Three women whose ideas about art and culture were considered radical will be celebrated in Brown County next month.
The lives and work of Onya LaTour, Peggy Guggenheim and Mable Dodge Luhan are featured in Arts Village Cinefest, a series of talks and films presented by Art Alliance Brown County.
All events will take place Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Seasons Conference Center between noon and 4:30 p.m.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]All three women were born in the Victorian Era, in the late 19th century, but lived until the 1960s and ‘70s. Their views on modern art in particular were “all way ahead of their time,” said the art alliance’s Anabel Hopkins, an abstract painter herself.
“These three women were all incredible, and that’s why we’re featuring them,” she said.
LaTour left a legacy in Brown County in more ways than one. Born in Indiana, she came to Brown County from New York in 1940 and attempted to introduce her style of art — which was decidedly different from the impressionist paintings Brown County artists were known for.
Local artists shunned her, but her Brown County neighbors didn’t.
LaTour researcher Anastasia Karpova Tinari of Chicago will present a slideshow and talk about LaTour’s life. Tinari gave a similar program in Brown County in 2014, based on a major exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Guggenheim grew up in a wealthy New York family and lost her father in the sinking of the Titanic. She established a gallery stateside, where she cultivated and supported new artists such as Jackson Pollock; then built a major art museum in Venice, Italy. Guggenheim was married to prominent artist Max Ernst, but she boasted of having had hundreds of lovers.
“Art Addict,” a film biography of her life, will be shown, and Tinari, who worked in Guggenheim’s Venice museum, will provide commentary.
The film “Awakening in Taos” tells Luhan’s life story. She also grew up in New York and lived in Italy. Back in the states, she brought together political radicals, union backers, artists, writers, psychiatrists and other people who desired that America move ahead in political thought, human rights, art and all areas of culture. She was also a major promoter of the Armory Show in 1913, which brought modern art to the forefront.
Luhan arrived in Taos, New Mexico, in 1917 and connected with the Native American culture. Over the years, she brought hundreds of influential people to stay with her, including D.H. Lawrence, Martha Graham, Ansel Adams, Willa Cather and many other writers and artists.
The program opens with the LaTour presentation, followed by the Guggenheim film, a break with a cash bar and Southwest-style snacks, and the Luhan film.
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WHAT: “Arts Village Cinefest: 3 Outrageous Women”
WHEN: Noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15
WHERE: The Seasons Conference Center
TICKETS: $25, includes two movies, talk and snacks. Visit artalliancebrowncounty.org/cinefest. Reservations encouraged.
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