The McCune Collection Presents the Fall 2015 Lecture Series
Sunday September 20, 2pm
Sculptor James Orlando
Riding Wild Horses
James Orlando is less interested in how art is produced and more intrigued by the thoughts that go into it. "The thought around art is sometimes more important, perhaps, than the aesthetic object. I'm very interested in interpretation; the ways in which we know art, and the ways we interpret it.” As an object-maker, he is drawn toward expressing components of the human condition; his figures exist within their own individualities; isolated yet nurturing, as evidenced by the incorporation of detailed hand stitching, which represents the passage of time, as well as by the intimate use of bedding and clothing which deepens the personal nature of his works. As a visual storyteller, his sensibilities and outlook have been shaped by a longstanding interest in contemporary and “outsider” art. Find more about James Orlando at www.dirtfloorstudio.com
Sunday October 18, 2pm
Dr. Henry Snyder
The California Digital Archive Newspaper Project
Dr. Snyder presents a history of The California Newspaper Project, which preserves and indexes the state’s newspapers published between 1846 and 1922. As an important record of local history in the Golden State, the program is part of a nationwide newspaper preservation project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, which seeks to preserve the country’s journalistic history. Professor Snyder discusses the tasks and challenges of conducting the survey in California, as well as its metamorphosis into a digital archive and the importance of these archives to historical and genealogical research. Retired professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Riverside, and formerly director of the Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research, he is the author of more than thirty scholarly articles. In 2007 Dr. Snyder was honored at a ceremony at the White House, where he was only the sixth faculty member in the UC system to be awarded the coveted National Humanities Medal. Link: NNEH News Archive
Sunday November 15, 2pm
Larry Stevens
Maritime Adventures Around-the-World: the 1930's cruise journal of Midshipman Perry Duncan
Join Cal Maritime library staff member and campus historian Larry Stevens for a colorful reminiscence of the Academy's 1930's Training Ship history as seen through the diary of a handmade journal by midshipman Perry Duncan (1933 engineering graduate). Memories of California Nautical School’s years of military and seafaring history are contained within, including the 1932 ports of call to Washington D. C. & New York City, as well as the 1933 5-½ month around-the-world cruise. Each page is a time capsule that reflects the era in which it was created. After majoring in Architecture and Art History at the University of Cincinnati, and following another lifetime as a travel agent, Larry Stevens volunteered with the McCune Committee, leaving in 2007 to work for the Solano County and Benicia Library systems. In 2008, he was hired by CMA as a librarian and archival assistant and is the primary contact for the academy’s historical collections and displays. Contact Larry at lstevens@csum.edu for more information or a historical tour of the campus on the Carquinez Straits.