[Milton-L] An afternoon with a reknowned Milton antiquarian book & art collector about that "Gentle Madness" of collecting

[Yuko Nii]

Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (WAH Center)
www.wahcenter.net
135 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Note: Press package available upon request

Dr. Robert Wickenheiser, 19th President of President of Saint  
Bonaventure University, will appear on Mother's May 10th 2009 to  
address the WAH Center's audience about that particular mania, "book &  
art collecting," from the point of view of his own personal journey in  
amassing the largest Milton collection in the world with many original  
illustrations. On display will be Miltoniana from his personal  
collection.

MOTHER'S DAY MAY 10TH 2009
Schedule:

1 PM Luncheon in honor of Dr. Wickenheiser, admission to the luncheon  
$25 - Wine, beer, sandwiches and sundries, guests can chat with Dr.  
Wickenheiser. Also present: Paradise Lost composer Peter Dizozza, hymn  
composer Amanda Husberg,  Milton illustrator Terrance Lindall and WAH  
Founder & Artistic Director Yuko Nii

2 PM Musical recital interlude by Peter William Dizzoza - his own  
incidental music to Milton's Paradise Lost and more

2:30 Talk by Dr. Wickenheiser, admission $10

3:15 Break

3:30 - 4 PM Selections from Amanda Husberg and Richard Leach's  
"Requiem for Terrance Lindall"

Admission to both the luncheon and the lecture $30.  You can pay  
through paypal by requesting an invoice from milton at wahcenter.net

ABOUT THE WICKENHEISER COLLECTION: "The collection was acquired for  
South Carolina University's Thomas Cooper Library in 2006 with support  
from William L. Richter and The William L. Richter Family Foundation.  
It is built up over a thirty-five year period, has more than 6,000  
volumes. It includes more than sixty first and other seventeenth- 
century editions of Milton’s own writings, and significant holdings  
also of 17th century Miltoniana. Its special focus on illustrated  
editions make it perhaps the most comprehensive collection ever of  
Milton illustration, from the first illustrated edition of Paradise  
Lost (1688) through all the major illustrators that follow,  
particularly John Martin (1789-1854) and Gustave Doré (1832-1833),  
with original drawings by several of the artists. The collection’s  
18th, 19th, and 20th Milton editions preserve a comprehensive record  
of Milton's continuing impact, while holdings of Milton biography,  
scholarship, and criticism document knowledge of Milton’s writings and  
influence." SCU

Topic of his talk per excerpts from  an email sent by Dr.  
Wickenhesier: " ...what collecting means, what it leads to, what  
effects it has, why do it, and the consequences of focusing on  
collecting one author, staying focused and knowing why you are doing  
that to which you are so totally committed, along with the wonderful  
variables that happen along the way with my initial focus on  
illustrated Milton...still an important focus for me.  ...why it has  
been so energizing, exciting, and of such major importance for  
me. . .and as time has passed for others as well. ...and I will speak  
of my love for Milton, for illustrated Milton through the ages, and  
for why Milton is and has been an icon for the ages.  In fact the  
title of my talk can be found somewhere in the last sentence:  
illustrated Milton through the ages, which is one way of viewing  
Milton through the ages; or, Milton: icon through the ages, seen most  
clearly in a collection such as mine which focuses upon Milton through  
the ages and what he has meant to each age and collectively to all  
ages."

Additionally, the WAH Center will display famous illustrated books  
from the collection of the Yuko Nii Foundation and Terrance Lindall's  
new altarpiece based on John Milton's Paradise Lost.

ABOUT THE LINDALL ALTARPIECE
The altarpiece, completed in 2009,  is in the form of a large book  
whose cover has gilt ormolu mounts and semiprecious stones. When  
opened, the panels might be seen as pages from an illuminated  
manuscript of the Renaissance. One panel shows the gates to the Garden  
of Eden, which gates look like a book being opened to the story of  
Adam & Eve. The second panel shows the gates to Hell, which look like  
a book being opened to the story of Satan's escape to Earth from his  
designated prison. In both panels, pages from the poem "Paradise Lost"  
lie revealed. Vignettes of portraits of people who have been important  
to Lindall's engagement with Milton's epic over time are in the  
panels. They include God, Satan, Adam & Eve, John Milton, William  
Blake, Yuko Nii, Peter Dizozza, Amanda Husberg, Professor Karen  
Karbiener, Arthur Kirmss, Orin Buck, Terrance Lindall and Dr. Robert  
Wickenheiser. You will also see in the panels: Heaven, Hell, The  
Bible,  Eden, The Infernal Serpent, WAH Center's building, the St.  
Croix River in Afton (Minnesota) where Lindall grew up, Nemo's  
submarine Nautilus, Flannagan's Mirror, an Apple computer, a real  
estate salesman, and Josephine Baker costumed for the Danse banane  
from the Folies Bergère production Un Vent de Folie in Paris in 1927,  
among others.

YOU CAN SEE IMAGES FROM THE NEW ALTARPIECE ON YOUTUBE HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KygOKf_VwLQ&feature=channel


0:00
Lindall's Paradise Lost Altarpiece



-------------- next part --------------
Skipped content of type multipart/related