Vanderbilt University History of Art Blog

William Wylie to Lecture November 14 on The Possibility of Ruins: A Pompeii Archive

Destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ancient city of Pompeii has captured the imagination of the public since it was first excavated in 1748. Pompeii Archive: Recent Photographs by William Wylie, currently on view in the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery through December 6, features a selection of recent work by artist and photographer William Wylie (American, born 1957) that explores the famous archaeological site. In conjunction with the Fine Arts Gallery exhibit, Wylie, professor of art, University of Virginia, will deliver a lecture, “The Possibility of Ruins: A Pompeii Archive,” on Wednesday, November 14, at 4:10 pm in 203 Cohen Memorial Hall.

“For me, much of the mystery of Pompeii lies in the site’s layers,” said Wylie. “Archaeologists work by uncovering and studying the deposits of past eras, but even visitors experience the site in this way. I was motivated to try and make photographs that revealed some of Pompeii’s complexity, the way multiple pasts intersect there with our 21^st-century present.”

The exhibition features eighteen large-scale photographs focused on the ongoing process of restoration, discovery and collection of archival remains and materials from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Through Wylie’s photographs, Pompeii is seen as a constantly changing—not static—archaeological site. Ever curious as to how landscapes accumulate visual markers and meanings, Wylie notes in his artist statement that “change is inescapable at Pompeii. . . .I document the changing relationships between artifacts, ruins, spaces, and the passage of time.”

His working method incorporates repeated visits to a site, an immersion in which he gains an understanding of both the cultural and natural landscapes that create place. For the ongoing Pompeii project, Wylie traveled extensively to the archeological site.

Pompeii Archive: Recent Photographs by William Wylie, organized by the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art at Colorado State University, is brought to the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, in part, through the generous support of the Program in Classical and Mediterranean Studies, with additional support provided by the Department of History of Art and the Department of Art.

The Fine Arts Gallery is located in Cohen Memorial Hall at 1220 21st Avenue South on the Peabody College campus. Gallery hours are from 11 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday, and from 1 to 5 pm weekends. Parking is available in all non-reserved spaces in Lot 95 near Cohen Hall on the Peabody campus.

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*William Wylie. Body cast, Macellum (VII.9.7), Pompeii,” 2015, archival pigment print, 37 x 45 inches

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on November 9, 2018 in Events, Fine Arts Gallery, HART, Lectures, News, Student/Alumni, VRC

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Update from a HART Student Studying Abroad This Semester

I was thinking of the department lately and thought I would send a quick hello and update you on my art history adventures in Florence! So far we’ve seen Orsanmichele, Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, Donatello’s Mary Magdalene, bronze David, and Saint George, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi’s Magi Chapel frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, Masaccio’s Holy Trinity, the Brancacci Chapel, and Fra Angelico’s frescoes in San Marco. I still plan to see Michelangelo’s David in the Galleria dell’Accademia and visit the Uffizi—we are going as a class in just a few weeks.

In Paris we visited the Louvre, Versailles, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre Dame, Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie (the Monets in the Musée d’Orsay were absolutely stunning and probably my favorite works that I’ve seen so far!). In Rome we visited the Colosseum, Pantheon, and toured the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel which was unbelievably crowded! I also traveled to Padua to see the Scrovegni Chapel and Giotto’s frescoes, which were incredible! I have attached a few pictures from my adventures….can’t wait to see all of you in the New Year! —Delaney Houston ’20 (History of Art & Medicine, Health and Society)

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on November 9, 2018 in HART, News, Student/Alumni, Vanderbilt University, VRC

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Rebecca VanDiver to Deliver Paper at American Studies Association Conference

Rebecca VanDiver, assistant professor of African American art, will present a paper at the annual conference of the American Studies Association held in Atlanta November 8-11. Her paper is entitled “Black, White, and Read All Over: Artistic Representations of Black Struggle and Resistance from Katrina to Ferguson,” and the theme of her session is “Constant Crisis: Bodies and the Routinization of Emergency.”  Organized around this year’s overall theme of “States of Emergence,” the conference features sessions that address the contemporary challenge of crisis and commitment.

