Commonwealth Speakers:Film and Visual Arts


Sandy Sorlien photographing the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. From her presentation Stormy Path: My Sudden Journey from Photographer to Urban Planner. Photo courtesy of Leah Stroble.

One of the greatest joys of watching a film or viewing a work of art is to learn a new way of seeing. In this category, you will find talks ranging from the history of fine art in Pennsylvania to international perspectives through film.

Everyone's a Critic
In today's media landscape, the film critic is ubiquitous. Print, radio, television and Internet coverage of movies all feed the audience's hunger for information, discussion and debate. KYW Newsradio film critic Bill Wine will lead a discussion of the movie critic's form and function—as well as the pitfalls and perks and the rigors and rewards of seeing virtually every new movie, then reporting one's responses and perceptions to an audience of readers, listeners, viewers and web surfers.

Bill Wine, Wyncote
Film Critic. Associate Professor of Communication, LaSalle University

Andy Warhol: The Artist and His Critics
Twenty years after his death, Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol still is largely misunderstood by the general public and by arts and humanities scholars. This presentation by Debra Miller, an insider of the Warhol circle and a close friend of the Warhola family, will consider Warhol's art and life within the context of art history and art criticism. Miller will show that, while his Pop subjects, dramatic persona and renowned Factory revolutionized the art world in the 1960s, many of his themes and techniques represent modernized versions of well-established artistic traditions. She will show that many of the criticisms of Warhol's work by contemporary writers are nearly verbatim to those leveled against such revered Old Masters as Rembrandt and Caravaggio in earlier times.

Debra Miller, Philadelphia
Adjunct Professor of Art History, Rowan University & Hussian School of Art

The Franco-American Connection: Film and Culture
One of the best ways to understand your own culture is by direct comparison with another. American cinema has remade a number of French films and by doing so has transformed French culture for an American audience. These remakes provide an excellent, and fun, way to think about cross-cultural differences. How does an American director change a scene by a French director? And, what does this mean about American/French culture in a larger sense? In this discussion-based talk, we will look at clips from the two cultures (focusing on aspects of child-rearing and love) and think about what they say about each culture.

Todd Reeser, Pittsburgh
Assistant Professor of French, University of Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania's Post Office Art of the New Deal
During the New Deal, thousands of post offices were built. Many received artworks—murals and sculptures commissioned by the Treasury Department—which reflected the heritage of communities for which they were built. Pennsylvania has the second largest collection of these works. In a presentation illustrated with slides, David Lembeck will describe the major themes depicted. Collectively these images provide a colorful overview of Pennsylvania's economic, social and political history. The art making process, from commissioning to execution, also will be explored. Correspondence from the National Archives reveals the artists' optimism as well as their occasional struggles with government administrators and local residents over their work. While providing a statewide survey, each presentation will be tailored to highlight the art in a specific locality.

David Lembeck, State College
Member of Milton Post Office Preservation Committee

Is There an "Ism" in Pennsylvania Impressionism?
Every respectable branch of Impressionism, it seems, must have its own adjectival place name. And, the assumption implied by the "ism" is that everyone associated with that name must have painted in a similar way. Yet is a discussion of styles and trends and "isms" really central to what motivates the best artists? Brian Peterson asks this in the context of Pennsylvania Impressionism—the early 20th century art colony that sprang up in Bucks County. While many Bucks County painters were cosmopolitan artists, the most accomplished among them were primarily concerned with the development of a singular way of working. Focusing on the ten best-known Pennsylvania Impressionists, this presentation will explore how these artists were significantly influenced by the larger art world, as well as how each artist transcended those influences to create something new.

Brian Peterson, Lower Gynedd
Senior Curator, Michener Art Museum

Arts in the Progressive Era Temperance Battle
In the Progressive Era battle, fine art, illustration, photography, vaudeville, music and dramatic works all were used to persuade the public. Historian John Lawlor will explore the many issues surrounding the temperance battle such as freedom, women's rights, child welfare, health, poverty and crime. Lawlor's multi-media presentation includes film clips from T.S. Arthur's Ten Nights in a Barroom, a 1909 Harry Von Tilzer song and many drawings and illustrations like those by George Cruikshank in his works The Drunkard and the Drunkard's Children. Although Reading, serves as case study for the presentation, the arts, as used by both sides in the temperance battle, transcended locality.

