Willard Cummings and Anne Poor, Fresco Lecture 1961

Willard Cummings gives a lecture discussing the history of fresco painting as it has developed at Skowhegan. Cummings tells the students how fresco is the oldest painting medium known to man, explains the process of fresco painting in sections, and tells the students how they can only plaster a certain section of a painting at a time. Anne Poor then steps in and shares slides of prominent frescos around the world starting with the Sistine Chapel, Pompeii, and frescos across Florence. Poor stresses how architecture helps enhance the design of the fresco, how it’s important to work on the wall, and to think about the context of the place in which you are working. Cummings and Poor state that they teach fresco because the medium is contemporary, within an artist’s time and within their life. Teaching fresco also aligns with the philosophy of Skowhegan: it allows for artists to develop discipline in their chosen way of working, it builds good habits for artists, and teaches them about limitations in their work, as a natural occurrence of creativity. Limitations can push the artists towards something new. Cummings and Poor tell the students that Skowhegan is their chance to be free and look around themselves. At Skowhegan, they can learn how to see the world, live in the world, and be responsible for fighting what threatens them the most as artists. Cummings and Poor end the lecture by advising the students to fight against their ignorance as artists.