Arms and Armor from the Met Museum to GAME OF THRONES, Cubist Art and More Set for Dec 2014 Talks

Met Museum Presents has announced its December 2014 talks. Highlights include a look at arms and armor, from the Met's beloved galleries to HBO's Game of Thrones; and Cubist art from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Details below!

SPARK, a conversation series:

This fast-paced cabaret-style series explores vital cultural issues through the lens of the Met. Each program gathers artists and thought leaders to engage in unscripted, surprising, and engaging conversation. SPARK is hosted by Julie Burstein, author and Peabody Award-winning creator of public radio's Studio 360.

Ideas that Spread
Monday, December 1, 6:00 p.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Elizabeth A. H. Cleland, Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, MMA
Seth Godin, best-selling author

The glamorous tapestries of Flemish artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst were sought by the most discerning rulers in 16th-century Europe, from Henry VIII to the Hapsburgs and Medicis. As his ideas spread throughout his world through paintings and books, his creations became hot commodities. In this SPARK conversation, Julie Burstein talks with Seth Godin and Met curator Elizabeth A. H. Cleland about what it takes to be an artist and entrepreneur, in both the 16th and the 21st centuries.

This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Grand Design: Pieter Coecke van Aelst and Renaissance Tapestry, on view October 8, 2014 - January 11, 2015. The exhibition is made possible by the Siebold Stichting Foundation and Fukushima Medical University. Additional support is provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund, the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Hochberg Foundation Trust.

Dressed to Kill: Arms and Armor from Medieval Knights to Game of Thrones
Tuesday, December 2, 6:00 p.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Michele Clapton, Costume Designer for Game of Thrones
Miya Ando, artist
Pierre Terjanian, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Curator in Charge, Department of Arms and Armor, MMA

Over the centuries, people have tried to protect their all-too-vulnerable flesh in flashy carapaces of metal and wood. In this wide-ranging conversation about arms and armor, HBO's Game of Thrones Costume Designer Michele Clapton reveals the pleasures and challenges of reimagining armor for the Starks and Lannisters; artist Miya Ando describes the influence of her sword-making ancestors on her 21st-century stainless steel kimono; and Met curator Pierre Terjanian offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Museum's popular Arms and Armor Galleries.

Tickets start at $30; $50 for the series.

Life & Times: Cubism:

Rebecca Rabinow, Leonard A. Lauder Curator of Modern Art, Curator in Charge of the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, MMA

Each lecture in this series sheds light on a different aspect of the Leonard A. Lauder Collection, one of the foremost collections of Cubist art in the world.

Cubist Confetti
Tuesday, December 2, 11:00 a.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Confetti -- those insidious little paper circles and squares -- was ardently embraced in Paris; it also figured in Cubist artists' visual vocabulary. Both Picasso and Braque were fully capable of understanding confetti showers as a phenomenon of optical mixing within three-dimensional space. This talk considers the Cubists' colorful stippling during the prewar years as a sophisticated means of introducing formal qualities of texture and light into their art, while referencing popular culture and artistic movements such as Pointillism.

Games Cubists Play
Tuesday, December 9, 11:00 a.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

In the early 1910s, both art lovers and critics voiced their concern repeatedly that Cubism was a hoax, and that the public was being gamed. There is no denying that Cubism, while serious art, has a playful side; puns, inside jokes, and games such as chess, cards, and dice were all enthusiastically welcomed as subject matter. This talk explores the stylistic shifts and sleights of hand that are often found in prewar Cubist art.

This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection on view October 20, 2014 - February 16, 2015. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Tickets start at $30; $50 for the series.

For tickets, visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets or call 212-570-3949. Tickets are also available at the Great Hall Box Office, which is open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tickets include admission to the Museum on the day of the event. Prices are subject to change. For more information about Met Museum Presents, visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets.

About Met Museum Presents: A wide-ranging series of performances and talks at The Metropolitan Museum of Art that explores contemporary issues and innovations through the lens of the Museum's exhibitions and unparalleled gallery spaces. Met Museum Presents creates a platform for curators, thought-leaders, and artists to come together and explore the Met as a generative force.