Katherine Bussard discusses how photography has been both an inspiration and a source of discovery for this seminal Pop and Conceptual artist.

Michael Leja, University of Pennsylvania, discusses Winslow Homer's creative process.

Architecture and urban design historian Thomas Hines discusses modernism, rationalism, and expressionism in the works of Richard Neutra and Lloyd Wright.

Alice Friedman, author of Women and the Making of the Modern House, explores the role of women in American architecture.

Patricia Junker looks closely at Homer's avid pursuit of fly-fishing and the inspiration it provided for his art.

Mardges Bacon, Northeastern University, traces Le Corbusier's experiences within the culture of Chicago of the 1930s.

This engaging day devoted to Pop and Conceptual artist Ed Ruscha, which kicked off the exhibition Ed Ruscha and Photography, revealed his important and widespread contributions to art of the past 50 years.

1. Artist’s Talk: Ed Ruscha
2. Screen Memories in the Art of Ed Ruscha
3. Space, Place, and Spectatorship in Ed Ruscha's Los Angeles
4. Closing Conversation with Ed Ruscha

The Nichols Bridgeway will form a dynamic connection between the Art Institute and Millennium Park. Hear John Lupinos, Senior Project Manager of the Modern Wing Team, discuss this exciting addition.

Francisco Aragon, Brenda Cardenas, Blas Falconer, and Gina Franco read recent writings and comment on their work.

Cosponsored by the Poetry Foundation.

Nick Cannellis of Turner Construction provides insights into the building of the Modern Wing.

Conservator Judith Walsh, Buffalo State–SUNY, considers how Homer's fresh, spontaneous-looking works often are the result of careful study and deliberate planning.

Art Institute Chair of American Art Judith Barter provides innovative insights into Hopper’s love of film and explains its inspirational role in the settings and mood of his work.

Ellen Roberts, assistant curator of American art, provides an in-depth "sneak preview" of the exhibition Edward Hopper and reveals how the artist captured the essential qualities of the modern American experience.

Franklin Kelly is the senior curator of American and British paining at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Hear Kelly provide the keynote lecture on opening night of the exhibitions Edward Hopper and Watercolors by Winslow Homer: The Color of Light

In this special "sneak preview" of the upcoming Winslow Homer exhibition, Martha Tedeschi, curator of prints and drawings, offers an intimate look at the ways that one of America's most celebrated artists discovered the secrets of the watercolor medium.

As part of our American Perspectives season, distinguished literary scholar and Stanford professor Arnold Rampersad explores the relation ship between jazz and the work of Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison. His acclaimed study Ralph Ellison: A Biography has been recently published.

Born in Ghana and raised in Jamaica, Kwame Dawes is a poet of precision, passion, and lyricism. At this event, Dawes reads from three of his books: Gomer's Song, Impossible Flying, and Wisteria, Twilight Songs from the Swamp Country.


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Langdon Hammer, professor at Yale University, draws on his recent book, Hart Crane: Complete Poems and Selected Letters, to highlight the aspects of Crane's life and work that have served as inspiration for artist Jasper Johns.

Marjorie Perloff, renowned literary critic and professor of humanities at Stanford University, examines the interrelation between the works of Jasper Johns, poet Frank O'Hara, and composer John Cage.

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The defining event of the 20th century, the development of the Atomic Bomb is the basis for this John Adams work. The symposium's distinguished panelists include composer John Adams; his librettist and director Peter Sellars; Gerald Finley, who portrays Robert Oppenheimer in the opera; and president  of the Art Institute James Cuno. Join them and many others for a fascinating look at both the opera and the incidents and characters that inspired it. A once-in-a-lifetime convergence of music, history, and scholarship, this not-to-be-missed symposium is an historic event in its own right. Moderated by Wynne Delacoma and Peter Sagal.

Dr. Atomic Part 2

Dr. Atomic Part 3

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The exhibition Jasper Johns: Gray examines for the first time this acclaimed and influential artist's use of the color gray in paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings from 1955 to the present. Hear noted Johns scholar Roberta Bernstein give her insights on the exhibition.

