The American Indianist Movement in Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century Classical Music
Instructor: Duncan MacMillan

3807CE Continuing Education Center
Tuesdays, January 10, 17, 24 and 31
10:00 a.m. - Noon

3808PH Palm Harbor
Thursdays, January 12, 19, 26 and February 2 
10:00 a.m. - Noon

A fascinating yet neglected chapter of American classical music is found in the American Indianist movement which flourished from the 1880s to the 1920s. Composers sought to synthesize Native American melody and European classical music procedures.  A music publishing enterprise—the Wa-Wan Press—was even struck up to disseminate this art music based on Native American music!  This class will acquaint you with the lives and works of such composers as Charles Cadman, Arthur Farwell, Arthur Foote, Harvey Loomis, Edward MacDowell, Arthur Nevin, Charles Skilton, Carlos Troyer and various others who drew their musical inspiration from Native American culture.  In-class listening includes live piano performances and recorded performances of chamber music and large scale symphonic work.

Member: $29; Non-member: $59

Renaissance Art
Instructor: John Schloder

3810FP First Presbyterian Church
Tuesday, January 31
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

3811PM Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church
Thursday, February 9
10:00 a.m. - Noon

"Renaissance" is a French word for an Italian art revolution in the 15th Century that eventually spread to many countries in Europe. Essentially it was a "rebirth" of knowledge and culture, and, especially in Italy, of classical literature and art. Antiquity became the standard against which many artists and patrons were measured. Italian architects adopted classical forms, fueled by the discovery of ancient texts and the rediscovery of Roman ruins. In painting and sculpture, artists used perspective, "Divine Proportion" and human anatomy, and the observation of nature to imitate the "real world." The scale of art became important as gigantic sculptures and grandiose painting cycles, often in the newly-discovered fresco technique of the Romans, reflected the increased ambitions of artists and patrons.

Man gained new importance in life and art alike. There was a revival of portraiture with increasingly lifelike representations, not only of secular man and his occupations, but of saints and other holy figures. Artists gained in stature as they were recognized as truly creative beings, not just trained artisans. They began to sign their art and would eventually become the equal of princes and popes.

Considered a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era, the Renaissance was the first period in history to give itself a name. It also gave birth to modern art criticism, art history and art historians, and to some of the greatest artists of all times.

Member: Free; Non-member: $15

Homer and the Odyssey
Instructor: Duncan MacMillan

3805CE Continuing Education Center
Mondays, February 6, 13, 20 and 27
10:00 a.m. - Noon

3806PH Palm Harbor
Tuesdays, February 7, 14, 21 and 28
10:00 a.m. - Noon

This class continues exploration of the world of Homer begun in "Homer and the Iliad," analyzing the Odyssey chapter by chapter, to reacquaint students with various Homeric issues and episodes.  Class discussions will address topics such as the nature of gods and heroes, detailed examination of the epic's structure, details of the Trojan war not encountered in the Iliad, the "Epic Cycle/Returns" (lost poems of Troy known only from fragments and allusions), the nature of Bronze Age social codes (hospitality, guest relations/allegiances). The class will draw on various scholarly sources and readings to paint a portrait of the historic Bronze Age world of Odysseus, how people lived and found meaning in life.

Member: $29; Non-member: $59

Greatest Masterpieces By the World's Greatest Artists 
Instructor: John Schloder

3813PH Palm Harbor
Wednesdays, February 15, 22 and 29
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

3814CE Continuing Education Center
Thursdays, February 16, 23 and March 1
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Who is your favorite artist and what do you think is his/her greatest artwork? Is the Mona Lisa painting really the greatest masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci? Or is his revolutionary, lesser-known drawing of the Holy Family more worthy of that title? Is the David by Michelangelo a better sculpture than his Pieta or greater than his paintings on the Sistine Chapel ceiling? Is Bernini's greatest masterpiece in sculpture or in architecture or in painting? Who is the greatest artist of 17th Century Northern Europe, Peter Paul Rubens or Rembrandt? We will look at three different periods of artistic excellence and the geniuses that created some of the world's most famous artworks and see how the time and place in which they lived, the evolution of their style, and even their personality affected their greatest masterpieces.

Member: $29; Non-member: $59

3809 Food In Art
Instructor: John Schloder
Tuesday, March 20
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

While enjoying the Art of Food, we will explore the long tradition of representing Food in Art, from the cave drawings of animals by prehistoric man to the Pop Art soup cans by Andy Warhol. In ancient Egypt, drawings and reliefs of food adorned the tombs of rulers and loved ones. It was believed that these would, through magical properties, nourish the departed in the afterlife. The Greeks, on ceramic vessels, and the Romans, on wall frescoes, realistically painted delicacies. During the Renaissance, artists subtly incorporated into paintings with religious themes meticulously-depicted food, often with symbolic, even erotic, overtones.

Still life, the representations of inanimate objects, once considered a minor art form, became independent subject matter for painters in the 17th Century. The great Italian artist Caravaggio, called the father of Roman still-life painting, realistically depicted decaying fruit in a basket, and supposedly stated that it took as much craftsmanship to paint an object as if it was a religious or a mythological figure. Still lifes became so popular in Northern Europe that Dutch artists specialized in "breakfast" pieces with tables of half-eaten foods or in lavish banquet tables laden with exotic foods. Many of these have a moralistic message, signifying the passage of time and the empty vanity of worldly possessions, hence the name "vanitas" often given to these works.

