AAH ART HISTORY LECTURE SERIES ANNOUNCED FOR FALL
Building on the popularity of the art history lectures presented by Dr. Robin O’Bryan last winter, The Art Association will present five lectures this fall. The topics and presentors are: “Renaissance Witchcraft” by Dr. Robin O’Bryan, October 30; “Collectors, Collections and Collecting” by Peter Risser, November 6; “ The Ancient Egyptian Quest for Eternal Life” by Dr. Sara Meng, November 13; “Painted Churches of Cyprus and Donor Portraits” by Barbara Piscioneri-McNulty, November 20; and “Exploring Aging in Art” by Glen Dunbar, November 27.
The lectures will all take place in the main gallery of The Art Association of Harrisburg from 2 to 4 PM on Sundays, with a $10 donation requested at the door. The laptop and projector utilized in presenting the lectures are a result of a generous grant from The Foundation for Enhancing Communities.
Dr. Robin O’Bryan, who teaches at Gettysburg and Harrisburg Area Community Colleges, has also taught at Millersville University, Dickinson and Messiah Colleges, Penn State University, and the University of California at San Diego. She received her BA in art history from the University of Maryland in Brussels, Belgium, and her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Her research is primarily focused on the subculture in Italian Renaissance art, including dwarves and witches.
Peter Risser, who received his undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, received a minor in art history from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Art History in the Henry Clay Frick Library. Risser earned his Master’s Degree at Alfred University’s NYSCC. He has taught studio art, art history and art appreciation at Duquesne University, Shippensburg University, Penn State University, and the PA College of Art & Design. Risser’s sculptures have been handled by Gallery Henoch in New York for the past 25 years, and have also been shown in Philadelphia, Washington and Pittsburgh. Risser’s AAH lecture will centre on a few major private collections, as he discusses the processes and criteria utilized by collectors as they assemble their works. Particular attention will be paid to the central role that collectors play in fostering the cultural community of artists, as well as art dealers.
Dr.SaraMeng teaches at Harrisburg Area Community College, where she is also chair of the Art Department. Dr. Meng received her BA in art history from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, her MA in art history from the University of Louisville, and her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Although her research has been focused on the American artist Peggy Bacon, Dr. Meng also has an abiding fascination in archaeology and ancient history, particularly that of ancient Egypt. Her November 13 AAH lecture will deal with ancient Egyptians’ obsession with the afterlife, their religious beliefs, and the evolution of tomb structures and grave goods.
Barbara McNulty, currently acting director of the Suzanne H.Arnold Art Gallery at Lebanon Valley College, is an art historian whose research focuses on Byzantine and Medieval portraiture on the island of Cyprus. She has presented papers at academic conferences throughout the US, most recently having presented a paper at a study day on Cyprus called “Cyprus from Byzantium to the Renaissance,” held jointly by Dumbarton Oaks and the Republic of Cyprus Embassy. Her paper was “Negotiating Between the Feudal and the Commercial: Family Portraiture on Cyprus.” At LVC, Ms. McNulty has developed courses on the history and theory of portraiture, and on the body in the art and architecture of the Middle Ages. As acting directory of the Suzanne H.Arnold Art Gallery, she curates exhibitions that span a broad spectrum of art historical interests.
Glen L.Dunbar, who holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Centre for Aging Studies at the University of North Texas, is a retired social gerontologist and policy analyst. He teaches a variety of sociology courses at area colleges, and has previously taught several courses through the Pathways Institute. His AAH lecture will discuss the fact that art, like music, reflects and shapes the culture that creates it. Common aging themes reflected in art have not changed much over the centuries, including the seasons of life, wisdom and serenity, power in accumulated riches, loss and loneliness, misspent life, relationships with children, and spirituality. He will examine and discuss 15 paintings depicting older people from pre-Renaissance to modern times.