Presented by Linda Blair
In-person:
Thursdays, November 4, 11, 18, 2021
7:30 PM
Over the many years (oh, alright, many, many years) I’ve had the privilege to stand behind a podium to share my passion for art with you, I’ve heard frustration—where, you wonder, do these specific talks nestle in Western art? Your frustration was appropriate: art cannot be extracted from the culture that produces and nurtures it. Art is an artifact of a total history. But instead of a larger historic context, you were rather inelegantly plopped down in one isolated historic era or lonely school of art.
Essentially, what you’ve requested is a timeline, Greeks to Picasso. So, let’s get to it! Let’s boil down two thousand, five hundred years in three hours—but very responsibly, of course. It’s been great fun to put this together, and I thank you.
Included will be an added fillip, a closer look at the two seminal eras, the “hinge moments” that halted the smooth-running course of that flow―halted, and redirected art into new, unpredictable directions. What in the world could cause such historic dislocation, such total reordering of inevitability? What, indeed. I call these hinge moments the “Great Disruption,” and the “Lesser Great Disruption.” What where they, and when? Your clues lie in this three-week series. ―Linda Blair
November 4: Foundations of Western Civilization―The Greek Gift and the Christian Millennium
To the Greeks we owe the concept of humanism, the astoundingly revolutionary belief in man, and man’s power―and the possibility of a world guided by rationality. Christianity introduced the concept of a caring God and the institutionalization of societal care. There will be a brief discussion of a significant sin of omission in Eurocentric education―that is, mention of the intellectual vibrancy and manifold gifts to us of the Muslim world.
November 11: Studies in Extremes―From Beheadings to Geographies of the Soul
Contained within just one century, the pendulum of art careened from the mysterious serenity of Vermeer to the shocking ferocity of Caravaggio's beheadings; the lusty sensuality of Rubens to the intelligent rectitude of Velázquez; Frans Hals’ jump-out-of-the-canvas lively personalities to Rembrandt’s profound penetration of the soul.
November 18: Prologue and Fulfillment―The Other Hinge Moment
The 17th and 18th centuries were an artistic pinball machine, all blinking lights and shrill bells as a cacophony of various art movements jostled for dominance. Where were stability and future direction to be found? Not in Paris, center of the art world, but in an ancient forest, where a small group of unconventional artists worked out radical ideas that would bring order and direction to art―and foretell its future far into the 20th century.
About Linda Blair:
Linda Blair has taught art history for many years, at the La Jolla Athenaeum and UC San Diego Osher; she was a docent at The Cloisters. She holds a BA from Mills College and an MA from USD. She is an active volunteer at UC San Diego, dedicated to raising scholarship funds.
The lectures will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each lecture. Face coverings are required for attendees, regardless of vaccination status. Event capacity is limited to 70% for now.