For Immediate Release
June 21, 2022
CLARK ART INSTITUTE PRESENTS SUMMER BOOK CLUB
Williamstown, Massachusetts—Join Clark staff members and fellow book lovers for lively in-person discussions of three books related to the summer’s special exhibitions. Works by Honoré de Balzac, Marino Azuela, and Rebecca Solnit provide new insights into the summer’s special exhibitions, Rodin in the United States: Confronting the Modern, José Guadalupe Posada: Symbols, Skeletons, and Satire, and Tauba Auerbach and Yuji Agematsu: Meander. Book club meetings take place on Thursdays, June 30, July 28, and August 25 at 7 pm in the Manton Research Center.
The Girl with the Golden Eyes and Other Stories
Thursday, June 30, 7 pm
The summer book club series begins with Honoré de Balzac, The Girl with the Golden Eyes and Other Stories, translated by Peter Collier. In 1891, Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) received a commission to create a monument to the influential and prolific French writer Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850). Rodin carefully researched the long-dead author and read his novels. Three novellas from Balzac’s La Comédie Humaine—a series of some ninety finished inter-linked novels and stories illustrating contemporary French life—will provide insight into the author and the sculptor who memorialized him. The novellas include The Girl with the Golden Eyes, The Unknown Masterpiece, and Sarrasine.
The Underdogs
Thursday, July 20, 7 pm
The summer book club series continues with Mariano Azuela's The Underdogs, translated by Sergio Waisman. Mariano Azuela’s powerful novel about the Mexican Revolution (1910–20) provides a lens through which to view the popular prints of illustrator José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913). Posada lived to see the beginnings of a Revolution that transformed Mexican government and culture.
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
Thursday, August 25, 7 pm
The summer book club series concludes with Rebecca Solnit's A Field Guide to Getting Lost. Described by The New Yorker as “A meditation on the pleasures and terrors of getting lost,” Rebecca Solnit’s Field Guide to Getting Lost includes autobiographical and philosophical essays about losing and finding one’s self. In exploring how humans navigate the world, Solnit’s writings resonate with the meander, a motif and a way of moving explored by both Tauba Auerbach and Yuji Agematsu, whose recent works are on view at the Lunder Center at Stone Hill.
Each meeting is free, but capacity is limited; please RSVP for each meeting you would like to attend. Copies of all book club titles are available through the Museum Store, in-person or online. Register at clarkart.edu/events for each meeting you would like to attend. Reservations open one month before each meeting.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 285,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday, from September through June, and daily in July and August. Advance tickets are strongly recommended. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
Use of facemasks is optional for all visitors. For details on health and safety protocols, visit clarkart.edu/health.
Press contact: [email protected]