The Looking Series - Slide Talks

Looking at Man and Nature
Through the centuries, man has maintained a complex and many-sided relationship with nature, reflected in the changing approaches to the art he has created in each era and each culture.  Alternately, nature has been viewed as a site for religious spirits, admired for its intrinsic qualities, celebrated as a setting for dramatic events, studied for its scientific properties and worried over for the threats to its ecological well-being.  In addition, the artist has used it as a metaphor for emotional states, an opportunity for poetic musings, an awesome presence in which he plays a respectfully minor part, and recently, as an intrinsic part of the art-making process itself.  We will study man’s relationship to nature chronologically as it unfolds through the ages and consider the various approaches and styles in art that evolved as a result of this interaction.

The Looking Series is organized by Miriam Brumer, former Coordinator of Adult Programs at the Queens Museum of Art and a practicing artist.

March 13 - Nature as a site for worship
March 27 - Nature in the Non-Western world
April 3 - Nature as part of a formal structure
April 10 - Nature as a physical reality
April 17 - Nature as a dramatic setting
April 24 - Nature as romantic nostalgia
May 1 - Nature as a vehicle for color theory
May 8 - Nature as metaphor
May 15 - Nature and its role in society and political life
May 22 - Nature and contemporary concerns