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Sam Stephenson, media historian, sheds new light on Thelonious Monk's famous Town Hall Concert through newly available film and audio clips by W. Eugene Smith, one of Time-Life's greatest photojournalists. He is joined by musician Jason Moran.

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Painstakingly restored, three relief panels from the left wing of the Gates of Paradise and sections of the door's frieze traveled to the Art Institute before being permanently reinstalled in Florence, Italy. Hear Andrew Butterfield  of Salander-O'Reilly Galleries discuss this Renaissance masterpiece.

The creation of Pakistan in 1947 offered the nascent state a new cultural and political beginning. By the 1980s Pakistani artists were exhibiting installations as creative and cutting-edge as any in Europe and America. Hear Marcella Sirhandi, professor at Oklahoma State University, speak about Pakistan's contemporary art movement.

Helen Vendler, distinguished professor at Harvard University and the nation's leading poetry critic, considers the poetry of Wallace Stevens in light of its relation to the work of Jasper Johns.

Bringing together leading international thinkers on Bochner's work, this one-day academic symposium addresses Bochner's ideas about the complex and occasionally contradictory interactions between verbal language and visual art.


1. Introduction and key note speaker Yve-Alain Bois
2. Panel I: Language Jeffrey Thompson
3. Panel I: Language Chrissie Iles
4. Panel I: Language Eric de Bruyn
5. Panel I: Language

Discussion moderated by Scott Rothkopf

6. Panel II: Translation Johanna Burton
7. Panel II:  Translation Christophe Cherix
8. Panel II: Translation Carroll Dunham
9. Panel II: Translation

Discussion moderated by Judith Russi Kirshner

Ian Wallace is one of the pioneering forces behind Vancouver's conceptual art scene. Wallace taught art history at the University of British Columbia, Jeff Wall's alma mater, and the Vancouver School of Art. Here, he discusses his friendship, travels, and work with his celebrated "student" Jeff Wall.

Jan Tumlir teaches art and film theory at the Art Center and University of Southern California, and is a regular contributor to ArtForum, Frieze, and Flash Art. Here, he and Thomas Crow discuss Jeff Wall  and more specifically, Tumlir's essay "Profane Illuminations: The Social History of Jeff Wall."

The Byzantine Empire formed a link between the vital cultures of the Silk Road and the classical traditions of the West.  Cultural diversity and great wealth created a rich artistic mixture.  Robert S. Nelson concludes our Silk Road Scholar Series with an examination of this glorious civilization.

Listen to photographers Barney and Sultan talk about their photographs on view in the Art Institute exhibition So the Story Goes. Recorded on opening day, this conversation reveals their shared practice photographing family members from the 1980s to 1990s and their very different approaches to their projects since that time.

On opening day of the Art Institute exhibition So the Story Goes, our audiences were treated to a lecture by photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Hear diCorcia discuss his many and varied projects over the course of his career.

Tune in as contemporary photographer Mann answers questions from an audience of nearly 400 on opening day of the Art Institute exhibition So the Story Goes. Mann responds to questions ranging from printing techniques to subject matter, from disbelief in photographic "truth" to a Southern weakness for the romantic.

Art historian Susan Fillin-Yeh explores the complex relationship between modern photographic processes and painting in the work of Charles Sheeler.

Elizabeth Pope, curatorial research assistant for the Casas Grandes exhibition, explores some of the complex cosmic symbolism to be found on this ancient American pottery.

Center for Creative Photography Curator Britt Salvesen discusses the contents of the Harry
Callahan Archive, some of the objects it holds, and what it reveals about Callahan's work.

One of the most important
photographers of the 20th century,
Harry Callahan holds particular
significance for Chicago, where he
made some of his most influential work.

The curator of the exhibition Drawings in Dialogue: Old Master through Modern discusses how this extraordinary collection of richly varied drawings came together, and higlights some of the works in the show