Today we are sharing a short conversation, comparing two paintings of people playing cards together. Ruth and I explore the role of games in human interaction. The paintings reflect very different types of human connection, even though the card game centers the art. Both paintings are called The Card Players. The first is by Lucas…
Author: Shari and Ruth
Connections: An Arting Conversation
In this conversation, Ruth and I look at the importance of connection – between friends, rivals, lovers, work colleagues, family, community – with the environment around us. We look at the following paintings, supported by Mark Van Doren’s poem the Rivals. Here are some questions to stimulate conversation. Or add your own questions or comments….
Our Internal Selves and the External World: An Arting Conversation
Here is a short 10 minute conversation Ruth and I had about the complexity of our internal lives, and how the external world influences it and pushes at it. The conversation was stimulated by a comparison between the Falling Man by Max Beckmann with Street Scene with Garbageman by Karl Vinzenz Tratt, complemented by part…
Duality as Part of the Human Condition: An Arting Conversation
In this conversation, Ruth and Shari look at duality and how it shapes what it means to be human. We used Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell as the poem that ties it all together, a reminder that songs bring poetry and depth into our every day lives. Its a really interesting array of art….
Inspiring Awe: An Arting Conversation
In this conversation, Ruth and Shari discuss the role of art in inspiring awe. To us, experiencing awe is critical component of being human, one we need to nurture. We are happy to share the full conversation here. Scroll below the video for an image of each pairing, and a set of questions we’d love…
Sustaining Love: An Arting Conversation
In this conversation, Ruth and Shari take on the subject of love. We’ve created a lot of interesting juxtapositions with the art pairings. It was such a rich topic, we are sharing the entire conversation. Scroll below the video for an image of each pairing, and a set of questions we’d love to engage with…
Dancing as Connection: An Arting Conversation
Welcome to Ruth and Shari’s discussion about dancing, stimulated by the paintings Tanz im Variete’ by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Jane Avril Dansant by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Kirchner painting, which we did not know at the time of our conversation, just recently resurfaced after being lost for almost a century. The painting, dated 1911,…
Exploring Joy: An Arting Conversation
Ruth and I took a deep dive into the topic of joy. It was such a rich conversation, we decided to share the whole thing, rather than dividing it into its component parts. After each slide, we shared questions we’d love for you to engage with. I’ve also placed the questions below with a photo…
Mrs. Whistler Meets Venus: An Arting Conversation
In this conversation, Ruth and Shari discuss Beatrice Godwin Whistler, Peach Blossoms and Sandro Botticelli’s Venus, enhance by a portion of John Clare’s poem, I am. The conversation covers the challenges of women artists, and how women are portrayed, a common theme we often return to, because the mysteries are never ending. We hope you…
Our Many Selves: An Arting Conversation
In this conversation, we discuss Stanley William Hayter, Centerausse and Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, complemented by John Clare’s poem, I am. The conversation is rich in imagery and in our discussion on how we manage the multiple selves that share our body – how our internal contradictions are challenges yet gifts that make us…