A Feast for the Senses: Art

And Experience In Medieval Europe

This major exhibition of European art, curated by The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, in partnership with The Ringling, will feature more than 80 extraordinary objects. Many of these works will be on loan from prestigious institutions across the US and Europe including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The exhibition focuses on the late medieval and early Renaissance period in Europe (roughly 1300-1500), a time in which societal changes prompted a new interest in human experience, the enjoyment of nature, and the pursuit of pleasure. As a result, the art of this period functioned in a rich sensory world that was integral to its appreciation. These works were not only seen, but also touched, smelled, and heard. The exhibition will bring together sacred and secular art—including paintings, tapestries, metalwork, and manuscripts—to reveal the role of the senses in courtly ritual and religious practice.

A Feast for the Senses seeks to recover the traces of sounds, smell, taste, and touch inherent in the materiality of these late medieval objects and give them a voice, bringing them to life for the modern viewer. The oft-held notion of the Middle Ages as a period of sensory deprivation is disproven through the many objects on view that encourage sensory engagement. As visitors move through the exhibition, they will encounter interactive displays including Audio Spotlights, Scent Pop stations, and touchable replicas, all designed to encourage an appreciation of how art was designed to stimulate the senses of the medieval viewer.

Upon entering, guests will be met by the magnificent Narcissus tapestry, from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This work depicts an idyllic garden setting, full of emotion and sensuality. Thousands of flowers bloom in the verdant grass and small animals frolic about, while a gentle breeze sends Narcissus’ cape flying about his handsome face. Birds are singing, water is burbling. All the senses are filled with beauty: the sight of the garden, the scent of flowers, the touch of the breeze and the sounds of nature. The idea that beauty created a motion of the soul that would thus be better disposed to love, learn, or meditate is a key concept in medieval culture.

Another gallery focuses on the way that church ritual created an immersive sensory environment and how liturgy relied on physical sensation to encourage the participant to create a spiritual inner sanctum in the soul. Stained glass transformed natural light into colored reflections, giving material expression to God’s presence as light. Music, of course, was also an essential component of the liturgy, and musical manuscripts will be displayed next to sound stations that will let visitors hear the music written on the pages. Other works will demonstrate how religious participants were encouraged to devotion through smell, taste, and touch.

The exhibition also examines how the senses were explained in medieval science. In the Middle Ages, senses were not only receptors but also emitters. For example, it was believed that the eyes shot rays that captured the object of sight. From early representation of the five senses, to illustrations of brain functions in medieval philosophical treatises, to poetical representations of the senses such as the horses drawing Wisdom’s chariot, the objects on display will illustrate the role of the senses in contemporary cognitive theory.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with The Walters Art Museum to bring this extraordinary group of objects to our visitors in Sarasota,” remarked Steven High. “These works will not only allow guests to engage with art in new ways but give them the opportunity to view pieces from world-renowned collections.”

The 2016-2017 Art of Performance season at The Ringling celebrates the eighth year of this dynamic program with an enlightening array of emerging and established artists who continually seek to redefine the parameters of performance and contemporary art.

With the acquisition and installation of the Historic Asolo Theater in the 1950s, The Ringling led the way in offering music, dance, and theater in a museum setting, playing a vital role in the development of the performing arts in Florida. The new Art of Performance curatorial program, which has brought over 700 international artists in 86 productions, brings this significant legacy to an entirely new level.

Many museums present performing arts through their education departments, primarily in conjunction with exhibitions and collections on view. The Ringling is one of only a few museums nationwide that have established performance as a stand-alone curatorial department. Curator of Performance Dwight Currie and Project Coordinator Sonja Shea identify and commission genre-defying creative artists and integrate their enlightening new work into the museum setting. Both Currie and Shea trained at Wesleyan University’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance (ICPP), the first program of its kind to ground current and future performance program directors in curatorial best practices and approaches to time-based art. It is particularly informed by, and responsive to, the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of the field.

This season’s exhilarating Ringing International Arts Festival, which opens in October, features virtuoso performers from around the world. doug elkins choreography, etc. presents two works, including a new choreographed version of Othello set to a Motown score, which was named a “top ten dance event” for 2013 by The New York Times. The Grammy® award-winning, contemporary classical musicians of Eighth Blackbird offer a program of new music by four remarkable living composers. New Zealand’s Thomas Monckton and Finland’s Circo Aereo collaborate on a work of comic genius centered around a grand piano. Renowned Israeli cellist Matt Haimovitz informs iconic Bach suites with exquisite preludes composed by Philip Glass,

Du Yun, and Vijay Iyer, among others. Gravity and Other Myths, an acclaimed Australian acrobatic troupe; the comic dance piece B.A.N.G.S.: made in america; and a theatrical journey across seventeen international borders with Thaddeus Phillips rounds out the spirited festival.

