The Arts Society Woking's Talk Programme 2012
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| All Speakers are carefully chosen
based on their reputation for attractive
and well-presented talks with good
pictures. Talks take place on the
second Wednesday of each month except
July and August. |
| Talks commence promptly at
10.30am at
Bisley Pavilion, Bisley Camp,
Queens
Road, Bisley Woking Surrey GU24 0NY This
website includes an
Interactive map. |
| Coffee and biscuits are served from
9.45am. |
| Members may bring a visitor, but
the same person may not be a guest more
than twice a year. While we do not
charge a Visitors fee, Visitors may want
to make a donation to the Society of
(say) £5. |
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January
11th 2012 |
Treasures of the V&A
Renaissance Galleries
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The spectacular new galleries,
opened in December 2009, house
the Museum's outstanding
collection of renaissance art.
The talk looks at the
challenges facing the curators
of this ambitious project and
introduces many of the treasures
on display.
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Speaker: Dr Paula Nuttall
BA(Hons), PhD
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Dr Nuttall is a freelance
speaker and writer and Director
of the Museum's Medieval and
Renaissance Year Course. This
will be her second visit to us. |
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February
8th
2012 |
Looking at Dickens
1812-2012
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In Dickens' bicentenary year,
the talk introduces his life
and career and focuses on the
famous illustrations in the
serial novels, his public
readings in Britain and the USA,
the theatre world which he
loved, his picture in words of
London and the portraits and
cartoons which captured "the
Inimitable Boz" in life and
after premature death in 1870. |
Speaker: Professor Michael
Wheeler MA, PhD
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The speaker is now a
freelance writer and a Visiting
Professor at Lancaster and
Southampton Universities. |
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March 14th 2012
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Turkish Miniature
Painting
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This talk looks at miniatures
created at the Ottoman Court in
Istanbul during the glory days
of their empire when Sultans
were keen to record history and
above all their own place in
history. Typical subjects are
portraiture, battles, vivid
scenes of cities under siege,
festivals and the
Sultans themselves. The
vibrantly coloured miniatures
possess particular qualities of
frankness, vitality and vigour,
with exquisite drawing and an
element of humour.
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Speaker: Jane Angelini BA,
MA
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The speaker specialises in
Russian, Byzantine and Classical
art and comes to us for the
second time. |
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April 11th 2012 |
The Great Age of the
Poster
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The talk illustrates how
technical innovation in
printing, related to creative
genius and remarkable
craftsmanship, enabled the
Poster to become the world's
first effective method of mass
communication. It features work
by artists who made the Poster
great, including Manet, Cheret,
Lautrec, Mucha, Steinlen,
Grasset and many more.
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Speaker: Charles Harris BSc
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Charles Harris spent his career
in advertising and was
responsible for campaigns for
many of the world's great
brands. |
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May 9th 2012 |
Klimt and the Viennese
Secession: "A Kiss for all the
World"
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The fears and anxieties of
Vienna in the final years before
the Great War found expression
in the works of Freud and Mahler
and in the haunting paintings of
Klimt, Kokoschka and Schiele.
Klimt, the 150th anniversary of
whose birth falls in 2012, was
the leader of this Secession
movement. The talk traces the
course of this brief but always
dazzlingly inventive period of
art.
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Speaker: Douglas Skeggs
MA(Cantab)
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Douglas Skeggs returns for his
sixth visit to us. |
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June 13th 2012 |
Pompeii and
Herculaneum - their life and
death
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The cities of Vesuvius and the
treasures which they have
preserved offer unparalleled
insight into the culture and
lifestyle of the Roman Empire.
The talk will illustrate
sculptures of emperors and gods,
mosaics and wall paintings,
showing everything from
mythological scenes and famous
people to bakers' shops,
silverware, glassware and even
objects in wood. Very
importantly it will also look at
the people of the two cities and
their lives, loves and death on
the fateful day in August AD79.
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Speaker: Dr Paul Roberts
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Dr Roberts is curator of Roman
Archaeology at the British
Museum and comes to us for the
second time. |
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July 2012 |
No Talk (Summer
break)
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August 2012 |
No Talk (Summer
break)
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September
12th
2012 |
King George III "The most
cultured monarch"; art collector
and friend of America
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George III is unjustly
remembered solely as having been
mad and having lost the American
Colonies. The talk corrects
this impression and shows that
he was a discerning art
collector, patron of the
arts
and artists, friend of America
and Americans and a committed
family man. He was also a keen
architect who added the future
Buckingham Palace to the Royal
residences. |
Speaker: Oliver Everett
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Oliver Everett was Librarian in
the Royal Library,
Windsor
Castle 1984-2002.
This is his second visit to us. |
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October
10th
2012 |
The Big Apple: the
architecture of New York City
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New York is the site of some of
America's most famous and iconic
buildings. The talk surveys
the city's built environment,
from the comparatively ancient
buildings of the 18th and 19th
centuries to the great
skyscrapers of the first half of
the 20th century and more recent
additions to the famous skyline.
It examines the engineering and
the virtuoso architecture. |
Speaker: Mike Higginbottom
BA, MEd
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Mike Higginbottom is a former
speaker in architectural and
social history
and returns to us for the second
time. |
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November
14th
2012 |
"A Likeness of Paradise":
Stained Glass, the Sublime Art
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This talk describes the
development of window glass from
Saxon times through to the Arts
and Crafts Movement and beyond.
The story ends with an
appreciation of the skills of
today's conservators.
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Speaker: Lt Col Dick Bolton
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Dick Bolton is a registered Blue
Badge guide for SE England and
Canterbury and specialises in
glass and architecture. This
will be his second visit to us. |
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December
12th
2012 |
We Three Kings - Music, Art,
Poetry and Legends inspired by
the Magi
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The Bible gives us very little
information about the wise men
who came from the East: all
reference to them is housed in
the opening chapter of St.
Matthew's Gospel and what
information is given is
surrounded by ambiguity and
approximation. By contrast,
there is no shortage of music,
poetry and art inspired by these
men. The talk examines the
impact of the Three
Kings on the culture of later
generations.
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Speaker: Peter Medhurst
GRSM, ARCM
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Peter Medhurst gives recitals
and delivers illustrated
talks on music and the arts.
He will be accompanying himself
on the piano. This will be his
sixth visit to us. |
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Next Year's Talks |
The 2013 programme is in preparation and
proposals include;
- Rene Lalique: Art Deco glass and
Art Nouveau
Jewellery
- Treasures of the Silk Road
- The Aztec legacy
- Verdi and Wagner
- Western Sculpture
- Degas
- Dumfries House
- The Artists of Bruges
- Houses and Gardens of Normandy
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Current Year's Talks |
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To see 2016 activities,
click here |
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Prior Year's Talks |
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To see the activities in
previous years, click on the
year;
2024
/
2023
/
2022
/
2021
/
2020
/
2019 /
2018 /
2017 /
2016 /
2015 /
2014 /
2013 /
2012 /
2011 /
2010 |
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Disclaimer |
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The Arts Society Woking cannot be held responsible for any personal accident, loss, damage or theft of members' personal property. Members are covered against proven liability of third parties. |
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