Art and film is the theme of a series of free public art lectures starting next week. The lectures have been organised by Dr Mike O’Mahony, Lecturer in the Department of History of Art at Bristol University.

The lectures, which cover topics such as magic lanterns to movie palaces and Expressionism and film, will be held on Tuesdays in the Reception Room, Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road, Bristol, from 6 to 6.45 pm.

The first lecture, on October 19 entitled A century of artists on film
1900-2000, will be given by filmmaker Robert McNab, who established the Artists on Film Trust with Hannah Rothschild in 1997. The aim of the Trust is to create the first national collection of existing film and videotape footage of artists at work and in interview.

The five subsequent lectures are:

• October 26, Ian Christie, Anniversary Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck College, London, Light, colour, movement: adventures in the archaeology of artists’ films.

• 2 November, David A Bailey, photographer, writer, curator, lecturer and currently associate curator at the Institute of International Visual Arts (inIVA), Film and the blues aesthetic in the films of Isaac Julien.

• 9 November, Richard Gray, expert on cinema and theatre architecture, Chairman of the Cinema Theatre Association and Information Officer for English Heritage, Magic lantern to movie palace.

• 16 November, George Brandt, Emeritus Professor of Drama at the University’s Department of Drama: Theatre, Film, Television, Caligari’s children – Expressionism and film.

• 23 November, Dr Martin Brady, film, cultural historian and lecturer on European cinema, German literature and architecture at King’s College London and the Royal Academy of Music, Music for the eye: pictures and structures in experimental film.

Dr Mike O’Mahony, said: “This promises to be a thrilling series of lectures exploring many different aspects of the relationship between the activities of artists, film-makers and their audiences throughout the twentieth century. Don’t miss any!”