Glenside, Pa. — On Wednesday, April 3, Arcadia University Art Gallery presents “The Voices of Time: Ballard’s Early Fiction and the Visionary Present,” a lecture by Dr. Richard Wertime, Professor of English at Arcadia. The presentation is the third in a series of four on JG, the new film project by internationally acclaimed British born, Berlin-based artist Tacita Dean. Free and open to the public, Wertime’s lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Commons Great Room on Arcadia’s main campus (450 S. Easton Road, Glenside, Pa.), and will be preceded by a reception scheduled for 6 p.m.
Wertime’s presentation offers a close reading of the English author James Graham (J.G.) Ballard’s 1960 science fiction story, “The Voices of Time.” The story serves as part of the hidden narrative of JG, which is a sequel in technique to Dean’s 2011 project, FILM, and is inspired by her correspondence with Ballard regarding connections between the short story and Robert Smithson’s iconic earthwork and film Spiral Jetty. The most concrete of these uncanny affinities is Ballard’s description of a large-scale mandala made of concentric circles built by the story’s protagonist (also named Robert) on a salt flat. Wertime will also articulate how Ballard’s dystopian visions of the near future refreshed the genre of science fiction with a relevance, topicality and psychological dimension that were unprecedented at the time.
A faculty member at Arcadia for nearly three decades, Wertime specializes in English literature of the Renaissance, the Restoration and the 18th century, with an emphasis on Renaissance drama. More recently, he has focused on contemporary American fiction. Wertime has published in several journals — including The Yale Review, the Hudson Review, and the Georgia Review — on a variety of topics, namely archaeology, literary criticism, critical thinking, and cognitive psychology. In 2001, The Michener Center for Writers awarded Wertime the James A. Michener Memorial Prize for best first book by an author over the age of 40 for his memoir Citadel on the Mountain (2000). Wertime earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Haverford College, and master’s and doctoral degrees in English from the University of Pennsylvania.
The lecture series concludes on Wednesday, April 10, with V. Vale’s presentation “Mythographer of the 21st Century: J. G. Ballard and Ballardian Aesthetics,” which depicts the psychology, society and aesthetics of the future. Based in San Francisco and the publisher-editor of RE/Search Publications, Vale is recognized for his 1984 monograph on Ballard, which remains the most comprehensive resource about the author. During his discussion, Vale will address how he came to interview Ballard, as well as his relationship with the prolific author as a publisher, editor, and friend.
For more information, visit
www.arcadia.edu/tacitadeanevents. This series is subsidized by Arcadia University with additional support from the Dietrich Foundation. The exhibit is commissioned by Arcadia University Art Gallery and funded by The Pew Center for Arts
& Heritage.
JG is 26.5 minutes in length and will be shown before the lecture on April 3rd at 6 p.m., and then following the lecture at 8 p.m. at the Spruance Art Gallery.
Gallery Hours: JG will be screened on the days and times posted below. The final screening of each day begins one hour before the gallery closes.
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, JG will be screened at 10 AM, 11 AM, Noon, 1 PM, 2 PM, 3 PM, and 4 PM.
On Thursdays JG will be screened at 10 AM, 11 AM, Noon, 1 PM, 2 PM, 3 PM, 4 PM, 5 PM, 6 PM, and 7 PM.
On Saturdays and Sundays, JG will be screened at Noon, 1 PM, 2 PM, and 3 PM.
The gallery is closed on Mondays.
About Arcadia University Art Gallery
A nationally recognized venue for contemporary art in the greater Philadelphia area, Arcadia University Art Gallery is a 1,100-square-foot facility (housed in a 1893 power station) that has for over 30 years provided the region with a stimulating roster of individual and thematic exhibitions shaped by its mission to encourage dialogue among artists, educators, students and the general public about current visual art and its socio-cultural relevance.
