SPITHEAD ARTS
Arts Appreciation Society



Lecture Dates 2022
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HOW TO STEAL A MILLION
Start Date:
2022-01-25T19:00:00GMT
Location:
Shauna Isaac
Event Description:

Lecture
How to Steal a Million
This lecture will look at famous art thefts, discuss what motivates art thieves as well as examine what aspects the thefts have in common. It will also look at where the burglars made mistakes, which enabled investigators to swoop in and recover stolen masterpieces. In many cases, the police sting operations were just as daring as the thefts.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: HIS MUSIC AND HIS LIFE
Start Date:
2022-02-22T19:00:00GMT
Location:
Peter Medhurst
Event Description:

Lecture
Johann Sebastian Bach: His music and his life
(1685 – 1750)
Music lovers generally regard JS Bach as the greatest of early 18th century composers. In fact, he is so important in the history of music that we close down the Baroque period with his death in 1750. This lecture goes beneath the surface of Bach's music to decode some of his musical symbolism, to reveal some of his working methods and to highlight some of his aesthetic goals.

FANTASY COMES FROM THE GHOSTS: GAUDI AND OTHER CATALAN ARCHITECTS.
Start Date:
2022-03-22T19:00:00GMT
Location:
Jacqueline Cockburn
Event Description:

Lecture
Fantasy comes from the ghosts: Gaudi and other Catalan Architects
Antoni Gaudí (1852 - 1926) was a Catalan architect known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. This lecture will explore in detail how he engaged with nature and worked with extraordinary ceramicists, iron workers, tilers and decorative artists. It will look at his public and private buildings - most are located in Barcelona, including his main work, the church of the Sagrada Família - and his relationship with a wealthy and demanding patron. The lecture will also feature some of the other architects working in Barcelona over the turn of the twentieth century including Domenech y Muntaner and Puig y Cadafalch.

TAKING THE WATERS: SOCIAL LIFE IN THE SPA TOWNS FROM ROMAN TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAYS.
Start Date:
2022-04-26T19:00:00BST
Location:
Jane Tapley
Event Description:

Lecture
Taking the Waters- Social Life in the Spa Towns from Roman Times to Present Days
Hear how spas developed from mineral springs and holy wells steeped in local folklore. Learn about the development of spas in medicinal practices and how they transformed into fashionable watering holes for the Georgian Society, gathering as they did to dance, gamble, gossip and flirt. The talk looks at splendid architecture, extensive parks and gardens all designed to attract the "Beau Monde".

SIGNS AND SYMBOLS IN ART
Start Date:
2022-05-24T19:00:00BST
Location:
Rosalind Whyte
Event Description:

Lecture
Signs and Symbols in Art
Focusing in on signs within paintings, this lecture explores how signs and symbols are used to tell the story of a painting. It will also show how paintings spreading across centuries often use the same imagery, whether in religious or secular paintings. By learning to ‘read’ these signs and symbols we are better able to understand paintings.

THE GREAT BUDDHA OF NARA AND THE TREASURES OF THE SILK ROAD
Start Date:
2022-06-28T19:00:00BST
Location:
Meri Arichi
Event Description:

Lecture
The Great Buddha of Nara and Treasures from the Silk Road
The Great Buddha of the Todai-ji (Great Eastern Temple) of Nara was commissioned in the first half of the 8th century by Emperor Shomu who aimed to unify the country by creating a network of temples in all provinces. The colossal bronze statue of Buddha, over 16 metres high, was the symbol of imperial authority. Its completion in 752 was marked by a grand ceremony and the ceremonial artefacts used on this occasion are still preserved in the temple storehouse Shoso-in, together with the Emperor’s personal belongings. The collection includes many rare works of art originating from the countries along the Silk Road, suggesting the active trade and the international nature of the Buddhist world at the time.

KRAKOW: CITY OF THE DRAGON.
Start Date:
2022-07-26T19:00:00BST
Location:
Douglas Skeggs
Event Description:

Lecture
Kraków “The City of the Dragon”
Kraków was the ancient capital of Poland up until the 17th century. Its great market square, the spider’s web of mediaeval streets, the university where Copernicus first studied the stars and above all the majestic cathedral overlooking the Vistula river tell the story of this turbulent country. The lecture is a personal tour of Krakow in search of the gems of art and architecture, the triumphs, the tragedies and twists of fate that have shaped this remarkable nation.

CAN ART CHANGE THE WORLD
Start Date:
2022-09-27T19:00:00BST
Location:
Val Woodgate
Event Description:

Lecturer and guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, also at many other London Galleries and for various art organisations. Former member of the teaching team at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Lecturer to The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS) throughout Britain, and to related organisations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Lecture
Can Art change the world? Art with something to say
This lecture concentrates on those artists from the 15th to the 21st centuries who have used their art to communicate ideas, opinions, criticisms or fears about their world and, in doing so, tell us a great deal about the historical period in which the art was created.

OCEAN LINERS 1800 - 1950: SHIPS THAT CHANGED OUR LIVES
Start Date:
2022-10-25T19:00:00BST
Location:
Dr James Taylor
Event Description:

Lecture
Ocean liners 1800 -1950
The vision and genius of Isambard Kingdom Brunel underpins this global story of hopes and dreams, disasters and triumphs. A wide range of ships are featured including Great Britain and Great Western, Lusitania and Mauretania, Olympic and Titanic and, arguably Britain's most popular liner, the Queen Mary, brought to life through a diverse range of artworks, including some striking Art Deco Posters.

GEORGE IV AND HIS GIRAFFE. A TALE OF POLITICS, EXOTICISM AND SCIENCE.
Start Date:
2022-11-22T19:00:00GMT
Location:
Alexandra Loske
Event Description:

Lecture
George IV and his Giraffe - A Tale of Politics, Exoticism and Science This is the amusing but also serious story of the first living giraffe in England. She was given to George IV as a diplomatic gift by the Pasha of Egypt in 1827 and soon influenced fashion, sciences and the arts, as well as ringing in a new era of municipal zoological gardens.

JAMES WHISTLER "THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES"
Start Date:
2023-01-23T19:00:00GMT
Location:
Douglas Skeggs
Event Description:

Lecture
James Abbott McNeill Whistler. (1834-1903) “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”
Self assured, affected and irreverent, the owner of a razor sharp wit, Whistler scandalized London society during the 1870s. American by birth, he trained as an artist in Paris where his bohemian lifestyle made him one of the personalities of the city. Annoyed by the criticisms of his work at the Salon des Refuses he moved to London only to find the English even more opposed to his ideas.
The lecture explores the paradox of this man whose flamboyant and eccentric ways made him both admired and detested in equal measure and yet whose quiet, meditative paintings ultimately assured him a place alongside Oscar Wilde as one of the high priests of the Aesthetic Movement.

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