The Art of Advent: Day 7

It’s day seven of HASTA’s Art of Advent calendar and today we have another recommendation for you all. This recommendation comes from one of the lovely members of staff at the School of Art History! Dr Elsje van Kessel kindly suggested this podcast that she said come to mind immediately as she enjoys it whilst on her commute to and from the office.

The podcast that she has suggested all of us listen to over the winter break is ‘In the Foreground: Conversations on Art and Writing’ by the Clark Art Institute - which looks at the role that art plays within society and the ways that knowledge can be shared (or in some cases obscured). The episodes each consider the life and mind of an artist or scholar working with visual materials.

Elsje sells it best in her description of what makes it so great - “It is a series of conversations with leading art historians. They talk about their current work, but also about how they got to where they are now. This includes some great oral history, such as Svetlana Alpers talking about her classes with Ernst Gombrich. But the series also addresses more contemporary issues – something for everyone!”

I’m sure we’re not the only ones who will be downloading a few episodes to keep us entertained through our revision breaks and on our journeys home for Christmas!

Listen on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/7yLRUtm52VKAC0FEZTXUdP?si=0KwzcEpKT3y-ViwZaqWzAg