AAH ART HISTORY LECTURE SERIES ANNOUNCED FOR FALL
Building on the popularity of the art history lectures presented by Dr. Robin O’Bryan last winter, The
Art Association will present five lectures this fall. The topics and presentors are: “Renaissance
Witchcraft” by Dr. Robin O’Bryan, October 30; “Collectors, Collections and Collecting” by Peter Risser,
November 6; “ The Ancient Egyptian Quest for Eternal Life” by Dr. Sara Meng, November 13; “Painted
Churches of Cyprus and Donor Portraits” by Barbara Piscioneri-McNulty, November 20; and “Exploring
Aging in Art” by Glen Dunbar, November 27.
The lectures will all take place in the main gallery of The Art Association of Harrisburg from 2 to 4 PM
on Sundays, with a $10 donation requested at the door. The laptop and projector utilized in
presenting the lectures are a result of a generous grant from The Foundation for Enhancing
Communities.
Dr. Robin O’Bryan, who teaches at Gettysburg and Harrisburg Area Community Colleges, has also
taught at Millersville University, Dickinson and Messiah Colleges, Penn State University, and the
University of California at San Diego. She received her BA in art history from the University of
Maryland in Brussels, Belgium, and her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Her research is primarily
focused on the subculture in Italian Renaissance art, including dwarves and witches.
Peter Risser, who received his undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University,
received a minor in art history from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Art History in the Henry
Clay Frick Library. Risser earned his Master’s Degree at Alfred University’s NYSCC. He has taught
studio art, art history and art appreciation at Duquesne University, Shippensburg University, Penn
State University, and the PA College of Art & Design. Risser’s sculptures have been handled by Gallery
Henoch in New York for the past 25 years, and have also been shown in Philadelphia, Washington and
Pittsburgh. Risser’s AAH lecture will centre on a few major private collections, as he discusses the
processes and criteria utilized by collectors as they assemble their works. Particular attention will be
paid to the central role that collectors play in fostering the cultural community of artists, as well as art
dealers.
Dr.Sara Meng teaches at Harrisburg Area Community College, where she is also chair of the Art
Department. Dr. Meng received her BA in art history from the University of Kentucky in Lexington,
Kentucky, her MA in art history from the University of Louisville, and her Ph.D. from Case Western
Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Although her research has been focused on the American artist
Peggy Bacon, Dr. Meng also has an abiding fascination in archaeology and ancient history, particularly
that of ancient Egypt. Her November 13 AAH lecture will deal with ancient Egyptians’ obsession with
the afterlife, their religious beliefs, and the evolution of tomb structures and grave goods.
Barbara McNulty, currently acting director of the Suzanne H.Arnold Art Gallery at Lebanon Valley
College, is an art historian whose research focuses on Byzantine and Medieval portraiture on the
island of Cyprus. She has presented papers at academic conferences throughout the US, most recently
having presented a paper at a study day on Cyprus called “Cyprus from Byzantium to the
Renaissance,” held jointly by Dumbarton Oaks and the Republic of Cyprus Embassy. Her paper was
“Negotiating Between the Feudal and the Commercial: Family Portraiture on Cyprus.” At LVC, Ms.
McNulty has developed courses on the history and theory of portraiture, and on the body in the art
and architecture of the Middle Ages. As acting directory of the Suzanne H.Arnold Art Gallery, she
curates exhibitions that span a broad spectrum of art historical interests.
Glen L.Dunbar, who holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Centre for Aging
Studies at the University of North Texas, is a retired social gerontologist and policy analyst. He teaches
a variety of sociology courses at area colleges, and has previously taught several courses through the
Pathways Institute. His AAH lecture will discuss the fact that art, like music, reflects and shapes the
culture that creates it. Common aging themes reflected in art have not changed much over the
centuries, including the seasons of life, wisdom and serenity, power in accumulated riches, loss and
loneliness, misspent life, relationships with children, and spirituality. He will examine and discuss 15
paintings depicting older people from pre-Renaissance to modern times.