The McCune Collection Presents the Spring 2012 Lecture Series
Sunday March 18, 2pm
Leonard Pitt
Paris Postcards - The Golden Age
The introduction of the postcard in France in 1872 revolutionized communication and created the first form of social networking, equivalent to today’s email. Produced by the hundreds of millions and employing tens of thousands, postcards were highly collectible and became key to the French economy. Leonard’s spectacular collection of hand tinted vintage postcards provides a view of a Paris that has long since disappeared. The messages written to families back home in the US evoke the American experience of Paris at the turn of the century. Full of beauty, charm, loneliness and longing, this is the ultimate nostalgia trip. Visit Leonard online at leonardpitt.com.
Sunday April 15, 2pm
Mel Ahlborn
An Illustrated History of Manuscript Illumination
Manuscript illumination was a major form of book-making, artistic expression and scholastic practice from the medieval through the late Renaissance times. Illuminated manuscripts evolved from the clay tablet and the papyrus scroll into sumptuously decorated volumes. Beginning with a scroll dating to AD166, we will look at illustrations from ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts whose text is interspersed with small paintings called miniatures, from minium, the Latin name for the red-orange lead pigment used in their creation. We will view many styles of illumination, ending our time together looking at images of William Morris' Kelmscott Chaucer. Mel Ahlborn is an exhibiting artist at (partial list) British Library; Washington National Cathedral; Oxford College; The Getty Center, Los Angeles; The Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco. Her solo exhibition, "Modern Love: Intercess and Wait" is on view at Gallery 1055, 1055 Taylor Street, San Francisco through May 31, 2012. mahlborn@illuminationstudio.org.
Sunday May 20, 2pm
Michael and Valerie Nelson~Magical Moonshine Theatre
Puppets and Puppetry as folk art
Join Michael and Valerie Nelson for a delightful afternoon at the McCune as they share their passion for the venerable art of puppetry. The program features a discussion of different kinds of puppets and puppetry techniques, as well as a performance of one of their many folk art presentations. For hundreds of years puppet entertainers have delighted audiences of all ages. Traditional puppet characters such as England's Punch and Judy, Germany's Kasperl, and France's Guignol all evolved from humble folk origins, nurtured world-wide by street performers. Shadow puppetry creates a mysterious and wonderful world where color, light and story enthrall adults and children alike. Founded in 1979 by Michael and Valerie Nelson, Magical Moonshine Theatre (MMT) performances have been seen coast to coast in the U.S., as well as internationally with performances in 15 countries in 8 different languages. Visit them online at: Magical Moonshine Theatre.