery of Art on May 7, 2016, Leo Villareal and Molly Donovan discuss his site-specific commissions throughout the world since the installation of Multiverse in 2008.

Vidya Dehejia, Barbara Stoler Miller Professor of Indian Art, Columbia University. In this six-part lecture series entitled The Thief Who Stole My Heart: The Material Life of Chola Bronzes from South India, c. 855–1280, art historian Vidya Dehejia discusses the work of artists of Chola India who created exceptional bronzes of the god Shiva, invoked as “Thief Who Stole My Heart.” Graceful, luminous sculptures of high copper content portrayed the deities as sensuous figures of sacred import. Every bronze is a portable image, carried through temple and town to participate in celebrations that combined the sacred with the joyous atmosphere of carnival. In these lectures, Dehejia discusses the images as tangible objects that interact in a concrete way with human activities and socioeconomic practices. She asks questions of this body of material that have never been asked before, concerning the source of wealth that enabled the creation of bronzes, the origin of copper not available locally, the role of women patrons, the strategic position of the Chola empire at the center of a flourishing ocean trade route between Aden and China, and the manner in which the Cholas covered the walls of their temples with thousands of inscriptions, converting them into public records offices. These sensuous portrayals of the divine gain their full meaning with critical study of information captured through a variety of lenses. In this sixth lecture, entitled "Worship in Uncertain Times: The Secret Burial of Bronzes in 1310," originally delivered at the National Gallery of Art on May 8, 2016, Professor Dehejia looks at the dramatic secret burial of bronzes in temple after temple in 1310, an attempt to safeguard them from armies of the Delhi sultanate that marched south to seize the fabled jewels of the Chola temples. These buried bronzes emerged in the 20th century when unsuspecting laborers began temple expansion projects. The lecture concludes with a look at today’s art market and the transformation of beloved sacred bronzes into highly prized works of art.

Vidya Dehejia, Barbara Stoler Miller Professor of Indian Art, Columbia University. In this six-part lecture series entitled The Thief Who Stole My Heart: The Material Life of Chola Bronzes from South India, c. 855–1280, art historian Vidya Dehejia discusses the work of artists of Chola India who created exceptional bronzes of the god Shiva, invoked as “Thief Who Stole My Heart.” Graceful, luminous sculptures of high copper content portrayed the deities as sensuous figures of sacred import. Every bronze is a portable image, carried through temple and town to participate in celebrations that combined the sacred with the joyous atmosphere of carnival. In these lectures, Dehejia discusses the images as tangible objects that interact in a concrete way with human activities and socioeconomic practices. She asks questions of this body of material that have never been asked before, concerning the source of wealth that enabled the creation of bronzes, the origin of copper not available locally, the role of women patrons, the strategic position of the Chola empire at the center of a flourishing ocean trade route between Aden and China, and the manner in which the Cholas covered the walls of their temples with thousands of inscriptions, converting them into public records offices. These sensuous portrayals of the divine gain their full meaning with critical study of information captured through a variety of lenses. In this fifth lecture, entitled "Chola Obsession with Sri Lanka and the Silk Route of the Sea in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries," originally delivered at the National Gallery of Art on May 1, 2016, Professor Dehejia examines the bronze images of deities created in Buddhist Sri Lanka after it became a province of the Chola empire. Artists there, accustomed to creating relatively sedate forms of the Buddha, were baffled by a Dancing Lord whose very essence was movement. The lecture also reviews the Chola expeditions to southeast Asia in the context of the lucrative trade route between Aden and China.