SPRING/SUMMER 1999 PUBLIC PROGRAM SCHEDULE

The Harvard University Art Museums is pleased to present the following public programs led by Museum curators and other scholars. These programs require a fee and advance registration; please see each program for details. Discounts are available for Friends of the Harvard Art Museums. For more information on these programs, how to become a Friend, or for special student discounts, please call (617) 495-4544.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

Adjacent Realities: Considering the Interactive Kiosk in Museums Galleries
Wednesday, June 2
Fogg Art Museum, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
$25; $20 for Friends; space is limited and advance registration is required, please call (617) 495-4544 to register.

Ivan Gaskell, Margaret S. Winthrop Curator of Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts; George Liaropoulos-Legendre, assistant professor of architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University; Ron Spronk, research associate for technical studies, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies; and Jacqueline Van Rhyn, curatorial assistant, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art

In conjunction with the exhibition Multiple Configurations: Presenting the Contemporary Portfolio in the Busch-Reisinger Museum and the first Cyberarts Festival in Boston (May 1-15), this discussion will explore issues concerning the presence of the computer in the museum. Museum exhibitions today frequently include a computer kiosk station to provide additional information about the art, the artist(s), and artistic techniques. However, these kiosks, usually located at the entry or exit of the exhibition or in an adjacent room, function only to provide supplementary material rather than as an alternative way to display the art and to engage the viewer. What happens when the kiosk becomes integrated into the exhibition, becoming an additional mode of display? Will its presence detract or enhance the museum experience? Drawing upon examples of computer kiosks currently in the Harvard University Art Museums, join curators and media specialists as they share their experiences and the issues they encountered in designing these kiosks.

SEMINAR

John Singer Sargent as Draftsman and Muralist
Mondays, May 3 and 10
Fogg Art Museum and Boston Public Library; 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
$50; $35 for Friends; space is limited and advance registration is required, please call (617) 495-4544 to register.

Miriam Stewart, assistant curator, and Kerry Schauber, research assistant, Department of Drawings, and members of the Straus Center for Conservation.

The Fogg's collection of over four hundred drawings and thirty-three paintings by John Singer Sargent is one of the largest and most significant in the world, with the Boston area also boasting Sargent's three late, great mural projects including the majestic murals in Harvard's Widener Library. In anticipation of the forthcoming exhibition Sargent in the Studio: Drawings, Sketchbooks, and Oil Sketches (June 10-September 5), this two-part seminar will examine Sargent in his lesser-known role as draftsman and muralist. The first session in the Fogg's Mongan Center, will focus upon Sargent's drawings and sketchbooks, with particular attention to his mural studies. This session will also include a preliminary introduction to Sargent's Boston Public Library murals, The Triumph of Religion, and a visit to the Straus Center for Conservation to look at a fragment of Sargent's model for the Boston Public Library. The second session will meet at the Boston Public Library to view and discuss Sargent's monumental mural program on site. These murals, notoriously difficult to see and interpret, have recently been closely examined and dusted by members of the Straus Center in preparation for their upcoming conservation. The paintings conservators involved in this project will join us in discussing the making and meaning of the murals.

The Harvard University Art Museums' facilities are wheelchair accessible. For general information, please call (617) 495-9400. For press information or photographs, please contact Stephanie Dorn at (617) 495-2397. For more information on events, please contact the Friends, Fellows, and Special Programs Office at (617) 495-4544. World Wide Web: www.artmuseums.harvard.edu.

The Harvard University Art Museums comprise three museums (Busch-Reisinger Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum), all located on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA, at the intersection of Quincy Street and Broadway, adjacent to Harvard Yard. The Art Museums are open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Closed holidays. Admission is $5.00; $4.00 for senior citizens; $3.00 for students; free under 18 and to all on Saturday mornings and all day on Wednesdays. For special tour reservations, please call (617) 496-8576. General tours are offered Monday through Friday from September through June; Wednesdays only in July and August. The Fogg tour is at 11:00 a.m.; the Busch-Reisinger tour is at 1:00 p.m.; and the Sackler is at 2:00 p.m. The Harvard University Art Museums is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.