A series of three illustrated lectures by Gail-Nina Anderson.

Monday 26th October | 6pm

A series of three illustrated lectures on the visual history of some of our favourite traditional characters from beyond the bounds of our everyday experience.

By Gail-Nina Anderson.

The Ghost, the Skull and the Sheet

The Sheet-With-Eye-holes-Spook must represent the most canonical of Halloween costumes: Easily constructed, playfully anonymous and about as scary as an unmade bed. But how do we visualise ghosts, who belong to the unofficial beliefs of folklore and oral tradition and so have their origins in tales told, words rather than images? Memento Mori traditions might add a skull or winding sheet to indicate their post-mortem status and add a touch of necromantic atmosphere, while transparency or unearthly glow can suggest the uncanny, but visitors from beyond the grave apparently appear in a bewildering range of guises. This talk discusses the fraught, tangled and often ridiculous history of representing an undefined phenomenon within the conventions of art and modern media.

A LIVE Lit & Phil Event | £6

(If you would prefer to book directly over the phone, please call the Library Desk team on 0191 232 0192 and they will be happy to help)

Image provided by promoter

Description supplied by the event organiser.