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Go Crystal Tears: The Art of Melancholy
Go Crystal Tears: The Art of Melancholy
In our modern times, melancholy is commonly considered to be a debilitating affliction, closely aligned to depression. However, the quiet introspection of melancholy was often associated with creativity in the past. This was especially prevalent in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when significant treatises, music and art were dedicated to the condition. Treading the thin line between madness and contentment, this live HENI Talk by lecturer and lutenist Adam Busiakiewicz, produced in association with The Arts Society, investigates why and how artists responded to this prevalent human experience.
Time Period:
Various
Themes:
Adam Busiakiewicz is an Art Historian, lutenist and lecturer. After completing his Bachelor's Degree in History at UCL in 2010, he held the position of Head of Historical Interpretation (curator) at Warwick Castle. He left the castle in 2013 after winning a full AHRC studentship to pursue a Master's Degree in Fine and Decorative Art at the Sotheby's Institute of Art, London. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Art History at Warwick University after winning a CADRE Postgraduate Scholarship in 2017.
In December 2014 he became the youngest Guide Lecturer at the Wallace Collection, where he regularly gives talks, tours and lectures to both public and professional audiences. He has also given lectures at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London, and is organised a series of talks there on the lute in paintings in 2018.
Adam is currently planning a publication on the Grevilles of Warwick Castle, and has had articles published by the British Art Journal, The Sidney Journal and Hispanic Lyra. He was also the editor of the Georgian Group's 80th Anniversary Exhibition catalogue entitled Splendour! Art in Living Craftsmanship (2017).
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