Art History

A film by Tchavdar Georgiev and Amanda Pope

Thursday, December 3, 7-9 pm Preston 110

How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags. Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist’s works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions.

Ben Kingsley, Sally Field and Ed Asner voice the diaries and letters of Savitsky and the artists. Intercut with recollections of the artists’ children and rare archival footage, the film takes us on a dramatic journey of sacrifice for the sake of creative freedom. Described as “one of the most remarkable collections of 20th century Russian art” and located in one of the world’s poorest regions, today these paintings are worth millions, a lucrative target for Islamic fundamentalists, corrupt bureaucrats and art profiteers. The collection remains as endangered as when Savitsky first created it, posing the question whose responsibility is it to preserve this cultural treasure.

This film screening is in conjunction with Professor Oleg Minin’s course “Russian Art of the Avant-Garde” and the Art History Program, the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program, the Center for Civic Engagement, the Russian Film Series, the Russian Club and Russian Art and Culture Project.

The Great Hall Exhibitions Events: Fall 2015

Step Into Liquid: Art and Art History in the Post-Fordist Era

Friday, December 4, 2015
1:00pm to 6:00pm in the Lecture Hall
The Institute of Fine Arts, NYU
1 East 78th Street

Organized by Walead Beshty, with Rachel Heidenry ’11 and Eloise Maxwell

Introduction: Remarks by Walead Beshty, 1:00-1:15pm

Panel 1: Digitalization and the Aesthetics of Distribution, 1:15-3:00pm
It is commonly observed that a core tenet of Contemporary Art is its being produced with an awareness of its dependence on systems of distribution, a condition that has increasingly come to dominate the approach of the most ambitious criticism of our time. How has the development of a vast digital infrastructure, which facilitates contemporary aesthetic distribution, produced pronounced effects on the form and materiality of the work of art and its reception? How does this vast distributive system interact with and complicate the aesthetic conditions of industrialized production and distribution that it operates in tandem with? How does this awareness manifest itself despite the fact that the majority of contemporary artistic practices continue to maintain traditional genres such as painting, sculpture, photography, film and video or performance, albeit under distinctly different conditions from their predecessors?

Break: 3:00-3:30pm

Panel 2: Performativity and Methodology, 3:30-4:45pm
As the boundaries between the art object and its mode of circulation become increasingly difficult to maintain, whether it be through its dispersal among bodies in socially contingent practices or through means of distribution that are habitually seen as secondary to the work itself, what methodological tools are available to art history and art criticism to address the current status of the work of art? What methodological questions does it pose to theories of representation, or to the method of comparative formal analysis that underscores the field? Which, if any, of the classical art historical distinctions—be they between media, or aesthetic forms, or primary and secondary manifestations of the work of art—can be maintained? In short, can art history and criticism address what things “do” in addition to what they “say”?

Conclusion: 4:45pm-5:15pm

Reception: 5:15-6:00pm

Panel 1:

Moderator – Tim Griffin, The Kitchen

Speakers:
Claire Bishop, CUNY Graduate Center
Kenneth Goldsmith, University of Pennsylvania
Ruba Katrib, The Sculpture Center
Bettina Funcke, School of Visual Arts

Panel 2:

Moderator – Janet Kraynak, Columbia University

Speakers:
Alexander Alberro, Columbia University
Robert Slifkin, Institute of Fine Arts
Alex Kitnick, Bard College
Christopher Wood, New York University

New Perspectives in Design History, Decorative Arts, and Material Culture

Wednesday, November 11, 2015 6:30 pm
RKC 103 Laszlo Z. Bito ’60 Auditorium

Amber Winick: “Playing with Nationalism: A Century of Hungarian Design for Children.”

Rebecca C. Tuite: “Fashioning a College Experience: The History of Seven Sisters Style.”

THE  FRICK   COLLECTION
1 East 70th Street
New York, N. Y. 10021

Undergraduate/Graduate Curatorial Internships
3-4 placements available for Spring semester 2016

Background
The Frick Collection is an art museum consisting of more than 1,100 works of art from the thirteenth to the nineteenth century displayed in the intimate surroundings of the former home of Henry Clay Frick. The residence, with its furnishings and works of art, has been open to the public since 1935. It is considered one of the world’s most perfect museums; its sister research institution, the Frick Art Reference Library founded in 1920, is of equal distinction. The Library is an internationally recognized research library that serves as one of the world’s most complete resources for the study of Western art.

Internship
Curatorial interns will shadow and work alongside specialists in European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. Each intern will collaborate with curatorial staff on research projects pertaining to areas of art history represented in The Frick Collection as they relate to the intern’s area of study.

Eligibility
The Curatorial Internship is open to upper-level undergraduates or graduates pursuing degrees in art history. Preference will be given to students with a background in Western art and a demonstrated interest in museum work. Candidates proficient in French or Italian or with an interest in seventeenth-century Dutch and nineteenth-century British art are pm1icularly encouraged to apply. Foreign nationals must have eligibility to participate in unpaid internship placements in the U.S. Applicants are responsible for their own housing and travel arrangements.

Time Commitment: The internship generally spans the spring academic semester, and activities will be carried out on one or two days per week.

Benefits of the Internship with The Frick Collection:  These internships provide a superb opportunity for participating in all aspects of curatorial work in a small, dynamic department and interacting with staff across the institution and the public.

Although there is no stipend associated with these internships, all interns of the Frick Collection may access free or discounted admission to most of New York’s finest museums. The Frick provides employees, trainees, interns, and volunteers with a discount on Museum Shop purchases and a subsidized on-site staff dining service. The Frick Collection offers a beautiful and pleasant work setting and an excellent opportunity to appreciate some of the world’s finest works of art.

TELEPHONE (212) 288-0700

Application Process and Timeline: All Curatorial Internship applications for spring 2016 must be submitted no later than November 30,
Selected candidates will be contacted for interviews and applicants will be notified in January 2016.

Please note that eligibility and application instructions may vary from one department of The Frick Collection to another and that applications to multiple departments are not accepted; please apply to only one department per season.

All internship applications must be submitted via e-mail, as follows:

Subject Line: “Curatorial Intern- Spring 2016” Submit PDF cover letter and resume.

Include the following in your cover letter

• Your reasons for applying to the Frick’s Curatorial Department, including a statement describing how an internship would enhance your academic course of study
• Your preferred dates and hours of availability
• The names, professional affiliations, telephone numbers, and email addresses of two references, at least one of which must be academic
• Current GPA

No phone calls please.

Curatorial Internships [email protected] The Frick Collection
1 East 70th Street
NY, NY 10021