Eras in American Art & Culture: The 1950s

12–1:15pm
Join us for a live virtual Road Scholar lecture by historian Matthew Palczynski that explores the art and influences of the 1950s, followed by Q&A.  The “space age” was in, and with it came tail fins on cars, sci-fi on television, and Sputnik’s launch in 1957. A postwar economic boom fueled rapid suburbanization and a culture increasingly hooked on television and mass production. “Atomic age” anxieties from the Cold War triggered poignant art of all kinds, inspiring a flourishing moment for creativity and especially for improvisation, with Jackson Pollock’s drips flowing to the same beat as Jack Kerouac, Martha Graham, and Charlie Parker. The decade really was “far out.”

(Adults; Sunflower Room)