Hi ktm, Hope you enjoy the Dante (as though you could not enjoy a whole class devoted to Dante). I never took a course devoted to the Inferno alone myself. Dante was one I came to mostly on my own and through bits and pieces in other courses. Sounds like a fantastic opportunity. :-)
hey petrarch. thought i should let you know that i'm taking the dante's inferno class this quarter. also: can't wait until the mansuelo goes up!
Wow, Petrarch, thanks for your great advice. I can tell that you are a very generous person in sharing what you know. I would love to go for a brief tour at the AI. I agree that it is very much an exploratory adventure, and I look forward to discovering my interests. It's funny - I say the same thing to my friends when they haven't seen a good movie or read a good book. "You're in for a treat!" I tell them. "I envy you!" I felt this way when my co-worker admitted today that he hadn't seen The Departed. By the way, thanks for your very valuable comments in the Romantics thread. It's nice to have a visiting scholar. I just simply hope the thread won't die... this weekend I'll get around to a few posts.
(Part 2)...Seurat's Pointillist Grand Jette (which you may remember from Ferris Bueller's Day Off ), Grant Wood's American Gothic and Edward Hopper's Night Hawks. There are so many other great pieces in there that it would take too long to name, and quite lovely collections from Asia and other world regions as well. Mainly I would urge you to regard a visit to a museum as an exploratory venture. Walk around. See what interests you. Read the little plaques if you want to know more, and if you want to know even more, you might want to think about taking an Art History class while you're still in college. I'm a member at the AI and can get one friend in for free when I visit. I often enjoy running up there for a bit of a respite on weekends and sometimes show friends and students around the collections, so I would be happy to give you a brief tour of some highlights some afternoon after I get back into town in mid September if you like.
Hi ktm--Not a problem. I've been more than busy myself for the last several weeks. Dear me, don't feel "deep regret" when you discover a lack in your knowledge. This is always an occasion for excitement at what you are about to discover! The Chicago Art Institute is indeed an excellent place to start exploring art. They only have a few good pieces from the Italian Renaissance, which is a shame, but their Impressionist collection is absolutely first rate. You would want to start with the big room at the top of the main stairs. That room, and the ones leading straight ahead off of it contain the most famous Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pieces, including works by Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet, Cezzanne, etc. The museum is packed with beautiful and famous paintings, but there are three that you're almost guaranteed to recognize from popular culture:...continued in part 2.
Hey Petrarch, I'm sorry I never followed up on that meeting... things got a little hectic around the end of the quarter. But I'm writing to ask you a question. I just stumbled upon that "Name the Painting" thread at which I felt deep regret - for I have never had much of an art education, and I have never taken it up as an interest. I was wondering whether there were any exhibits you would recommend at the Art Institute, and where I should start. I'm looking for art that is accessible to my poor knowledge :-) I was thinking maybe some Italian renaissance painters or some Impressionists.
Hi Petrarch's Love, I am an English major--it's almost wrapped up now--and I am exploring options for minors. I am considering minoring in a language, perhaps Spanish. I agree with you about Chicago weather. I absolutely dread the winters... and I'm not much a fan of autumn. The California climate is to die for.. but unfortunately all of my friends and family live in cold and snowy places. So I just try to man up every winter and lug my groceries through the rain and slush. I'd be interesting in having a literary chat on campus =) I just started Dante's Inferno, so we'd have something to talk about in that. I'm reading Robert Pinsky's translation and I really like it so far... I get the impression that Pinsky is a masterful poet. We can continue via PM from now on... I meant to PM you but I accidentally posted here. Would you be able to meet before you head back home?
Hi ktm5124--Yes, I'm a grad. student in the English Dept. Are you a major in English or Comp. Lit, or do you just have a keen interest in literature? I've been here about 6 years now (PhD program). It is a fantastic university and a wonderful city, maugre the weather. I'm always out of town in the summers, back in my beloved native California, but I've heard there are some really good Milllenium Park Concerts. If you like Beethoven, you should be aware that they're doing all 9 symphonies at the CSO this June. Often you can get $10 student tickets online the week before for CSO concerts (though the Beethoven concerts may sell out quickly!). I take advantage of the CSO student ticket offers quite a bit, and love the classical series at Mandel Hall on campus too. Let me know via PM if you'd ever like to meet on campus for a literary chat.
I see that you are grad student at the U of C. I am an undergraduate there myself; I've been here three years. How do you like it here? I have to admit I love it.. while I think things are a bit pricy (and that's an understatement) there's so much more that's priceless... like the people I've met, the sanctuary of the Reg, etc. There are a bunch of free concerts at Millenium Park this summer that you might be interested in. Last summer I saw the CSO give a free performance of Beethoven's 9th. Just thought I'd give you a heads up if you didn't know of it already =)
