Mead Art Museum to Host Talk on  
Snakes in Stories and Art
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 15, 2012

[email protected], 413-542-5455

   

 

AMHERST, Mass.- On Sunday, June 24, at 3 p.m. the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College will present a revised and refreshed version of last summer's talk, Snake in the Path: Snakes in Stories and Art, on the motif of snakes in mythology, folklore and art. Maggie Dethloff, the Andrew W. Mellon Post-Baccalaureate Curatorial Fellow, will introduce several snake-related objects from around the world, ranging from a Muisca Tunjo (South American votive object) from ca. 1100 C.E. to selections from the 1999 portfolio L'Inferno Dante, by Michael Mazur (Amherst College Class of 1957). The talk will be followed by light refreshments and the opportunity to greet Dethloff's own friendly pet ball python in the museum's outdoor sculpture court.

 

"Serpents appear in folklore and mythology as both heroic and villainous players," Dethloff remarks. "This gallery talk will use stories and art from the Mead's collection to illustrate the positive, negative and ambivalent feelings held by different world cultures towards snakes." Elizabeth Barker, the museum's director and chief curator, adds, "This family-friendly talk promises to be fun and informative. It also attests to the range of interests that the Mead's diverse collection can help to enrich." The event is free and open to the public.  

The Mead Art Museum houses the art collection of Amherst College, spanning 5,000 years and encompassing the creative achievements of many world cultures. An accredited member of the American Association of Museums, the Mead participates in Museums10, a regional cultural collaboration. The museum and its gift shop-caf� are open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round, and until midnight on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday during the academic term.

 

For more information, including a complete schedule of all museum events, please visit amherst.edu/mead or call 413/542-2335.