Department of Art
American Pictures
The American Pictures Distinguished Lecture Series at the Smithsonian is sponsored by Washington College's Department of Art and Art History, the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
John Waters
on Cy Twombly's Letter of Resignation
Saturday, March 21
4:30 p.m.
Actor, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker, John Waters has been dubbed the "Pope of Trash" (and by no less an authority than William S. Burroughs). His films have brought an underground sensibility into mainstream culture, demonstrating — in the words of one New York Times critic — a "gleeful irreverence and appreciation of the American grotesque." The 16 titles to his credit include some of the most successful cult movies of the 1970s and 1980s, including "Pink Flamingos," "Polyester," and "Hairspray," which in 2002 was turned into a hit Broadway musical, then a hit film based on the musical. Waters is also the author of five books and his photography has been shown in galleries all over the world. His newest exhibition opens this spring at the Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York and the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles.
Jamaica Kincaid
on Edward Lamson Henry's Kept In
Saturday, April 11
4:30 p.m.
Born in Antigua, Jamaica Kincaid has made a lasting mark on the literary history of both the Caribbean and her adoptive country, the United States. She draws on her own upbringing in creating her powerful and widely acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction, which include Annie John, A Small Place, The Autobiography of My Mother, and, most recently, Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalayas. Her writing frequently touches on themes of race and coming-of-age, both of which are apparent in the painting she has chosen to speak about. She was a staff writer at the New Yorker from 1976 until 1995, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A critic for the New York Review of Books wrote: "Kincaid's rhythms ... bring Gertrude Stein to mind. She is an eccentric and altogether impressive descendant."
Harold Holzer
on John Henry Brown's Abraham Lincoln
Saturday, April 18
4:30 p.m.
As the nation marks the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, a leading Lincoln scholar delves into one of the most unusual and deeply revealing portraits of the 16th president. Harold Holzer, the author or editor of 31 books on Lincoln and the Civil War era, was a 2008 recipient of the National Humanities Medal. His latest work is the critically praised Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter, 1860-1861. His 1984 book The Lincoln Image explored the president's relationships with the artists and photographers who helped create his enduring mystique. Holzer has a parallel career in the museum world, serving as Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is currently co-chairman of the United States Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, to which he was appointed by President Clinton in 2001.
Roz Chast
on Charles Addams's Boiling Oil
Sunday, April 26
4:30 p.m.
The editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick, has called Roz Chast "the magazine's only certifiable genius." Chast's cartoons have appeared regularly in the magazine since the late 1970s (when she was barely out of college) and have been collected in nine books, most recently Theories of Everything, a 25-year survey. Chast is known for her cast of recurring characters: generally hapless but relatively cheerful "everyfolk." In her cartoons, she addresses the issues of our time: guilt, anxiety, aging, families, friends, money, real estate, and — as she would say — "much, much more!" She has illustrated several children's books and contributed to many humor collections, lectured widely, received several prestigious awards, and exhibited in numerous group and solo shows. In examining a classic cartoon by her forebear at The New Yorker, Charles Addams, Chast will explore how Addams's work has influenced her own.