Shea curated the 2017 New Stages season as part of her ICPP thesis. Subtitled New Sincerity, the series hosts artists who are focused on connecting with their diverse audiences in a thoughtful, though still challenging, way. Each of the New Stages artists seeks to engage audience members as active participants.

“The focus is on crafting an honest dialogue—a fearless, refreshing vocabulary of responsibility and conviction—which is brilliantly conceived and developed,” said Shea.

With the Historic Asolo Theater closed due to construction of the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion in early 2017, all of the New Stages productions will take place in innovative performance spaces around The Ringling’s campus.

For instance, Wise Fool New Mexico, part of the emerging social circus movement, will explore the issue of immigration through high-flying artistry and community bridging in the Museum of Art Courtyard. The Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure will lead individual audience members on a personal journey around The Ringling grounds and galleries as they encourage participants to embrace new notions of performance. And on the Bolger Campiello, dancers from Motionhouse will invite commentary on an intense work inspired by Rilke’s poem The

Panther

“Our goal for the Art of Performance series is to present important and decidedly out of the ordinary work that will resonate with audiences,” continued Currie. “Prepare to explore the unexpected, expect the unexplored, and experience the extraordinary.”

Welcome New Board Officers And Members

Paul G. Hudson, Chair, Managing Director and Private Client Advisor at U.S. Trust, is a wealth management advisor with over 20 years of experience. Paul leads his team’s efforts for new client engagements, deepening existing relationships and providing high-networth clients and wealthy families with access to the comprehensive array of services of U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management.

Frances D. Fergusson, Vice Chair, is President Emerita of Vassar College, where she was president for 20 years. She served as Chair of the Mayo Clinic Board and President of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University. Fran is on the boards of Pfizer, Mattel, The Getty, and Second Stage Theatre. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received the Harvard Medal for outstanding service.

Daniel J. Denton, Treasurer, is Founder Emeritus of Sarasota Magazine, having launched the company in 1979 and bought and sold Sarasota and similar magazines in Naples, FL, and Santa Barbara, CA. Raised in Bradenton, Dan received a BA in English from Yale and attended the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He was inducted into the Florida Magazine Association Hall of Fame in 2010.

Nancy J. Parrish, Secretary, is a private investor and collector. Nancy was founding co-chair of Human Rights Watch, northern California Chapter. She served two terms as Development Trustee of Friends of UCSF’s Dept. of Psychiatry’s Hospital Board and was a board member and Chief Negotiator for Plum Orchard Foundation.

Ellen S. Berman has enjoyed an active career spanning science, technology, and the arts. She is a member of the Council for Arts at MIT, serving on its Executive Committee, a trustee of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, a producer of plays on and off Broadway, a member of the Cosmos Club, and an avid art collector. She led a national energy policy organization for three decades.

James A. Joseph is President Emeritus of the Council on Foundations and Professor Emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Ambassador Joseph has served in senior executive or advisory positions for four U.S. Presidents, including Deputy Secretary of the Interior for President Jimmy Carter and U.S. Ambassador to South Africa for President William Clinton. He is a former president of the Cummins Foundation and serves on several foundation boards.

Nancy Kotler has taught literature and business law in addition to practicing law. She has served on the Illinois Humanities Council and chaired the Evanston Arts Council. An avid studio glass collector, she has served as President of the Collector’s Association and with her husband, Philip, is a major donor supporting The Ringling’s KotlerCoville Glass Pavilion opening in the fall of 2017.

Tina Shao Napoli is an established professional vocalist and has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. In addition, she has supported international voice-overs for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the United Nations. For the past few years, Tina has focused her attention on producing numerous concerts for the Chinese community across the country.

Javi Suarez is an award-winning architect and is one of the founding partners of Apez-Studio Suarez, a Sarasota architectural and planning firm. His work has been recognized in numerous local and national publications. He currently serves on the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board and is the President-elect of the American Institute of Architects Gulf Coast Chapter.