This event is now full. Click here to join the waiting list. 

Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities highlights both the friendship and the shared aesthetics of two of American Modernism's (1890s–present) most influential artists. O’Keeffe and Adams met in Taos, New Mexico, in 1929, an encounter that initiated a lifelong friendship. Adams and O’Keeffe shared a profound appreciation of the natural world. Despite a 15-year age gap and differing personalities, they developed a lifelong friendship through their shared admiration of the natural world. O'Keeffe and Adams corresponded over the years, visited one another, and sometimes traveled together to sites that became subjects of their artwork.

Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities brings together nearly 100 works of the painter and the photographer, revealing the parallels between their distinctive visions of the natural world. An introductory gallery provides a context for their art, with works by contemporaries such as Marsden Hartley, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston.

Leslie Erganian is an artist, television correspondent, and arts education advocate. She received an MFA in photography from UIUC, and an MFA in performing arts from UCLA film school. A twin B.A. in art history and painting was preceded by two years of pre-medical studies in biology at UIUC. She has lectured on film design at UCLA, and on photography at UIUC. She was the recepient of the 1981 & 1982 Outstanding Teaching Award at UIUC.

Leslie's artwork has been represented by galleries in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. Her photography is in the permanent collections of the California Museum of Photography. As a designer, she has contributed to the production of projects for clients including Warner Bros., DreamWorks, NBC, and PBS. Leslie has made over forty television appearances sharing her creative expertise with viewers of NBC, Discovery, and Hallmark.

Leslie has worked with museums from the MoMA to the Met to explore best practices in museum education. In 2008, she established the website Leslieness as a platform for increasing art access and visual awareness.

Date: Sun, Aug 30, 2009
Time:
10:00-10:30am - Meet at Cafe Museo. Leslie will give a presentation & handouts.
10:30-11:30am - Tour
11:30-11:45am - Walk over to Cafe on the Square.
11:45-12:45pm - Lunch (and further discussion) 

Tour Details: We will first meet at Cafe Museo. Leslie will give a presentation about the artists and provide handouts. She will then divide the group into several smaller groups, giving us some exercises and approaches in art viewing she developed at the Met and the MoMA. We'll then all see the exhibit together. Leslie will casually make the rounds to get a bit of one-on-one time with each of us. After the exhibit we will have lunch at a nearby restaurant, and share observations.
Details regarding the meeting point will be mailed to you a day before the event.

Tickets: This event is open only to SF Bay Illini members & their guests. The number of tickets will be limited to keep the group fairly initimate, so that Leslie can speak to everyone. 

Questions? Contact Anita Anandan.