Fall Lecture Preview #2

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

A few weeks ago, I posted a teaser for my upcoming fall lecture series, “How to Read a Painting.”  As I mentioned, Session 1 will be devoted to COLOR and exploring a few of the fascinating ways in which artists use color in their work.

Session 2 is dedicated to SYMBOLS and discussing their meanings in a variety of artworks.  The interesting thing about symbols is that their meanings can change or mutate over time.  Take, for example, the apple.  In Medieval art, the apple is typically depicted in scenes of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  In those artworks, the apple represents sin and giving in to temptation.

This may strike us as strange in the 21st century because we use phrases that seem to hold the apple in high esteem.  “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” suggests a single apple can help keep you healthy.  Giving a teacher an apple suggests it is the perfect gift to give an educator.  Plus, a whole host of digital devices we use everyday have an apple on them as their official logo.

Does the apple still suggest temptation and sin or does it now reflect knowledge and information?  Or is there a hidden meaning to the apple that is more complex?  Learn more when you attend “How to Read a Painting” this October at the Winter Garden Art Association.

For more information on this lecture series, please visit…

http://wgart.org/events/lecture-how-to-read-a-painting-part-2/

 

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.