"Seeing the City" - Exhibit and Forums Offer Fresh Perspectives

Beginning this fall, Winston-Salem's Reynolda House Museum of American Art will present “Seeing the City: Sloan’s New York,” a traveling exhibition of John Sloan’s images of New York City, which presents both an in-depth view of the artist’s time there and the effects of the city on his art. By bringing together numerous images in all media from 1904 through the 1930s, “Seeing the City” is the first major traveling exhibition to focus on Sloan’s depictions of New York and the first since the 1970s to present significant new scholarship on the artist. By cataloging in words and pictures the vast changes in the city during his time, Sloan (1871-1951) created a "pedestrian aesthetic" which helped define New York in the popular imagination. The exhibit will be on view from October 4, 2008 through January 4, 2009.

Those interested in the "pedestrian aesthetic" in Winston-Salem will also find of interest a series of public forums accompanying the exhibit. As the Museum's press release notes, "John Sloan’s paintings present a unique opportunity to promote discussion about what makes a city interesting and beautiful. Is it the variety of people that make up its residents? Is it the architecture? Is it the natural parks and places where people can relax by the water, or artists and their creativity that add an indefinable spark to a city?" The Reynolda House forums, with talks by leading experts and local leaders, will be held on three successive Thursday evenings in October. October 9, 7–9 p.m. - The Face of Our City: Architectural Characteristics, Unique Assets, and Conscientious Development. October 16, 7–9 p.m. - The Heart of Our City: Downtown Living, Diversity, and a District for the Arts. October 23, 7–9 p.m. – Transforming Our City: Bridging Public Art and Public Works.

Thanks to Reynolda House for expanding both the conversation and the venues for discussion of how art might serve our city. Top illustration is by John Sloan, "Spring Rain," 1912. Original is oil on canvas, 20 ¼ x 26 inches, at the Delaware Art Museum, a gift of the John Sloan Memorial Foundation, 1986.