Symposium - Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud (2019)

A symposium on Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud was held on Monday 20 May 2019 in conjunction with the exhibition Ruskin, Turner and the Storm Cloud, which ran at York Art Gallery from 29 March to 23 June and Abbot Hall Gallery, Kendal, from 12 July - 5 October 2019.  It was also part of the national programme of events organised to mark the bi-centenary of John Ruskin’s birth, brought together by the network Ruskin To-Day.  The symposium was convened by the exhibition curators Dr Richard Johns (University of York) and Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper (York Art Gallery and University of York) with Dr Gill Chitty (University of York).

The day began with a private view of the exhibition, led by Dr Fagence-Cooper and Dr Johns, after which everyone reconvened at the York Medical Society in Stonegate.

Introduction

'This one-day symposium marking the exhibition Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud presents new work on the art and ideas of one of the nineteenth century’s most influential critics and social thinkers, John Ruskin (1819–1901). With a focus on the cultures of environment and environmental change, short papers and discussions will explore the challenges and rewards of responding to Ruskin in the twenty-first century.'

Programme

Panel 1: Curating Ruskin in the 21st century

Suzanne Fagence Cooper (York Art Gallery/University of York): 'Ruskin's Afterlife: 1969-2019'

Sandra Kemp (Ruskin Library and Research Centre for Landscape, Culture and the Environment): 'Ruskin and the Museum of the Near Future'

Ruth Nutter (Ruskin in Sheffield): 'Ruskin in Sheffield: A Living Legacy'

Panel 2: Ruskin and the ruin of the Earth

Emma Stibbon RA and Jan Zalasiewicz (University of Leicester) in conversation, with Richard Johns (University of York)

Panel 3: Ruskin and Environment

Mark Frost (University of Portsmouth): 'Storm Clouds and Killer Smogs: The Environmental Nightmares of John Ruskin, William Delisle Hay and Robert Barr'

Melanie Hall (University of Boston): 'Ruskin, Turner, and the Early National Trust: An Aesthetic for the Environment or an Environmentalist Awareness?'

Gill Chitty (University of York): 'Ruskin's Gaze and the Cultural Landscape'

Panel 4

Howard Hull (Brantwood): 'Shelter from the Storm: John Ruskin and the Search for Peace'

 

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