Symposium—"The Full Force of His Spiritual Bellows": Thomas Hart Benton's America Today Mural, Part 1

Symposium—"The Full Force of His Spiritual Bellows": Thomas Hart Benton's America Today Mural

Morning Session—Thomas Hart Benton's America Today Mural: New Perspectives

Welcoming Remarks:
Sheena Wagstaff, Leonard A. Lauder Chairman, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, MMA

Introduction:
Randall Griffey, Associate Curator, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, MMA

Lectures:
"Changing the Game: How America Today Changed the Course of American Art"
Henry Adams, The Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History, Case Western Reserve University

"'Anarchic Carelessness' and 'Expansive Grandeur': Regional Change in Thomas Hart Benton's America Today"
Austen Barron Bailly, The George Putnam Curator of American Art, Peabody Essex Museum

"Benton's Cinematic Style: Modernism, Movies, and America Today"
Erika Doss, Professor, Department of American Studies, University of Notre Dame

"The Sounds of America Today"
Leo Mazow, Associate Professor of Art History, Department of Art, University of Arkansas

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Thomas Hart Benton's America Today Mural Rediscovered, on view September 30, 2014–April 19, 2015.

Recorded March 2, 2015


An overhead view of the Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda. The woven, wattle and daub structure is surrounded by a forest on one side, and homes on the other with an empty lot directly in front.
Video
Enjoy a selection of short films from a newly produced series on sub-Saharan Africa’s distinct landmarks and behind-the-scenes stories of the filmmaking process.
June 24
Aerial view of stone walls and trees at Great Zimbabwe
Video
Join a filmmaker, curators, and an international correspondent to learn about a series of short films that foreground twelve of sub-Saharan Africa’s distinct landmarks.
June 12
More in:Lectures & Symposia