Episodes
-
http://ancientartpodcast.org/93
This short excerpt from my lecture on the art and history of the Egyptomania phenomenon delves into its early origins. As Europe emerged from the Middle Ages, Egyptian antiquities pillaged during the Roman Empire were excavated from their slumber under Roman soil and newly erected across the city. Even before the translation of the Rosetta Stone, before Napoleon's epic Egyptian expedition and publication of Description de l'Égypte, artists such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Louis Jean Desprez were already experimenting and defining what we would come to call Egyptomania. In the subsequent generation, academic painter Jean Léon Gérôme reveals a mature appreciation for ancient Egyptomania in his meticulous renderings of the the Roman Empire.
Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast at http://ancientartpodcast.org/
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/cr/podcast/ancient-art-podcast-ancient-worlds/id205535627
Feedback http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
https://www.instagram.com/thereallucas/
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/92
This extended episode takes us on an unexpected journey across the Art Institute of Chicago to explore the artistry and influences of rings. We go well beyond personal adornment and discuss the significance and many meanings of "ring" as it appears in visual culture.
Image:
Le Grenouillard (Frog-Man), 1892
Jean-Joseph Carriès
French, 1855–1894
Art Institute of Chicago, 2007.78Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast at http://ancientartpodcast.org/
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/cr/podcast/ancient-art-podcast-ancient-worlds/id205535627
Feedback http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
Episodes manquant?
-
http://ancientartpodcast.org/91
In this excerpt from my lecture on the Art Institute's recent special exhibition Painting the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Masterpieces from the Weston Collection, I set the stage for what was Japan's Floating World culture during the Edo Period of the Tokugawa Shogunate, 1615-1868. We touch on the origin of the term, the cultural climate in which it rose the popularity, and how the floating world psyche was expressed in Japan's visual arts at the time.
Image:
Hishikawa Moronobu
Flower-Viewing Party with Crest-Bearing Curtain, from the series Flower Viewing at Ueno
Japanese, 1676–1689
Art Institute of Chicago, 1925.1689Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/90
In yet another nod to alcoholic inebriation's polymorphic magical potency, we encounter one of my favorite tales of the god of wine, ecstasy, reverie, and madness ... Dionysus. Here we learn the tale of Dionysus versus the Pirates as originally recounted in Homeric Hymn number 7 and alluded to on the exquisite black-figure "Dionysus Cup" kylix by the master painter and potter Exekias.
For detailed credits, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/90.
Featured Work of Art:
The so-called Dionysus Cup
Exekias, ca. 540/530 BC
Attic black-figure kylix; from Vulci
Munchen Staatliche Antikensammlungen
Photo by Matthias Kabel, wikimediaMusic:
Brave Pirates
By fri.events Orchestra
Licensed under Creative Commons
freemusicarchive.orgThe Precession of the Equinoxes in the Inverted Alps
By Azureflux
Licensed under Creative Commons
freemusicarchive.orgI Dunno
By grapes
Featuring J Lang, Morusque
Licensed under Creative Commons
ccmixter.orgPirates
By Jack and the Pulpits
Licensed under Creative Commons
freemusicarchive.orgConnect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/89
In this excerpt from a recent tour, I explore some of the highlights from Homer's Odyssey in a 15th century Florentine painting and learn a little about Italian Renaissance marriage and fidelity. Names and terms dropped: Homer, Odysseus, Penelope, Nausica, cyclops, Polyphemus, the Sirens, Hermes, moly, Circe, Calypso, Argos, Apollonio di Giovanni, James Joyce, Trojan War, Tuscan, gilding; important terms not dropped: cassone.
For images of the featured work of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/89.
Featured Work of Art:
Apollonio di Giovanni
Italian, 1415/17-1465
The Adventures of Ulysses, 1435/45
42 x 131.7 cm (16 3/4 x 51 7/8 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.1006Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/88
In this short excerpt from my lecture on Tibetan Buddhist art, we skim the surface of the spiritual meaning, function, and structure of Tibetan mandalas.
For images of the featured works of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/88.
