The Art of Conversation

Bringing together living artists, researchers, curators, museum workers and more – this podcast from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts focuses on a new painting each episode, looking at the work in a new light.

Episode 1: Finding Sound in the Visual – Vesuvius in Eruption by Joseph Wright of Derby

What does a volcanic eruption sound like – and can a painting make us hear it?

In our first episode, we focus on Vesuvius in Eruption by Joseph Wright of Derby, asking how a silent painting can evoke overwhelming sound. Louder than thunder, a volcanic eruption of this scale would have been a deafening – so how does Wright suggest this intense sensory experience?

Led by Tara Tige, former Head of Learning and Engagement at The Barber Institute, the conversation brings together Becky Owen‑Keats, doctoral researcher in Art History, Curating and Visual Studies at the University of Birmingham, and Dan Cippico (Wildforms), producer and electronic musician. Together, they explore implied sound, sensory experience and what it means to “listen” to a painting.

⁠Read the episode transcript here (opens as 65KB WORD DOC download)⁠

Artwork: Joseph Wright of Derby, Vesuvius in Eruption, about 1777-80, Private Collection on long term loan to The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham