Conversations with Art

“Conversations with Art, an engaging discussion on Modern Art of the 1950s–1960s.” This is the description that appeared on the Sunday, July 12 Village events calendar. The presenter and discussion moderator was Arts Educator Helane Rheingold. The event was very well attended with some 30 Villagers coming to the Pasadena Shakespeare Club. 

At the beginning of the session Ms. Rheingold made it clear that her goal was to present photos of art in order to stimulate comments and discussion, not to lecture. The photos she presented included art from Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Chuck Close, Louise Bourgeois and Martin Puryear. As each photo was displayed, Helane gave brief introductory remarks followed by lively comments and discussion that clearly showed that a number of the Villagers had actually seen the painting or sculpture being shown or some other representative work(s) of the artist. Comments included knowledge of the artist’s technique as well as the emotional response and appreciation for the work. As a fairly recent Villager, I clearly saw the sophistication, insight, and passion for art of those in attendance. 

Helane skillfully led the discussion by asking stimulating questions and expanding on comments as the discussion progressed. Toward the end of the session she asked which artist the group members preferred. Notably, there seemed to be a preference for Mark Rothko’s work along with California artist David Hockney. 

I asked a few people who attended the session to comment on it. Tom and Elizabeth Polenzani offered the following, “Because of Tom's interest in modern art, we signed up for this program. It was another top-rated event put on by the Village with an especially great discussion leader, Helane. We so enjoyed Helane's style where everyone feels involved. No question is ‘too dumb,’ and one person's comment leads to others jumping in with ideas. All of the artworks are famous, but to this novice, almost everything discussed was basically new knowledge.”

Another Villager, Jocelyn Keene, commented, “I have been a fan of Helane Rheingold since she started giving presentations to the Village. I have been to several of them. She has such a lively way of making art approachable and interesting by simply showing slides of art, soliciting comments about them, and filling in with details about the art or artist. There is no need to feel intimidated by other, perhaps more knowledgeable people, because no comment is rejected, so it is a lot of fun. This particular presentation was about 20th century art. I have never been a fan of abstract expressionism but this session brought it to life in a way that I hadn’t felt before. And if someone wanted to gift me the gorgeous Mark Rothko painting that she showed us, I wouldn’t complain!”

Personally speaking, I was very pleased to attend the session. As a university professor for most of my working life, I found Helane was a seasoned educator who was very well prepared and very adept at finding ways to engage an audience of senior learners who relish learning through a Socratic approach; i.e., she acted as the “guide on the side, rather than a sage on the stage.” To me, this session represented fulfillment of the major aspect of the Village’s mission, to “foster vital independent living in a spirit of mutual support, enrichment and inclusiveness.”