FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 13, 2011
CONTACT: MCLS PUBLIC RELATIONS (772) 221-1403
WHO: Library Foundation of Martin County, sponsor
WHAT: Art of the Age & The Story of English with Jane Miller
Jane Miller will present an eight-part series of films about the development of the English language, Art of the Age & The Story of English, Oct. 25 through May 8, 2012 in the John F. Armstrong Wing of the Blake Library in Stuart. The series is free and open to the public.
WHEN: 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, Nov. 8, Dec. 6, Jan. 17, Feb. 7, March 6, April 3, May 8
WHERE: Blake Library, John F. Armstrong Wing, 2351 SE Monterey Road, Stuart
HOW: Free and open to the public. For movie details see schedule that follows, pick up a flier at the Blake Library Circulation desk or call (772) 221-1403.
Schedule – Art of the Age & The Story of English:
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2:00 p.m. – Ancient Celtic Art Treasures (1 hr.) followed by one-hour DVD that begins the remarkable story of our English language. Where did English come from? Brought to England by invading Germanic tribes beginning in the 5th century, Anglo-Saxon displaced the Celtic language and took root.
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2:00 p.m. – Art of the Bayeux Tapestry (1 hr.) followed by one-hour DVD that begins with the Norman Conquest of 1066 when England became a bilingual land—French for the rulers, English for the common folk. How did French affect the development of English? And how did Chaucer’s classic Canterbury Tales—written in Middle English— influence what we read today?
Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2:00 p.m. – The Book of Kells (1 hr.) Experience the great glory of Irish art, The Book of Kells, whose beauty has earned it the reputation of the most beautiful book in the world. Celtic designs, decoration and calligraphy adorn the Four Gospels created by the Irish monks. Following that, a second one-hour film continues The Story of English with William Tyndale, who dared to translate the Bible from Latin into English so that everyone—not just the clergy—could read and interpret it. (continued)
Tueday, Jan. 17, 2:00 p.m. – Masters of Sea and Sail (l hr.) This glorious one-hour film on 17th century Dutch marine artists is a voyage in art aboard magnificent sailing ships on the high seas. Following will be a continuation of The Story of English as trading ships sailed the seas, and sea trade words from 50 languages entered the English language. At this time, Shakespeare’s contribution of roughly 2,000 words commonly used today influenced the power and beauty of the English language.
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2:00 p.m. – Riches, Rivals and Radicals – 100 Years of Museums in America (l hr.) The formation of great art collections grew simultaneously with American English. The first one-hour film presents the art collections of wealthy Americans that evolved into museums as the Smithsonian, Gardner Museum in Boston, Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The second one-hour film continues The Story of English from the Plymouth Plantation to the 19th century when new words were added from frontiersmen, cowboys, gamblers, African slave ships and Mark Twain.
Tuesday, March 6, 2:00 p.m. – Thomas Gainsborough 1727-1788 (1 hr.) London was the epicenter of art in 18th century England, and the first one-hour film presents Thomas Gainsborough whose “Blue Boy” became one of the world’s recognizable paintings. The second one-hour film continues The Story Of English when new words came into the English language from science, technology and commerce.
Tuesday, April 3, 2:00 p.m. – Buddhist Art – Ajanta Caves in India (l hr.) The first one-hour film explores the remarkable structure and paintings of Buddhist caves in India. These 1500-year-old murals are remarkably well preserved, and feature floral and animal forms in imaginative color and motion of a decidedly advanced sophistication. A one-hour film continues The Story of English as British adventures abroad produced “new” English languages in India, the Caribbean, and Australia.
Tuesday, May 8, 2:00 p.m. – Alfred Stieglitz 1864-1946 (l hr.) The eight-part series concludes with a 90-minute film on Alfred Stieglitz , the innovative photographer whose three New York galleries introduced emerging American and avant-garde European artists. The Story of English concludes with the 20th century influence of central and eastern Europeans immigrating to the States, and of southern blacks migrating to the north. English has become a truly global language, spoken by about a third of the world’s population.
F or more information about the Martin County Library System pick up a Library Connection at any Martin County library, call (772) 221-1403, or visit the library website at http://www.library.martin.fl.us. END
