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Book Talk with Karla Huebner, PhD

  • 10 Jun 2022
  • 7:00 PM
  • 48 High Street, Dayton 45403

Book Talk with Author Karla Huebner, PhD

Magnetic Women: Toyen and the Surrealist Erotic

June 10th - 7 PM

The Dayton Society of Artists (DSA) has the pleasure of hosting art historian, professor, and member Karla Huebner for a talk on her recently published book, Magnetic Women: Toyen and the Surrealist Erotic.

Toyen (1902-80), a pseudonym for Maria Čermínová, was a Czech artist and force in avant-garde groups such as Devětsil, Prague surrealism, and Paris surrealism. Toyen often wore both women’s and men’s clothing and also used the masculine form of speech. She is not only known for her gender and sexual ambiguity, but also the emphasized erotic themes in her artistic work.

Despite being a groundbreaking artist, Toyen proves to be a difficult study. Huebner’s book brings this artist into the light, allowing readers to re-evaluate many preconceived notions about a turbulent time in the world and art history. This prize-winning book (2021 Czechoslovak Studies Association book prize) will be available for sale at the talk.

Magnetic Women: Toyen and the Surrealist Erotic

Book talk with author Karla Huebner, PhD

June 10th - 7PM

The Dayton Society of Artists

48 High Street, Dayton OH 45403

A free event with free parking across the street from the gallery.

About the Author:

Karla Huebner is a Professor of Art History, specializing in 1750-present with research interests that include Czech modernism, surrealism, and gender and sexuality. She received her MA from American University in Washington, DC and her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Huebner has received research grants and fellowships that include Fulbright-Hays DDRA and an Andrew Mellon Predoctoral fellowship. Also, in 2015 she participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute "Teachng the History of Modern Design." Dr. Huebner has presented conference papers in England, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, the Bahamas, and the United States, at such venues as the College Art Association, the Association of Art Historians (UK), the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, the Berkshire Women's History Conference, the International Society for the Study of Surrealism, and the European Association for Urban History. In 2013 she was elected to the board of Historians of German, Scandinavian, and Central European Art (HGSCEA) and in 2019 she was elected President of the Czechoslovak Studies Association; she is also active in SHERA. Before coming to Wright State, she published on Minoan art in Anistoriton and reviewed books for Women Artists News, as well as publishing fiction in literary and genre magazines.

Also by the Author: In Search of the Magic Theater

“Why, the rather staid young cellist Sarah wonders, should her aunt rent their spare room to the perhaps unstable Kari Zilke? Like the nephew in Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf, Sarah finds herself taking an unexpected interest in the lodger, but she is unable to stop at providing a mere introduction to Kari’s narrative of mid-life crisis and self-discovery, and develops her own more troubled tale of personal angst and growth, entwined with the account Kari herself purportedly left behind. Generational tensions, artistic collaborations, and even a romance steeped in Greek myth follow as Kari and Sarah pursue their very different creative paths in theater and music. And while Kari seems to blossom post-divorce, Sarah must grapple with the question of what the role of mothers, fathers, aunts, mentors, and male collaborators should be in her life as a young musician.”

Released June 1, 2022 - In Search of the Magic Theatre

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