Art Appreciation   

A $450 million Leonardo; a $69 million NFT (Non-Fungible Token/digital code). What determines these astronomical prices? Are NFTs art? Why does art-as-investment far exceed the stock market and most other speculations? Why do so many collected works of art end up in duty-free storage facilities? This evening will be a colorful exploration of the key events and factors that created an unprecedented art world, and how this new reality affects artists and the public alike, through key artworks, collectors, auctions, galleries, and museums.

Serdar Arat is offering the following classes this fall:

• Art Across Two Worlds, Wednesday, 10/15, at 6:30 PM
• Memorials: Commemoration & Controversy, Wednesday, 11/12, at 6:30 PM
• Serdar Arat Studio Visit (FREE), Sunday,  10/19, at 2:00 PM

In our extremely globalized world, does the traditional “East-West” duality still matter? In the contemporary art world, is “cultural sensibility” still relevant? If so, where and how do we discover it? Visual artist Serdar Arat explores these and other questions through his own creative process, by way of Istanbul, where he grew up, and New York, where he has been working and exhibiting as an artist since the 1980s. A diverse selection of historical and contemporary artworks surrounding Arat’s own works will provide a comparative experience. 

⇒This instructor will also be offering a free class at our Open House. To view and register for our Open House classes, click here.

 

As a follow-up to Serdar Arat’s “Art Across Two Worlds” lecture (10/15), participants and any other interested students are invited to visit his studio in Port Chester, NY. Arrival, departure, and stay times are completely flexible and up to the participants between the hours of 2-5 PM. This is an open house with no scheduled programming, and Serdar will show guests his studio, talk about his pieces, and answer questions. Light refreshments will be served.

⇒This instructor will also be offering a free class at our Open House. To view and register for our Open House classes, click here.

Sculptural and architectural memorials in public spaces help us reflect on our powerful collective memories. Yet, “collective memory” is subject to change, and in time, memorials once created to be permanent can be removed or destroyed. We will explore these and other dynamics affecting the creation and destruction of memorials by experiencing some of the most impactful and controversial memorials around the world, considering their original purposes, aesthetic qualities, and the challenges they pose.

⇒This instructor will also be offering a free class at our Open House. To view and register for our Open House classes, click here.

 

Take a provocative journey exploring ten ancient myths that inspired countless masterpieces of Western art. Whether it’s the goddess Diana punishing mortal Actaeon for seeing her naked, the Trojan prince Paris choosing the fairest among three goddesses, or the demigod Perseus rescuing the princess Andromeda from a sea monster, the relationships among gods—and between gods and mortals—were nothing if not intense and dramatic. This lecture delves into these and more stories of scandal, heroism, and passion through the lens of more than 100 artworks drawn from private collections and over 90 museums worldwide, including the Louvre, the Prado, the Tate, and the Met.