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on November 6, 2018 in Conferences, Events, HART, Lectures, News, Vanderbilt University, VRC

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Vivien Fryd’s Book Explores Sexual Violence as Subject of American Art Since 1970

As part of the feminist movement of the 1970s, female artists began consciously using their works to challenge social conceptions and the legal definitions of rape and incest and to shift the dominant narrative of violence against women. In her book, “Against our Will”: Sexual Trauma in American Art Since 1970 (The Pennsylvania State University Press, forthcoming February 4, 2019), Vivien Green Fryd, professor of history of art, chronicles this decades-long radical intervention through an art historical lens.

Focusing on the efforts by such American artists as Suzanne Lacy, Leslie Labowitz, Faith Ringgold, Judy Chicago, and Kara Walker, Fryd shows how this key group insisted on ending the silence surrounding sexual violence and helped to construct an anti-rape, anti-incest counternarrative that remains vibrant today.

Fryd looks at how second-wave feminist artists established and reiterated the importance of addressing sexual violence against women and how those in the third wave then framed their works within the visual and rhetorical tradition established by their predecessors. Throughout the book she highlights specific themes—rape and incest against white and black female bodies, rape against white and black male bodies, rape and pornography—that intersect with other challenges to and critiques of the sociocultural and political patriarchy from the 1970s through the present day.

While working on this book, Fryd served as director of “New Directions in Trauma Studies,” the  2008-2009 Fellows Program at the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. She and her colleagues examined the emerging field of trauma studies and worked to define its boundaries and enhance the field through interdisciplinary discussion. In 2017 the College Art Association awarded Fryd the Wyeth Foundation for American Art publication grant ($5,000) for her book.

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on November 5, 2018 in HART, News, Vanderbilt University, VRC

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Joseph Eilbert Receives Award at Vanderbilt Undergraduate Research Fair

The Department of History of Art proudly congratulates Joseph Eilbert ’19 (physics and history of art), who was one of four students recognized for their exceptional posters and presentations at the fifth annual Vanderbilt Undergraduate Research Fair held September 27 at the Student Life Center. A record 167 students shared their research projects in a campus-wide celebration of undergraduate student research sponsored by the Office of Immersion Resources, the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Summer Research Program (VUSRP), and the Littlejohn Family.

Eilbert presented Beazley 2.0: An Artificial Intelligence Approach to Ancient Greek Painted Pottery. His faculty mentor was Betsey Robinson, acting chair and associate professor of history of art. Eilbert described his summer research project, supported by VUSRP and a Littlejohn Fellowship, as “a rich, interdisciplinary collaboration” with Robinson, Vanderbilt postdoctoral fellow Veronica Ikeshoji-Orlati, and two professors at Chapman University, computer scientist Erik Linstead and archaeologist and Vanderbilt alumnus Justin Walsh. Also this summer Eilbert traveled to London and the British Museum to meet with Alexandra Villing, curator, Greek pottery and terracotta figurines, regarding their collection and on to Oxford where he discussed his project with world-class digital humanities experts.

More than a century after British archaeologist Sir John Beazley developed his connoisseurship approach to attributing vases to painters and potters, “new technologies are enabling another method which Beazley himself never could have imagined,” said Eilbert, whose paper presents a comparision of Beazley’s method with a novel method driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Having previously worked in an AI lab at the Engineering School, Eilbert has a certain familiarity with AI that has proved invaluable to his project. He views visual artificial intelligence as a “new voice and useful tool” in the field of attribution studies, hoping to dispel any misconceptions about the goal of his project—“not to overturn attributions but rather to improve the role of the human.”

Eilbert has developed an artificial intelligence approach to archaeological attribution studies of ancient Greek painted pottery. Essentially, he has been “teaching” a smart computer program to group hundreds of unsigned painted pots into categories based on the style and intricacies of their painting.