John Lawlor, Womelsdorf
Professor of History, Reading Area Community College

Early Pennsylvanians and the Rise of the Fine Arts
Just before the War for Independence, colonial Pennsylvanians underwent another revolution: one that literally changed the way they saw the world around them. This lecture will explore the changing ideas about art and architecture that Pennsylvanians held in the latter half of the 18th century. We'll take a look at the lives of elite colonists—those who could afford to travel to Europe and become connoisseurs of the fine arts—who established some of the first collections in the American colonies. We also will explore the ways this new idea of aesthetics affected other social classes, and how politically charged the fine arts became after American independence. Slides will illustrate how these changes affected the look of early Pennsylvania.

George Boudreau, Philadelphia
Assistant Professor of History & American Studies, Penn State University – Harrisburg

The Arab-Israeli Conflict in American Films
Film presentations of the Arab-Israeli conflict both reflect and exploit the situation, often reducing it to good vs. evil. Early films like Exodus and Cast A Giant Shadow portrayed the Israeli as a moral Super-Jew in combat with villainous Arabs. Palestinian nationalism in the 1970s unleashed an American fear that found expression in films such as Rosebud and Black Sunday. Later films, such as The Little Drummer Girl, see filmmakers redrawing the conflict in terms of competing rights, rather than propagandizing for one side or the other. Using excerpts from these films, Amiram Amitai will explore the emerging and contentious American perspective on the conflict through its on-screen life.

Amiram Amitai, Chalfont
Filmmaker. Adjunct Professor at Temple University and Bryn Mawr College

Stormy Path: My Sudden Journey from Photographer to Urban Planner
Before August 29, 2005, Sandy Sorlein was enjoying a career as a fine art photographer, published author and teacher of her dream class (The Photography of the Urban Place) at the University of Pennsylvania. Hurricane Katrina changed a lot of people's lives drastically, including many of those who lived far from the Gulf Coast. Hear how Sorlien was changed by her work in Mississippi and New Orleans. Discuss with her how we all struggle with the missions we are called to perform over the course of our unpredictable lives. In this slide talk, Sorlien will present photographs from recent projects along with imagery of traditional neighborhoods from all over the country.

Sandy Sorlien, Philadelphia
Photographer & Instructor

Painting the Susquehanna, Pennsylvania's River of Dreams
While the term "Hudson River School" is almost synonymous with 19th century landscape painting, many accomplished artists painted our Susquehanna, attracted by its scenic beauty and intimacy. Among the artists discussed will be Thomas Doughty and Jasper Cropsey, both nationally-known and Lloyd Mifflin, who, as a poet and painter, truly can be said, "to have lived the river." Slides will show their paintings, as well as the work of their lesser-known contemporaries. Irwin Richman has written on the painters of the Susquehanna for various publications including The Magazine Antiques and Pennsylvania Heritage. His book Pennsylvania Painters is a widely-used introduction to Pennsylvania's artistic history.

Irwin Richman, Bainbridge
Professor Emeritus of American Studies & History, Penn State University – Harrisburg

The Poetic Landscapes of William Langson Lathrop
Born on a farm in Ohio, William L. Lathrop (1859-1938) became one of the most prominent American landscape painters of his generation. Remarkably, he was almost completely self-taught. Lathrop was prominently associated with Tonalism, a movement that roughly coincided with American Impressionism but did not share the Impressionists' love of sunny colors and outdoor or "plein air" painting. In addition to his renown as a painter, Lathrop was largely responsible for the birth of the now-famous Impressionist art colony centered in Bucks County. This presentation will focus on Lathrop's life and work and in the process tell the inspiring story of an Ohio farm boy who pursued his impossible dream of being a painter.

Brian Peterson, Lower Gynedd
Senior Curator, Michener Art Museum

Based on the Book: Best-Seller Cinema
We know that books and movies are different, so, we really shouldn't compare them. Yet, when we see the film version of a book we've read—whether we loved, liked, leafed or loathed it—we just can't help it, can we? We usually end up preferring either the version on the page or the version on the screen, knowing that we're comparing a literary apple with a cinematic orange. In this presentation, KYW Newsradio film critic and LaSalle University film professor Bill Wine will discuss the psychological differences between the reading and viewing experiences. He'll also talk about indelible written works that have provided the source material for memorable movies. And don't worry, we'll deal with the insufferable bombs too. So, bring your preferences, opinions, memories and questions.

Bill Wine, Wyncote
Film Critic. Associate Professor of Communication, LaSalle University

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