October 2012

Violette de Mazia

Art — Produced by Glenn Holsten

Chapter 1 — Violette de Mazia, the Director of Education at the Barnes Foundation from 1950 until her death in 1988, was a striking figure. Passionate about art and life, she was a dramatic teacher who lived and breathed aesthetics, and had a profound impact on every student she encountered at the Barnes Foundation until her death in 1988. She was a tireless worker, and coauthored many books about art and aesthetics with her colleague Dr. Albert C. Barnes.

Violette de Mazia was born in Paris, and began her career at the Barnes Foundation in the 1920s, working with Dr. Barnes to develop the original educational program of study at the Foundation – where students learned about the aesthetic principles of paintings and how those same principles apply to all kinds of human activity.

This Friday Arts segment tells the story of this iconic figure, and details her role in the creation of the original education program at the Barnes Foundation. With interviews, archival photographs and audio excerpts from Ms. de Mazia’s lectures, it reveals her ideas about art and art appreciation and shows how they are being carried out today by the Violette de Mazia Foundation.

Interviewees include Marcelle Pick, President of the Violette de Mazia Foundation, Ross Mitchell, former student of Violette de Mazia and current Executive Director of the Violette de Mazia Foundation and Katy Rawdon, Director of Archives, Libraries and Special Collections at The Barnes Foundation. The segment also features footage of the Barnes Foundation galleries.

Lives of the Poets

Art — Produced by Michael O’Reilly

Chapter 2 — Thomas Devaney is poet, critic, and Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Haverford College. Recently he collaborated with Philadelphia-based photographer Will Brown on a book of photos and poems called THE PICTURE THAT REMAINS. We talk with the two about that collaboration and follow Tom and other poets through their days to answer the question of just how poets make a living in 21st century Philadelphia.

Web Extra: Algon Avenue

Web Extra: Colleen