“Highly trained people do this same task, grouping unsigned artworks based on stylistic details to attribute them to certain artists. Comparing the groups produced by the AI with groupings produced by human connoisseurs of ancient Greek pottery, I have been able to examine the methodology of those human attributions in a whole new light. Attribution studies is a hot topic among archaeologists and art historians, and this project’s use of cutting-edge technology truly makes it stand out.”

Beazley 2.0 is a computational architecture designed to conduct human-inspired observational studies of figured ancient Greek pottery. Computational analysis is a newcomer in the field of attribution studies. Beazley’s method of attributing ancient Greek pottery to unknown painters relied on intense personal observation of the vases’ painted figures and decoration.

“The methods and results of Beazley 2.0 provide insight into the current state and future potential of archaeological attribution studies and present a new avenue for the application of artificial intelligence technologies in the growing discipline of digital humanities,” said Eilbert, who will present his work under the title Beazley 2.0: An Artificial Intelligence Approach to Attribution Studies at the 120th annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) to be held January 3-6 in San Diego.

*Joe Eilbert with his award-winning poster at Vanderbilt’s Undergraduate Research Fair; red-figure lekythos decorated by the Meidias Painter (fl. ca. 420-400 BCE).

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on October 30, 2018 in Digital Humanities, Events, HART, News, Student/Alumni, Vanderbilt University, VRC

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Eleni Hasaki to Deliver AIA Lecture on November 1 at the Nashville Parthenon

Greek pots, with their delicate shapes, lively scenes, and varied contexts of use and deposition have enjoyed great popularity with ancient and modern viewers alike. They have also been scrutinized as documentation of gender roles, extent of literacy, social and economic status, and as media for political propaganda.

Scholars have recently widened their research scope to highlight the potters who produced these vessels. On Thursday, November 1, at 6 pm in the Nashville Parthenon, Eleni Hasaki, associate professor of anthropology and classics, University of Arizona, will lecture on the expanded understanding produced by this latest research: The World of Ancient Greek Potters: Production Places, Practices, Prayers. A closer look at the spatial layout and technological equipment of their workshops and at the workforce relationships brings these establishments alive with masters, apprentices, middlemen, and purchasers, constantly negotiating their roles inside and outside the workshop.

Even when technical secrets were well-guarded in an environment of relentless competition, everyone knew and appreciated the long hours that a potter had to practice to achieve perfection. A potter’s apprenticeship at the wheel was so long and arduous that even Greek philosophers used it as the most effective metaphor for conveying the importance of mastering all topics in a slow and structured manner. While patiently controlling forms and fire, Greek potters often prayed to the gods to secure successful firings and to protect their businesses from local and global competitors in ever-changing configurations of trade networks.

Hasaki, a Mediterranean archaeologist who received both her MA and PhD in classics from the University of Cincinnati, is the AIA’s Caskey Lecturer for 2018. Among her research interests are craft technology and apprenticeship in classical antiquity, Mediterranean pottery technology, ancient pyrotechnology, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology. She is project director for the creation of a searchable online database of ceramic kilns from prehistoric to Byzantine times and is senior pottery analyst for the excavations at the Sanctuary of Apollo on Paros (Greece).

Free and open to the public, the lecture is cosponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America, the Program in Classical and Mediterranean Studies, the Department of History of Art, and the Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park. Those who plan to attend the AIA lecture are encouraged to call the Nashville Parthenon at 615.862.8431 to reserve a seat. The Parthenon is located at 2500 West End Avenue in the Centennial Park.

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on October 29, 2018 in Events, HART, Lectures, News, Vanderbilt University, VRC

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Sheri Shaneyfelt Named An Immersion Coordinator in College of A&S

Sheri Shaneyfelt, principal senior lecturer of history of art and director of the department’s undergraduate studies, will serve as one of 16 Immersion coordinators in the College of Arts and Science.

