Williams College Museum of Art Presents
Moving Pictures: The Symposium
Friday and Saturday, October 21–22, 2005

The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will present “Moving Pictures: The Symposium” Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22, in conjunction with the exhibition “Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film, 1880–1910.” During the symposium, which will take place at the Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, leading scholars from the fields of cinema studies and art history will explore the complex relationship between American art and early film of the same period. All lecturers have also contributed essays to the exhibition catalogue.

Charles Musser, Professor of American Studies and Films Studies at Yale University, will present the keynote address at the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, “Art and Cinema: Challenges and Questions Posed by the ‘Moving Pictures’ Exhibition,” on Friday, October 21 at 4:00 pm. A reception will follow at the museum.

Saturday’s event will feature morning and afternoon sessions, each consisting of several half-hour lectures followed by a panel discussion. The morning session begins at 9:15 am with a welcome by Lisa Corrin, Director of WCMA. At 9:30 am, Nancy Mowll Mathews, curator of the exhibition, will present her lecture, “Making Pictures Move.” From 12:30 to 2:00 pm there will be a break for lunch, with an opportunity to tour “Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film, 1880–1910” at the museum.

The afternoon session will commence at 2:00 pm.

All symposium events are free and open to the public. Call (413) 597-2429 to reserve a space or for additional information. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. WCMA’s exhibition “Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film, 1880–1910” continues through December 11, 2005.

Schedule of Symposium Events

Friday, October 21, 2005
Location: Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance

4:00 pm
Keynote address
 “Art and Cinema: Challenges and Questions Posed by the ‘Moving Pictures’ Exhibition”
Charles Musser, Professor of American Studies and Film Studies at Yale University

A reception follows at the Williams College Museum of Art

Saturday, October 22, 2005
Location: Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance

9:15 am           
Welcome
Lisa Corrin, WCMA Director and Lecturer in Art

9:30 am           
“Making Pictures Move”
Nancy Mowll Mathews, Eugénie Prendergast Senior Curator of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Art and Lecturer in Art, Williams College. Curator of the exhibition “Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film, 1880–1910”.

10:00 am           
“When Movies First Went to War: Documenting the Spanish-American War of 1898”
Katherine Manthorne, Professor of Art in the United States, Latin America, and Their Cross-Currents, 1750–1950, Ph.D. Program in Art History at the CUNY Graduate Center

10:30 am           
“Moving Images and the Transformation of the Image in Modern Vision”
Tom Gunning, Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Art History and the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago

11:00 am           
“John Singer Sargent’s Moving Pictures”
Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

11:30 am
Panel Discussion: “Early Film and American Artistic Traditions”
Chair: Professor Michael Leja, Professor, Department of the History of Art, University of Pennsylvania
Panelists: Nancy Mowll Mathews, Katherine Manthorne, Tom Gunning, Erica Hirshler, and Marc Simpson, Associate Director of the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art and Curator of American Art at the Clark Art Institute

12:30-2:00 pm       Break for lunch

2:00 pm           
“Chronophotography: Leaving Traces”
Marta Braun, Professor, School of Image Arts at Ryerson University, Toronto

2:30 pm           
“Tough Girls”
Ellery Foutch, Ph.D. candidate, University of Pennsylvania

3:00 pm
“On the Canvas: Boxing, Art, and Cinema”
Dan Streible, Associate Professor of Film Studies at the University of South Carolina and Director of the Orphan Film Symposium

3:30 pm          
Panel Discussion: “Art, Film, and Modern Life”
Chair: Antonia Lant, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies at New York University
Panelists: Marta Braun, Ellery Foutch, Dan Streible, and Lucy Oakley, Head of Education and Programs at the Grey Art Gallery, New York University

The Williams College Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible.

Contact: Suzanne Augugliaro, Public Relations Coordinator, 413.597.3178