The art of the apple, the pear and the watermelon continued in the works of Chardin, Cezanne, Matisse and Braque. Picasso, from his earliest paintings until his last works from the 1970s, continually returned to still life themes, often including gory details like bull skulls or representing the bodies of his various mistresses among the fruits and vessels on the table.

The class meets on site at the Cassis American Brasserie (170 Beach Dr. N.E., St. Petersburg).
Cost includes lunch and lecture.

Location: Cassis American Brasserie
Member: $39; Non-member: $59

3764CE Banned Books
Instructor: Judith Wambera
Wednesdays, March 28, April 4 and 11
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Studying banned books was once part of a university program. We were then dealing with the rewriting of certain books. The first one was Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

In this course, we will look at various categories of banned books. We will consider first Sexuality and Racism. We will discuss Huckleberry Finn, Ulysses by James Joyce (Mollie's monologue) and Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. Some children's books such as Little Black Sambo and the books of Florence Upton will also be discussed.

A second category of banning is the State orchestrated one. Russia was successful in silencing its musicians, artists and writers. But curiously, an underworld of powerful writing managed to survive and flourish. We will discuss One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and the poetry of Anna Akhmatova.

There is a third category of banning which is not well known. It is assumed that at least in the world of science, there is openness, growth and discovery but we will look at various scientists whose work was ignored or deliberately silenced.

Location: Continuing Education Center
Member: $29; Non-member: $59

3795CE Antique Discovery
Instructor: Lenore Binzer
Mondays, March 5,12,19 and 26
10:00 a.m. - Noon

Participate in an appraisal clinic! Bring your priceless objects, or ones you are just curious about, to our classes. The objects will immediately be appraised and discussed. This course will center on the antique decorative arts, namely prints, metals, porcelain, glass and jewelry.

Our sessions will lead off with the identification of prints, including wood blocks, engravings, etchings and lithographs. Next, we will examine silver, including our American coin and sterling silver. We will also study and identify British hallmarked silver and the continental silver marks. Instruction will be given on how to value gold and silver. An overview of jewelry appraisal will be presented to show you how to identify gold marks and how to use the loupe to identify faults in diamonds and other stones. We will then focus on glass, porcelain, and bone china, showing their evolution through the centuries. Of extreme importance will be a session on the repair and conservation of our silver, glass, brass and china.

Location: Continuing Education Center
Member: $29; Non-member: $59

An Introduction to Ancient Greek Comedy I: Aristophanes and Old Comedy
Instructor: Duncan MacMillan

3815CE Continuing Education Center
Mondays, April 16, 23 and 30
10:00 a.m. - Noon

3816PH Palm Harbor
Tuesdays, April 17, 24 and May 1
10:00 a.m. - Noon

Ever since its beginnings in dithyrambic devotional rites to the god Dionysus, the theater has captivated mankind's mind, heart and imagination. This class continues our survey of theater in ancient Athens by turning to the comic works of  Aristophanes. His  eleven surviving plays define the genre of "Old Comedy," which is characterized by political satire, off-color jokes/innuendo, and the lampooning of important persons and institutions. His plays are often revived to great popular success on the modern stage, and his acerbic and witty form of social/political commentary has been adapted and  carried forward into modern culture by such European writers as Cervantes, Jonathan Swift, and Voltaire, as well as in the broadcast/film works of Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart. The class will examine the surviving plays of Aristophanes with a view toward better understanding the formal/poetic structures of Old Comedy, the inside jokes and commentary on Athenian affairs, the enduring relevance of his perspective, and the informative associations to be made between the Aristophanic world and ours.

Member: $29; Non-member: $59

3798 Un Voyage en France
Presenter: David Mulligan
Thursday, April 19
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Join us as we travel through la belle France. Our journey will begin in the city of light, one of the most beautiful city in the world. We will visit some well known sites and some not so well known spots that seasoned travelers include on their must see lists.

From Paris we will travel to Honfleur, a city important to the 19th Century Impressionists. After boarding our ship, we will continue up the Seine River to Paris making stops en route to the capital. At Rouen, we will admire the spectacular cathedral that inspired Claude Monet to paint some thirty canvases capturing sunlight at various times of the day. We will stroll through the gardens and around the lily pond, Monet's creations at Giverny, and his beloved home for the last years of his life. Our Seine River cruise will include a stop at Auvers sur Oise, the small village where Vincent van Gogh spent the last years of this life and painted some of his best works. We will walk through the fields he painted, see the church he immortalized, and visit the cemetery where he and his brother are buried side by side.

If time allows, we will stop for lunch at Chatou, the site of la Maison Fournaise, the restaurant where Renoir painted his masterpiece "Luncheon of the Boating Party." We will have the opportunity to eat on the same balcony of the restaurant where the people in that painting were seated.

No passport, guide books or heavy baggage needed! We will conclude our experience with lunch at Cassis American Brasserie, a French restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg.

Venez-tous et profitez de cette occasion!

The lecture meets on site at the Cassis American Brasserie (170 Beach Dr. N.E., St. Petersburg). Cost includes lunch and lecture.

Location: Cassis American Brasserie
Member: $39; Non-member: $69