Limestone College To Host "Reformation Reflections" Events On January 23

As part of its year-long series to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant movement, Limestone College will host two “Reformation Reflections” events on Tuesday, January 23.

A Juried Reformation Art Show & Reception will begin at 6 p.m. in Granberry Gallery, and an art lecture will follow at 7:30 p.m. in the Carroll Fine Arts Building, Room 105. Admission to each event is free and the public invited to attend.

The Limestone College Art Department’s art show is on display through February 12. The exhibit features works by Marlon Ascencion, Morgan Faucett, Joy Singleton, Derek Turner, and Christine Wicht.

Works selected for this exhibit represent a range of historical influence from pre-Reformation to post-Reformation. The juried show is an annual exhibit open to interested high school students and current students wishing to further their scholarship support.

The art lecture by Professor of Biology Dr. Suzanne Lindley is entitled “De Humani Corporis Fabrica: Body Snatchers, Public Dissections, and Anatomical Art.”

“Physicians and artists have always shared a fascination with the human body,” Lindley explained. “However, during the Middle Ages both medical dissection and realistic depictions of the body by artists were rare.  Almost all art was commissioned by the Church and religious and iconic in nature.  Things began to change in the 15th century, both in Northern Europe and in Italy, with the Reformation and the weakening of Church control.

“A resurgence of dissection for medical and artistic study culminated in the incredible work of art and medicine commissioned by the father of modern anatomy, Vesalius, De Humani Corpus Fabrica,” she added. “In the meantime, artists such as da Vinci utilized dissection and their increased knowledge of anatomy to introduce a new age of dynamic realism in art unseen since the classical period in Greece.”

“Reformation Reflections” is a commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the historic Protestant religious movement and its contemporary influence. The series of cultural and educational events is led by the Limestone College Division of Arts and Letters and will occur at the Gaffney main campus throughout the 2017-18 academic year. The celebration activities include a Renaissance Fair, concerts, films, art exhibitions, and lecture-discussions.

It has been 500 years since Martin Luther set the Reformation in motion by nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany on October 31, 1517.