The South Arkansas Arts Center continues its six-part lecture series, “The New York School”, presented by local artist Gay Bechtelheimer, on Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m. There will be a brief reception, followed by an entertaining dive into the context, characters, and culture of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Reservations are required for socially distant and safe reserved seating.
This lecture series, sponsored by Linda and Louis Hall, is being held on Thursday evenings throughout the fall. “Color Field” is the third topic to be addressed by Bechtelheimer in this series.
“Color Field painting is the subdued side of Abstract Expressionism. Broad expanses of sublime color become the subject of the painting, inviting the viewer to participate in a contemplative and inward experience,” she said.
Lynn Dwight, SAAC board member, has been attending the series and bringing her mom along. They have both thoroughly enjoyed their experience at the lectures.
“From the minute we walked into SAAC, we felt a sense of calm…the screening was effortless,” said Dwight. “And with all the artwork around us which we were encouraged to wander about and see, we felt a sense of ‘normalcy’. Safely seated with only family or friends, we were given an insight into the art world that we might otherwise have never known about!”
In order to keep SAAC employees and members as safe as possible, SAAC will follow all directives from the Arkansas Department of Health. Reservations are required to determine assigned seating in the theatre where guests will be seated with plenty of required distancing. Patrons will be temperature checked at the door, and masks are required.
Beer and wine will be served in the gallery, where guests can pick up an individually packaged “SAAC Snack in a Sack” to enjoy during the presentation.
“We’ve been looking for a safe, creative way to say thank you to our membership. By offering the lecture series free of charge, and observing social distancing requirements, we hope to remind our members just what a wonderful community SAAC is, and how much their support means,” said SAAC Executive Director Laura Allen.
Seating is limited at this time. For more information on this lecture series, call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org to reserve a seat. SAAC is located at 110 E. 5th St.