Featured Works of Art:
Drepung Gomang Monastery
Mandala of World Peace
September 21, 2014
Miller Beach, Indiana
Photo by Lucas Livingston, ancientartpodcast.org/88Arjia Rinpoche
Architectural Model of the Kalachakra Mandala
researchdtmack.com/mandalas.htmlTibet
Mandala
18th/19th century
Opaque watercolor and gold on cotton and wood
35.2 x 35.2 x 5.4 cm
The James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (151.1996)
From Pal, Pratapaditya, A Collecting Odyssey, 1997, fig. 210.Tibet
Mandala
18th/19th century
Opaque watercolor and gold on wood
26.7 x 26.7 x 12.8 cm (10 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 5 in)
The James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (150.1996)Gallery label: Mandala, literally meaning "circle," is a diagram of the spiritual universe that is used as a meditational device. The circle encloses a sacred area, into which the devotee enters via meditation. The only figures shown in this abstract mandala are the demons who inhabit the charnel ground within the circle of flames. The central hexagon is a yantra (a meditation device) that symbolizes the combination of masculine and feminine aspects, shown as two overlapping triangles. Their union induces cosmic harmony. A circle connects the points of the hexagon, symbolizing the unification of the souls of everything living and divine.
Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/87
This is a short excerpt from my lecture "Things That Go Bump: A Visual Survey of Witches, Demons, and Ghosts." Herein we explore the ancient Greek tradition of witchcraft and metamorphosis in two images — one ancient and one modern — of Circe, the definitive witch of Grecian lore and seductive sorceress of Odyssean fame. Waterhouse masterfully betrays her jealous cruelty in those cold, dark, uncaring eyes. Vying for the affection of a handsome lover, the hateful witch Circe poisons the placid pool where the her rival Scylla bathed. Circe's potion of polymorphism transforms the beautiful nymph Scylla to the proverbial "hard place," the loathsome multi-mawed many-tentacled monster, who'd dash the hopes (...and heads) of Odysseus's men sailing "between Scylla and Charybdis." And in the Grecian cup in the MFA, we see a magical elixir similarly perched in wicked Circe's hands while Odysseus's men are in the midst of metamorphosis from her arcane magicks.
For images of the featured works of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/87.
Featured Works of Art:
John William Waterhouse
Circe Invidiosa (Jealous Circe), 1892
South Australian Government Grant 1892
Art Gallery of South AustraliaDrinking cup (kylix) depicting scenes from the Odyssey
Greek, Archaic Period, about 560-550 BC
The Painter of the Boston Polyphemos
© Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (99.518)Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/86
Happy Halloween! In this very brief excerpt from my lecture "Things That Go Bump: A Visual Survey of Witches, Demons, and Ghosts," we introduce Goya's 1797/99 published volume The Caprices (Los Caprichos). This tome of nightmares, witches, and devils satirizes human vice and intolerance of late 18th century Spanish society through the demons born of religion and power. We conclude with a brief glimpse at our modern icon of the Wicked Witch through the lens of art history and tradition. For greater depth, background, and context, watch episode 59, A Witches' Sabbath.
For images of the featured works of art, visit http://ancientartpodcast.org/86.
Featured Work of Art:
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
"The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters," plate 43
"When Day Breaks We Will Be Off," plate 71
"Pretty Teacher!" Plate 68
From Los Caprichos, 1797/99
(Museo Nacional del Prado)Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/85
A very brief excerpt from my lecture "Things That Go Bump: A Visual Survey of Witches, Demons, and Ghosts!" Odysseus Journeys to the Underworld and holds a seance with the souls of Hades through necromantic blood magic so the countless shades of the dead and the gone would surge around him.
