Clown Lecture: Herman Ootics, the Clown: An Idiosyncratic History of Circus Clowning (NY)
The lecture itself is given by Clownlink reader and friend, David Carylon, a former Ringling clown, a PHD in theatre/circus history, and the author of THE book about Dan Rice (the original Uncle Sam). Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You’ve Never Heard Of
The exhibit also has a catalog (pictured left) filled with photos, paintings, and lots of great essays: (Buy the book on Amazon)Â There will be another lecture on January 17 with the instigator of this project, Susan Weber, who is also the founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center, and the editor of the book )
Find out more about the exhibit:Â http://www.bgc.bard.edu/gallery/gallery-at-bgc/main-gallery.html
Herman Ootics, the Clown: An Idiosyncratic History of Circus Clowning
Date:Â Thursday, January 10, 2013Â
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Place:Â 38 West 86th Street
COST $20.00 Adult , $15.00 Students and Seniors
MORE INFO: 212.501.3011, programs@bgc.bard.edu
Description
The whimsical
reference to hermeneutics in this program title is itself no whimsy. Instead, it introduces a challenge to cozy
cultural narratives about “the clown.†The various and intrinsically related clichés—clown as kiddy favorite, sad clown, happy clown, scary clown, and that academic pet, the trickster—have little to do with the work of a
comedic performer. In this lecture, David Carlyon will dig into those faith-based clichés to examine how clown and culture influence each other.
David Carlyon was a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus clown, after the Army and Berkeley Law School and before acting in New York and acquiring a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He has published scholarly work on performance, 19th-century culture and politics, and Shakespeare. He wrote the award-winning Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You’ve Never Heard Of, and is on the Speakers Bureau of the New York Council for the Humanities.  Find out more at http://www.davidcarlyon.net/