Mondays 

1:30 - 3:00 pm

Online

Five Sessions 

No Class 5/31

This course is offered online via the easy-to-use Zoom program.

An exploration of how music and musicians are linked to works at the world-renowned Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.  We’ll explore a variety of works from various vantage points: the artists who produced the works, the biographical/historical details behind the art, and how the Clark came to acquire the works.  Music, audio and visual excerpts will supplement our discussions. There are three main “themes” to the five class sessions: depictions of musicians, musical iconography, and depictions of the audience.  Questions and comments from attendees will be welcome.  Click here to browse the Clark's art collection online.

Instructor Laura Dankner is a docent in the Clark’s Education Department.  She received her undergraduate degree at Ithaca College and Master’s Degrees from Brooklyn College and the University of Albany. She is Associate Professor Emeritus, Loyola University, New Orleans, where she served as the Head of the Music Library and taught in the College of Music, and a former President of the Music Library Association of America. 

Laura is the co-author of Musical Gumbo: The Music of New Orleans (W. W. Norton, 1993) and has contributed reviews and articles to many journals.  While her professional background is in music and library science, her love of art has been a constant presence in her life since her days as a student at the former High School of Music and Art (now LaGuardia High School of Music and Art) in New York City and her studies at the Art Students League and the Brooklyn Museum.

Music Examples from Class 1, 5/24

Music Examples from Class 2, 6/7

Music Examples from Class 3, 6/14

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