Featured Work of Art:
Jar (pelike) with Odysseus and Elpenor in the Underworld
Greece, Athens, Classical, about 440 BC
The Lykaon Painter
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (34.79)Connect:
Donate to the Ancient Art Podcast
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/84
Diving head first into the many myths of the celebrated god of wine, ecstasy, theater, and madness, episode 84 of the Ancient Art Podcast's Ancient Worlds series explores The Birth of Dionysus. Drawing inspiration from the famed sculpture Hermes and the Infant Dionysus, we explore the wine god's parentage, his mother Semele's tragic fate, and the curious case of the twice-born god. Names dropped: Zeus, Semele, Hera, Hermes, Cadmus, Harmonia, Europa, Ovid, Hyginus, Pseudo-Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, Pausanias, Praxiteles, Rhys Carpenter
Features Work of Art:
Hermes and the Infant Dionysus
Roman-era, 2nd century after an original by Praxiteles, 4th century BC, Greece
Archaeological Museum of OlympiaMusic:
Colocate by Podington Bear
Nova by Go Ask Alice from the album Perfection is Terrible
The Shout by Go Ask Alice from the album Perfection is Terrible
Lightfeet by Podington Bear
Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/83
In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, we walk through two starkly contrasting Japanese folding screens celebrating the time-honored, iconic subjects of dragons and tigers with exceptional energy and dynamism.
Features Works of Art:
Kishi Ganku (1749-1838)
Dragon and Tiger, 1835
Pair of six panel screens; ink and gold on paper
Art Institute of Chicago, 2016.314a-bMorita Shiryu (1912-1998)
Dragon (Ryu), 1965
Four-panel screen; aluminum-flake pigment in polyvinyl acetate medium, and yellow alkyd varnish, on paper
Art Institute of Chicago, 1971.873Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/82
How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful material of the semi-precious blue stone lapis lazuli in a Tibetan painted banner (thangka) of the Buddha of medicine and healing, Bhaishajyaguru.
Features Works of Art:
Painted Banner (Thangka) with the Medicine Buddha (Bhaishajyaguru)
Central Tibet, 14th century
Pigment and gold on cotton
104 x 82.7 cm (41 x 32 1/2 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago, 1996.29Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/81
How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful material of Chinese jade — its symbolic and medicinal value, function, materiality, artistry, and poetic inspiration.
Features Works of Art:
Dragon Pendants
Jade
China, Eastern Zhou dynasty
Warring States period (c.480-221 BC)
c. 4th/3rd century B.C.
9.2 x 16.8 x 0.7 cm (3 3/5 x 6 3/5 x 3/10 in.)
8.6 x 16.5 x 0.6 cm. (6-1/2 x 3-3/8 x 1/4 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago, 1950.640
Art Institute of Chicago, 1950.641Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
http://ancientartpodcast.org/80
How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful material of gold in Incan art and culture. We also discuss the traditional Andean corn beer called "chicha."
Features Works of Art:
Beaker
Inca, Ica Valley, south coast, Peru
Late 15th/early 16th century
Gold
16.5 x 6.4 cm (6 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago, Kate S. Buckingham Endowment, 1955.2587Pair of Beakers Depicting Birds in a Cornfield
Inca, Ica Valley, south coast, Peru
A.D. 1100/1438
Gold
Each 7 x 7.3 cm (2 3/4 x 2 7/8 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago, Kate S. Buckingham Endowment, 1955.2589 a-bCeremonial Vessel (Aryballos)
Inca, Probably vicinity of Cuzco, Peru
1400/1532
Ceramic and pigment
78 x 49 cm (30 3/4 x 19 1/4 in.) (max.)
Art Institute of Chicago, Kate S. Buckingham Endowment, 1955.2214Ritual Vessel Representing a Woman Carrying a Vessel (Aryballos) and Nursing a Child
Chimú-Inca, Lambayeque Valley, north coast, Peru
A.D. 1200/1450
Ceramic and pigment
23.9 x 18.4 cm (9 3/8 x 7 1/4 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago, Kate S. Buckingham Endowment, 1955.2411Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
ancientartpodcast.org/79
How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful materials in a Boli Ritual Object of the Bamana people in Mali, Africa. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter and beeping proximity alarms.
Permanent collection label:
Bamana sculpture often functions as a mediating force between the spirit and human realms. Ritual objects, such as this amorphously shaped boli, are commissioned and cared for by age-grade associations. A boli has a wood core wrapped with cotton cloth, into which spiritually charged packets are bound. Sacrificial materials, including animal blood and grains, are applied to its surface, giving it a crusty exterior. These sacrifices symbolize the layering of secret knowledge, imbuing the boli with nyama (life force). A boli is stored with other sacred objects in a shrine house and may only be seen by members of the association to which it belongs.Image:
Ritual Object (Boli)
Bamana, Mali
Mid-19th/early 20th century
Wood, cloth, mud, and sacrificial material
H. 43.8 cm (17 1/4 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold X. Weinstein, 1961.1177Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
ancientartpodcast.org/78
How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful materials in a Nkisi Nkondi Power Figure of the Vili people in central Africa. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter and beeping proximity alarms.
