Hauntingly Good Art 2023

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Due to unforeseen challenges, last year’s Hauntingly Good Art presentation at the Leesburg Center for the Arts was cancelled at the last minute. This was a heartbreaking experience to say the least.

Thankfully, a lot can change in a year and Hauntingly Good Art was revived for Spooky Season 2023!

Hauntingly Good Art (finally!) took place on Wednesday, October 25th at the Leesburg Center for the Arts with a large group of folks in costume or wearing their finest and most frightful Halloween garb. In fact, Vincent van Gogh himself made an appearance!

Just kidding… it was me!

Art history is full of spooky and creepy artwork… and artists! Not only did we discuss Louise Bourgeois’ enormous spider sculpture, Maman…

…and the still life paintings of the Golden Age of Dutch Baroque painting…

…and the many (oh so many!) skeletons and skulls that pop in artwork throughout the centuries…

…but we also discussed the theory that British painter Walter Sickert may have been Jack the Ripper! His paintings are very unsettling to me, especially the way in which he depicts women. Some art historians have even referred to his style as “dark Impressionism” and I have to agree – yikes!

My gratitude to all the folks at the Leesburg Center for the Arts for allowing me this opportunity and to everyone who participated in the event. I had so much fun it was scary!

2 thoughts on “Hauntingly Good Art 2023”

  1. Thanks Adrienne for reminding me why the Maman Spider sculpture does not fall down because it seems impossible to perfectly balance Maman with overhead mass on spindly ankles wide apart! Your Leesburg spooky art talk great October idea because we look at so many lovely still life paintings and “bang” there’s a human skull reminding us of our mortality!  Then there’s Georgia O’Keefe painting beautiful scenes, flowers and “bang” there’s a cow skull because she liked them or to remind us of mortality?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

The Wandering Art Historian's avatar
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.