Local artist and art teacher Gay Bechtelheimer hosted on Thursday evening the first of three art lectures the South Arkansas Arts Center will offer for 2021.
“An Hour for the Arts” spring lectures are an entertaining dive into three historically important art movements and the artists who informed the ideas behind these movements. This three-part lecture series, sponsored by Ginger Lawn Care and Melinda and Michael Verdesca, will be held on Thursday evenings throughout the spring. Lectures will begin at 6 p.m.
“These art talks fulfill a wish of mine to enrich the visual arts programming at SAAC by discussing art in a historical context,” said Bechtelheimer. “It informs and inspires the practice of visual artists and it gives dimension to art that is viewed not only in galleries but also in popular culture. Additionally, we gain a deeper understanding of the spirit and soul of that particular moment in time.”
The first lecture in the series, entitled “Hudson River School”, was held on Jan. 21. The first uniquely American art movement was the Hudson River School, which had its origins in the mid-19th century. The work was an ethereal celebration of the American landscape, which was large, untamed and expanding. The most well-known Hudson River painting, “Kindred Spirits,” lives right here in Arkansas at the Crystal Bridges Museum.
“Ash Can School” will be the topic for the second lecture on Feb. 18. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were a group of painters working in New York City whose determination to bring art into closer touch with everyday life greatly influenced the course of American art. They were known as the Ash Can Painters.
Third in the schedule is a talk about artist Edward Hopper, who is widely acknowledged as the most important realist painter of 20th Century America. His vision of reality was a selective one derived from common features of American life and its inhabitants. His influence reaches far into our culture, having inspired other artists as well as filmmakers, musicians and writers.
Bechtelheimer has been a long-time art teacher at SAAC and has been instrumental in shaping many children’s, as well as adults’, art journeys in south Arkansas. She served last year as education coordinator for “Astro Zone,” the Murphy Arts District’s collaboration with Crystal Bridges.
Bechtelheimer also had the recent honor of being one of 50 women featured in Erin Wood’s book “Women Make Arkansas… Conversations with Female Creatives”.
In order to keep SAAC and its members as safe as possible, all COVID-19 directives from the Arkansas Department of Health will be followed. Reservations are required to determine assigned seating in the theatre where guests will be seated with plenty of social 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 their seating assignments and an individually packaged snack to enjoy during the presentation.
For more information or to make a reservation for any lecture, call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org to reserve a seat through the online reservation portal. SAAC is located at 110 E. 5th St. in El Dorado.