Kris Groberg, assistant professor of visual arts, presented a lecture at a conference at the University of Illinois at Springfield April 22-26. The conference, titled “Symbolism: It’s Origins and Consequences,” featured several speakers from around the world to discuss their research on art and literature from the period 1890-1910.
Groberg’s lecture, titled “Sympathy with the Devil: Russian Symbolist Art,” is the result of years of research into images of the devil in Russian Decadent and Symbolist Art. She concluded that such work proliferated in times of political crises in Russia. “The late 19th century through early 20th century was a particularly unusual era in Russian History as Imperial Russia was collapsing, church and state were crumbling and revolution was at hand,” Groberg said. “Under the influence of French Decadents and Symbolists, Russian artists reacted to the political chaos by producing varied images of Satan or the devil – especially in the aftermath of the short-lived revolution of 1905, when censorship was briefly lifted.”
The focus of the conference was exploring the origins of symbolism, a variety of symbolist manifestations in art, literature, music and philosophy; its consequences in art and literature; and to understand how ideas moved from one European country to another.
May 6, 2009