Plan Your Fall Semester with Context

In the second of Dr. Norton's chat on "SIX!", she compared the lives of Henry VIII's first three queens - Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour - with their characterizations and song lyrics.

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Most people know or recognize Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" which has been popular for years. But Ms. Bolton-Porciatti provides detailed information about Vivaldi, his life and career that gives you a better understanding of the context for his compositions and his progress through his life as a composer.

Timea Andrea Lelik sets the stage for a new way to see the works of Mary Cassatt. We learn her approach to her subjects, women and children. While we know them well, MC finds new unexpected angles, mirrored postures that make us see the subject, and the world in which the subject is viewed. Cassatt paints a portrait with the face mirrored by a tea cup. She shows women reading newspapers. The women, these children are not on display....many times they are alone. We learn of Cassatt's friendships with male artists that allowed her to explore different exhibition opportunities and eventually different ways to make art - pastels, screen prints: each new media approached with confidence.
The lecture points to a time when circumstances may not have been what they appeared to be. How better to understand this than through the eyes of a superb woman artist.

Take time out to think about books you may have read or just not thought about for a while, then dive back into your day refreshed and curious!

We’ll done, great speaker & info.

Wonderful storytelling by James Grant-Peterkin about a little known but influential figure - Scotsman Selkirk. Robinson Crusoe pales with this true story. Terrifically fascinating and intriguingly told. (The speaker also references a children’s book called Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell that some may enjoy of a female Native American who was stranded on an island - another lesser known story of survival.)

Very well done - beautiful presentation!

Informative, concise, deeply knowledgeable about Selkirk and his times.

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Kate always, brings new historical information in all her talks. I love that she has music along with the history of the musicians . I listen to vivaldi but did not know much about him until her talk!

This was a wonderful review of Vivaldi's life using his Four Seasons. Kate was so organized and thorough and we loved the musical examples used for each time period.

Wonderful information about Cassatt and her paintings. Especially interesting was all the information about Cassatt’s role in women’s rights.