Image:
Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)
Vili, Republic of the Congo or Democratic Republic of the Congo
Early/mid-19th century
Wood, metal, glass, fabric, fiber, cowrie shell, bone, leather, gourd, and feather
Art Institute of Chicago, 1998.502Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
ancientartpodcast.org/77
How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful materials in an African Congolese ceremonial mask of the Kuba Kingdom. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter and beeping proximity alarms.
Image:
Mask (Mukenga)
Kuba, Western Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Late 19th/mid-20th century
Wood, glass beads, cowrie shells, feathers, raffia, fur, fabric, thread, and bells
Art Institute of Chicago, 1982.1504Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
ancientartpodcast.org/76
In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I discuss the techniques of Greek vase painting and the differences between the black-figure and red-figure styles. We also dip a toe into some Greek history, talk about the names of Greek vase painters, artists signing their works, and compare Greek vase painters to the French Impressionists. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter, construction noises, and beeping proximity alarms.
Images:
Black-figure Belly-Amphora (Storage Jar) Showing Herakles Wrestling the Nemean Lion
Attributed to the Painter of Berlin 1686 or the Painter of Tarquinia RC 3984
Greek, Athens
c. 550-540 B.C.
Art Institute of Chicago, 1978.114Hydria (Water Jar)
Attributed to The Leningrad Painter
Greek, Athens
c. 470/460 B.C.
Art Institute of Chicago, 1911.456Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
ancientartpodcast.org/75
Why are the heads, crowns, and hands of magnificent Tang Dynasty Chinese tomb figurines so startlingly bare compared to their brilliantly colored bodies? This is an excerpt from my gallery talk "Coloring the Past" in the Art Institute of Chicago from March 9, 2017. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents of background chatter, beeping proximity alarms, and echoing reverb. Please forgive the poor sound quality. Terms: sancai, glaze, funerary, earthenware, ceramic, polychromy, pigment, paint, sculpture, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism.
Gallery Talk: Coloring the Past (American Sign Language-interpreted)
Art Institute of Chicago
March 9, 2017
"How does our modern lens shape the way we see ancient works of art? Explore the use, meaning, and manufacture of color in ancient art with museum educator Lucas Livingston. This gallery talk will be interpreted in American Sign Language."Image:
Armored Guardian King (Tianwang) Trampling Demon
China, Tang dynasty (AD 618–907)
First half of 8th century
Earthenware, glaze, and pigment
Art Institute of Chicago, 1970.1069Connect:
http://itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
http://ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
http://youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston -
ancientartpodcast.org/74
We examine the use of color in ancient art to designate role, status, nature, and more, and discuss causes for the disappearance of polychromy in ancient art. Side note: Why does the Egyptian God Osiris sometimes appear with black skin and sometimes with green skin? Names dropped: Zeus, Athena, Olympians, Giants, Gaia, Osiris. This is an excerpt from my gallery talk "Coloring the Past" in the Art Institute of Chicago from March 9, 2017. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents of noisy kids, beeping proximity alarms, and echoing reverb. Please forgive the poor sound quality.
Gallery Talk: Coloring the Past (American Sign Language-interpreted)
Art Institute of Chicago
March 9, 2017
"How does our modern lens shape the way we see ancient works of art? Explore the use, meaning, and manufacture of color in ancient art with museum educator Lucas Livingston. This gallery talk will be interpreted in American Sign Language."Image:
Architectural Relief Showing Gigantomachy (Battle Between Gods and Giants)
Etruscan, 3rd-2nd century BC
terracotta & pigment
Art Institute of Chicago, 1984.2Connect:
itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627
ancientartpodcast.org/feedback
[email protected]
facebook.com/ancientartpodcast
youtube.com/SCARABsolutions
twitter.com/lucaslivingston - Montre plus
