Rockwell Center News
ONLINE SYMPOSIUM: Illustration, Puppetry, and American Popular Culture: The Art and Legacy of Tony Sarg
October 20-21, 2023
Organized by the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the American Theater for Puppetry Arts in Austerlitz, New York, this interdisciplinary symposium brings together artists, puppeteers, and scholars from across the humanities to explore the life, art and adventures of Tony Sarg (1880-1942), the charismatic illustrator, designer, puppeteer, and entrepreneur whose prolific career sheds light on the creative imagination and the ability of artists to inspire a collective sense of wonder and joy.
Gifted illustrator – Istvan Banyai
We were saddened at the Norman Rockwell Museum to recently learn of the passing of gifted illustrator, Istvan Banyai, whom we had the pleasure of working with.
ONLINE SYMPOSIUM Illustration and Race: Rethinking the History of Published Images
Compelling conversations with illustrators, art directors, authors, and scholars will explore more than three hundred years of racial representation in published art and the role of mass-circulated imagery as a force in shaping public perception about people and groups of people. Presented in conjunction with Imprinted: Illustrating Race, the Museum’s current exhibition, this symposium will spark dialogue about the ways that art, advertising, and systems of publishing have helped to frame public opinion, and how the art of illustration is a force for change today.
Recordings of each session will be made available on or after September 28, 2022.
Steven Heller: Bascove’s Shifting Perspective
I’ve been enticed and excited by Bascove’s imagery ever since I first laid eyes on her signature book covers and jackets designed for publishers throughout the 1970s and 80s. Her emotionally-charged woodcuts, pen and brush drawings and hand-crafted gothic lettering grabbed my senses and intensified my interest. The books with her peerless illuminations revealing the essence of an author’s work were often put face-out on the shelves of my favorite bookselling haunts.
Imprinted: Illustrating Race
Opening June 11, 2022, Imprinted: Illustrating Raceexamines the role of published images in shaping attitudes toward race and culture. More than 100 works of art and artifacts of widely circulated illustrated imagery will be on view, produced from the late eighteenth century to today, which have an impact on public perception about race in the United States. The exhibition will explore stereotypical racial representations that have been imprinted upon us through the mass publication of images. It culminates with the creative accomplishments of contemporary artists and publishers who have shifted the cultural narrative through the creation of positive, inclusive imagery emphasizing full agency and equity for all.
Remembering Jerry Pinkey: American Illustration Master
We at the Norman Rockwell Museum were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jerry Pinkney (1939-2021), a true master of American illustration and one of the kindest and most genuine individuals that we have every had the pleasure of working with. We have been fortunate to collaborate with this gifted artist on several important projects over the course of two decades and to share Jerry’s work in two major national traveling exhibitions, Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney and Jerry Pinkney, Imaginings: An Artist’s Explorations of Images and Words. A great friend to the Museum and always generous with his time and talents, Jerry worked closely with us to spark creativity in enthusiastic students at regional schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and we were proud to launch a curriculum project created in conjunction with these projects. In 2016, Jerry became the Museum’s Artist Laureate, advocating for our work and highlighting the power of illustration and storytelling to educate and inspire.