Museum PR Announcements News and Information

Gift of Art Lecture Series Explores Humor in Western Art at the Katonah Museum of Art

(Katonah, NY) Art historian Marcy B. Freedman returns to the Katonah Museum of Art for the Gift of Art Lecture Series with What’s So Funny? An Exploration of Humor in Western Art, on Tuesdays, March 6, April 10, and May 15. Tickets for the series are $60 for members and $75 for non-members. Single lecture tickets are $25 and $10 for students. Pre-lecture refreshments will be served at 7pm followed by the lectures which begin promptly at 7:30pm. Prepaid reservations are required and may be made by calling 914-232-9555 x0.

What’s So Funny? An Exploration of Humor in Western Art will consider the ways in which humor appears in art from antiquity to the present. In each lecture, Freedman will focus on the topics and methods that artists have used to elicit smiles, giggles, or peals of laughter. Additionally, she will discuss the relationship between humor and the functions of art in various historical periods.

Gift of Art Schedule

Tuesday, March 6 – 7:30pm
Innuendo and Titillation: Dirty Jokes, Bawdy Behavior, and More!
Century after century, artists have addressed human sexuality in ways that arouse laughter. From ancient pagan representations to 17th-century Dutch paintings of boisterous drunkards frolicking with prostitutes to the blatantly provocative works of today, one can find large doses of humor in artworks with sexual themes. Freedman will provide numerous examples and will speculate about the reasons for the ubiquity of innuendo and titillation in western art.

Tuesday, April 10 – 7:30pm
The Mocking of Others: Satire, Parody, and Irony
One may laugh out loud at the human follies portrayed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder or snicker at the moral lassitude of the characters depicted by William Hogarth and Thomas Rowlandson. However, it is easy to detect the more serious purpose that underlies the humor in their art. Similarly, it is clear that 19th-century artists such as Honoré Daumier and Francisco Goya, as well as contemporary artists such as Martha Rosler, Barbara Kruger, and The Guerilla Girls, have exploited the power of satire, parody and irony to make critical statements about the social and political problems of their respective eras. In this lecture, Freedman will discuss artworks that are simultaneously silly and serious.

Tuesday, May 15 – 7:30pm
Surprise, Shock, Befuddlement: Modern and Contemporary Artists Provoke Laughter in Diverse Ways
During the first half of the 20th century, artists of the Dada and Surrealist movements were motivated by serious theoretical principles, but the public often found their works to be absurd and laughed derisively. Freedman will explore this phenomenon by discussing masterpieces by Duchamp, Magritte, and Dali. She will also consider contemporary artists, such as William Wegman, Richard Prince, and Maurizio Cattelan, who employ gags, jokes, and cartoons in their intentionally funny videos, paintings, and sculptures. Freedman will conclude her talk with a consideration of the dark, often scatological humor found in the art of Bruce Nauman, Paul McCarthy, and Dana Schutz.

The Katonah Museum of Art is located at 134 Jay Street (Route 22) in Katonah, NY.

For information and reservations for the Gift of Art Lecture Series call 914-232-9555 or visit www.katonahmuseum.org

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *