2016-17 season's lectures

sponsor: DentaDanés (website)

sponsor: Ole Optica (website)

The Romans have left us with a remarkable artistic record of their lifestyle, beliefs, achievements and entertainment, in the form of beautiful mosaics. From the best museums and collections around the world we see how they developed earlier Greek designs; the cities in which they lived; the Gods and myths in which they believed; and the exotic and indulgent lives of the Romans themselves - from Britain to Sicily, from Morocco to Syria. This lavishly illustrated lecture uses only mosaics from start to finish, bringing the distant world of the Romans gloriously back to life with vibrant, colourful images full of action. So, this is the rise and fall of the Roman Empire but as you have never seen it before – through the eyes of the Roman people themselves and the contemporary mosaics they created to reflect and decorate their fascinating, colourful world.

About Christopher Bradley
Christopher Bradley specialises in North Africa and the Middle East. He is also a guidebook writer and photographer; his latest books include The Berlitz Libya Guide 2009 and Insight Egypt Guide 2008. He has also worked as a tour leader and guide of specialist art tours to Tunisia and Libya and as a cameraman and TV producer for the National Geographic, BBC and Channel 4.
Christopher is a frequent visitor to Nerja, having talked to us about the Magi in 2007, the Queen of Sheba in 2009, Libya in 2010 and the Treasures of the Silk Road in 2013.

sponsor: Friend of Nadfas

A story of war, kidnappings, Berber Bandoleros, and some Spanish Indiana Jones…

The lecture is about the Spanish archaeologists and historians who developed their research in North Morocco at the time of what in Spain is called the "African War" (1909-1927), when Spain was trying to establish her Protectorate in the Northern part of Morocco in accordance with the results (and the mandate) of the International Treaties signed at the Conference of Algeciras (1906); these scholars worked in the field under war conditions, for instance in the Tetouan area, at the Roman (and pre-Roman) site of Tamuda, war front between 1919 and 1925, where César Montalbán was working in 1919, 1920 and 1921 until the war situation made the archaeological research stop - not to be restarted until 1940.

It is also the period of WW II, when some of our Spanish archaeologists in Morocco even had some contacts with the Allies through the American Consulate in Tangier: while the world was struggling in war, some of these heroes of Archaeology and History, such as Pelayo Quintero, were developing their research in several sites as Lixus, Alcazarseguer or Tamuda.

It is a very interesting topic, a period really "apasionante", with war, battles, pioneers of Archaeology (those are as well the times of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in Egypt, for instance) working in the worst conditions, and spectacular results of their research.

About Manuel Parodi
Manuel Parodi, historian and archaeologist, has been working on the History of Archaeology in Northern Morocco and Southern Spain since 2005, and has published several books and articles regarding this particular matter. He has also been working in several Archaeological and Historical Research Projects in Morocco since 2005, including the Archaeological Museum of Tetouan, its Archives and historical documents and records.

sponsor: Blevins Franks (website)

LS Lowry is one of Britain's most popular artists - and yet the very familiarity of his work has stopped us looking as closely as we should at this extraordinary artist. He was a painter not only of the mills al the industrial north-west but also perhaps the one of the great painters of the human condition himself - the TS Eliot of modern British Art and, perhaps we could even claim him as our very own van Gogh! Come along and make up your own mind.

About Michael Howard

Michael is President of Bolton NADFAS and until recently he was the Course Leader of the School of the History of Art and Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University, where he taught both academic and studio-based students. He is a practising artist, a painter, sculptor, printmaker and ceramicist. He has exhibited at the Royal Academy; his work is represented in the Manchester Art Gallery and in many private collections in the UK and abroad.
He and his wife the painter Ghislaine Howard live in Glossop Derbyshire close to Lowry's home. Michael has written the major text on LS. Lowry and has curated a number of exhibitions including Lowry's industrial Landscape of 1953 at the Lowry December 2007-May 2008.
Michael has published widely on European art ot the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mostly on the impressionists. His other books include L S. Lowry: A Visionary Artist, (He also worked on the film on the artist that acts as an introduction to the artist's life and work at the Lowry Centre), He was commissioned to write a personal guide to the Manchester Art Gallery.
Michael represented the UK at the 2006 Varna Biennale and has featured on television and radio many times and in 2004 he and Ghislaine worked on the film Degas and the Dance which has received many awards including one of the prestigious Peabody awards.

sponsor: Iberian Funeral Plans (website)

The Ashcan School was an artistic movement in the United States during the early twentieth century that is best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighbourhoods.

sponsor: Dr Rik Heymans (website)

From Chartres cathedral to Angkor Wat, religion has been the inspiration for many of the greatest buildings of the world. Indeed, for much of human history, the story of architecture and the story of faith were synonymous.
This lecture explains the architecture of each of the major faith traditions, revealing how it is shaped by their rituals and beliefs. It briefly covers the sacred architecture of such early societies as Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Americas before focusing on the living faiths: the great continuities embodied in the sacred architecture of Buddhism and Hinduism, and the revolutionary changes brought about in monotheistic Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It thus brings fresh insights into some of the most remarkable buildings on the planet.

The aim is to leave the audience understanding why and how (for example) a mosque is different from a synagogue or a church (and how they interrelate), as well as having a ‘big picture’ overview of what is happening where and when in the sacred buildings of planet earth.

It should go without saying that the illustrations cover a sequence of the greatest buildings on the planet. Many are taken from my sumptuous book on the subject, The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: have a look at this pdf file to get an impression of their beauty: Sacred Spaces sample spreads II.

About Jon Cannon
The following text has been taken from Jon's blog page.

"I have a vocation, and it’s to do with places; with communicating, enthusing, analyzing – in short, extollagising – about the nature of ‘old places’, and what makes them tick. I get especially excited about the sacredness of place, and the human place-making that results from it: a po-faced way of saying I love religious architecture in particular. English medieval churches are my academic specialism.

In any case, this a calling without a career structure. Writing lies at the heart of it, but like many writers I do other things which help earn a living and which arise from the expertise I’ve gathered on the way. But these, for me, are not add-ons: lecturing, teaching and tour-leading, copywriting and editing for heritage organizations, academic research: all are essential elements in what is a seamless and overlapping range of concerns. You can find out more about each, or contact me direct, via this website.

You might, indeed, come across my books, such as Cathedral: the great English cathedrals and the world that made them, published by Constable in 2007 and now out out in paperback; or The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces, was published in late 2013; the Shire book of Medieval Church Architecture came out in July 2014; I am currently writing a major work on the British landscape, slated for publication in 2016. You might also have come across my BBCTV documentary, How to Build a Cathedral, which was widely praised.

Among other things, I teach regularly at the University of Bristol (mainly in the History of Art department), lead tours for Martin Randall Travel and others; am a Lay Canon (keeper of the fabric) at Bristol cathedral, and am a Member of Council for the British Archaeological Association. I am also an accredited NADFAS lecturer. My piece of journalism about North Korea (east Asia plays a big part in my life: my wife is the Chinese author Liu Hong) for the London Review of Books some years ago was shortlisted for the David Watt Memorial Prize."

sponsor: Sanysol (website)

sponsor: De Cotta Law (website)

The eighteen months that Vincent Van Gogh spent in Provence are amongst the most turbulent and written about in the whole of art history, yet only recently have some of the most fascinating details surrounding his time there come to light. The lecture examines the background to Vincent’s fascination with the South where he hoped to find the light of Japan, and establish a studio of the South led by Paul Gaugin. Through close examination of the Arles paintings the lecture shows how over the course of just 18 months his own unique style finally emerged, but only after an appalling act of self-mutilation. The build up to the crisis is a fascinating story, rendered all the more poignant by its tragic aftermath and about which much controversy still remains.

About Brian Healey
A senior modern languages teacher in an independent grammar school for many years, I have also enjoyed a successful parallel career since the 1980’s as a professional artist and interior designer. Since 2006 I have been regularly appointed to a number of prestigious ocean and river cruise lines, either as resident artist, guest lecturer on art history or as destination speaker for more than forty countries. Most recently this work has successfully extended to art guiding through important towns and museums in France, Belgium, Holland and Spain.

sponsor: Currencies Direct (website)

sponsor: Viajes Verano Azul (website)

Discover the lavish arts of the Mughal Empire from the courts of the Mughal emperors Akbar the Great, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the ruler responsible for the creation of the magnificent Taj Mahal. Explore the masterpieces of Mughal art from miniature paintings to precious jade daggers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crill, R. et al, 'Arts of Mughal India: Studies in Honour of Robert Skelton' Mapin, London: 2004
Losty, JP, 'Mughal India: Art, Culture & Empire', British Library exhibition, London: 2013
Stronge, S, 'Painting for the Mughal Emperor: The Arts of the Book 1360-1660' V&A, London: 2002

 

About Jasleen Kandhari
Old Roedeanian, Jasleen Kandhari is Lecturer of Indian art and textiles for Oxford University's department of Continuing Education, contributing editor of Indian textiles for the Textiles Asia Journal and lecturer on the Royal Academy of Arts tour to India: Treasures of the Punjab & Little Tibet.
Formerly Curator of Asian collections at the University of British Columbia, Museum of Anthropology in Canada, she has also worked for the British Museum and the British Library in curatorial and research positions. She has extensive lecturing experience at museums, universities and art societies including University of Oxford's museum of art - the Ashmolean Museum, the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

sponsor: Friend of Nadfas

Since its foundation in 1925, Faber and Faber has built a reputation as one of London's most important literary publishing houses. Part of that relates to the editorial team that Geoffrey Faber and his successors built around them - TS Eliot was famously an early recruit - but a large part is also due to the firm’s insistence on good design and illustration.

This lecture traces the history of Faber and Faber through its illustrations, covers and designs. Early years brought innovations like the Ariel Poems – single poems, beautifully illustrated, sold in their own envelopes. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was an emphasis on typography, led by the firm's art director Berthold Wolpe; his Albertus font is still used on City of London road signs. In the 1980s, the firm started its association with Pentagram, responsible for the ff logo. Along the way, it has employed some of our most celebrated artists as cover illustrators – from Rex Whistler and Barnett Freedman to Peter Blake and Damien Hirst.

Slides will range from book covers, advertisements and photos of key individuals, to illustrations of the concepts behind the designs. The talk will also be peppered with personal insight and anecdote. Faber and Faber is the last of the great publishing houses to remain independent.

About Toby Faber
Tony Faber is the grandson of the company's founder, and grew up steeped in its books. He was managing director for four years and he remains on the board. He is passionate about the firm's success, and intensely proud of his association with it.