Art for the Citizen Symposium

The Panel explores one of the last silent films by Charlie Chaplin: City Lights, which garnered great acclaim even as silent film was becoming a dying art form. Major themes of City Lights are discussed which depicted life in the Great Depression through slapstick comedy, film montage, and musical sound effects. The panel also discusses the tales of American capitalism which unfold in this film between the rich but shallow millionaire and the blind girl who is poor in material wealth, but rich of soul. Featured speakers include: Chuck Maland, J. Douglas Bruce Chair of English and Cinema Studies at the University of Tennessee; Kate Guyonvarch, Chaplin Office Manager; Steven Byess, Director of the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra.

The 1930s is often defined as the Golden Age of Hollywood, led by stars such as Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers. The movies served as both an escape and an inspiration for Americans faced with the hardships of the Great Depression. The panel explores Chaplin’s influence on art for the citizen, as well as other art movements such as Social Realism and Dadism through the 1930s. Featured speakers include: Hooman Mehran, Committee Member, The Annual Buster Keaton Celebration; Lisa Haven, Associate Professor of English at Ohio University, Zanesville; and Kate Guyonvarch, Chaplin Office Manager.

The panel analyzes artists’ responses to major natural events and the changing rural and urban landscapes of America prior to World War II. Panel members discuss the artists’ different approaches, as well as the various government-sponsored art programs of that era. Featured speakers include: Manuela Well-Off-Man, Assistant Curator; Gayle Seymour, Professor of Art and Associate Dean, University of Central Arkansas; Jeannie Whayne, Professor of History, where; Greg Herman, Associate Professor of Architecture, University of Arkansas; and Patsy Watkins, Professor of Print Journalism, University of Arkansas.