Art Talk: Dr. Philip Spensley on Eisenstein... April 22, 2006

ArtOnWater Gallery presents a month long exhibition of early theatrical stage set and character sketches from world-renowned film director Serguei Mikhaylovich Eisenstein (1898-1948).

Special events will be presented throughout April, including this lecture by Dr. Philip Spensley, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Theater (retired), Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, at 7:30pm on SATURDAY, entitled 'A context for Eisenstein in the early 20th century theater'.

ArtOnWater regular gallery hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 3:00 pm to 8:00 through April 29th, or by appointment.

'The Magic of the Theater' exhibits the gallery's private collection of Eisenstein?s sketches from the second decade of the early 20th century Russian Theater. These drawing (1917-1922) are from the facsimile edition entitled ?Theatrical Sketches? published by Leningrad Ivan Fedorov Press in 1971 for the Association of Russian Film Makers.

Over his 25-year career, Soviet film director Serguei Mikhailovic Eisenstein was able to complete just six films, and most of these only with approved revisions and under the eyes of Stalinist censors. His major works include: Battleship Potemkin (1925), October?Ten Days That Shook The World (1927), Alexander Nevsky (1938), and Ivan The Terrible, Part 1 (1945).

In his early years, although trained as an architect in St. Petersberg, Eisenstein was drawn to the Moscow theater, and, in the aftermath of the October 1917 revolution, entered the Proletkult Theater as an assistant stage designer and quickly became a co-director. At this time, stage design attracted some of the most dynamic and experimental artists in Russia. Eisenstein, therefore, played an important role in the incredible ferment of experimentation in the visual arts which began in the last decades of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth.

ArtOnWater has provided unique artist?s gallery space in Northfield for over 50 local and regional artists in 18 shows since November 2003. This is a special event saluting Northfield ? an arts community. The gallery is located on the footbridge river walk on the west bank of the Cannon River in downtown Northfield's arts town just opposite the Archer House, The Northfield Arts Guild, ArtOrg, The Arts Store, and The Contented Cow British Pub.

For Information contact: Dean W. Kjerland, 217 South Water Street, Ste. 101, Northfield, MN 55057, visit ?gallery? at www.archeopaleo.com, or tel. 507 645-1380

Official Website: http://archeopaleo.com