“This inaugural class of Immersion coordinators represents faculty colleagues across our three divisions,” announced André Christie-Mizell, dean of undergraduate education for the College. “Each has demonstrated a wealth of knowledge, energy and creativity in working with our undergraduates. They will be integral in helping us advance the academic mission of the College.”

Immersion Vanderbilt provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to pursue their passions and cultivate intellectual interests through experiential learning. This intensive learning experience takes place in and beyond the classroom and culminates in the creation of a final project selected from one of four pathways: civic and professional, creative expression, international, and research.

 

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on October 26, 2018 in Fine Arts Gallery, HART, News, Vanderbilt University, VRC

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Sara Galletti to Lecture October 29 on History of Stereotomy in Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean

Stereotomy—the art of cutting stones into particular shapes for the construction of vaulted structures—has been practiced over a wide chronological and geographical span, from Hellenistic Greece to contemporary Texas. Yet the history of pre-modern stereotomy is little understood, and nineteenth-century theories about the art’s Syrian origins, its introduction into Europe by the crusaders, and the intrinsic Frenchness of medieval stereotomy are still largely accepted.

Sara Galletti, associate professor of art history, Duke University, will deliver a lecture entitled “Mapping Stereotomy: Vaulting in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean” on Monday, October 29, at 4:10 pm in 344 Buttrick Hall (Center for the Digital Humanities).

Galletti questions these theories with the help of digital maps that consolidate evidence of stereotomic practice from the third century BCE through the eleventh century CE and across the Mediterranean region. “I argue that the history of stereotomy is far more complex than what historians have assumed so far and that, for the most part, it has yet to be written,” she said.

Galletti received a joint Ph.D. in the History of Architecture from the Sorbonne (Paris) and IUAV (Venice). Her field of research is early modern architectural theory and practice, with a focus on 16th- and 17th-century Europe and the Mediterranean. She has published on secular and religious architecture, Philibert de L’Orme, the urban history of Paris, the relations between space and social structures, as well as the history of stereotomy.

Her lecture is sponsored by the Department of History of Art, with additional support from the Center for Digital Humanities, Department of French and Italian, and the Digital Cultural Heritage Research Cluster.

*Stereotomic semi-dome in the Hammam al-Sarah Qasr Al-Hallabat, Jordan, 8th century CE

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on October 24, 2018 in Digital Humanities, Events, HART, Lectures, News, Vanderbilt University, VRC

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Julia Kamasz Wins Staff Excellence Award for the College of Arts & Science

Julia Kamasz, HART’s administrative assistant, received the top, college-wide Staff Excellence Award for 2018 at the College of Arts & Science staff meeting held Friday, October 19. The award, presented by A&S Dean John Geer, includes a $1,000 bonus and an engraved plaque.

The College of Arts & Science Staff Excellence Awards recognize staff who have provided outstanding service to faculty and students or who in other ways have significantly advanced the mission of the college during the previous academic year.

“As acting chair, I have daily gained greater appreciation for all Julia does to keep us and our department going, and I am tremendously grateful for her hard work on all fronts,” said Betsey Robinson, associate professor of history of art. “We are so very lucky to have Julia working with us in History of Art. We thank her for being the most excellent administrator and congratulate her on this top honor!”

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on October 22, 2018 in HART, News, VRC

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Moshe Fischer to Deliver AIA Lecture October 25 at the Nashville Parthenon

Moshe Fischer, professor emeritus, department of archaeology and ancient Near Eastern civilizations, Tel Aviv University, will deliver the AIA Lecture at 6 pm on Thursday, October 25, at the Nashville Parthenon. Fischer, director of the Yavney-Yam excavations, will address “Greece and Rome in the Holy Land:The Impact of Marble.” He will focus on the impact that marble had on the architectural and artistic development of this region, taking into account the archaeological and historical evidence and the results of interdisciplinary examinations of the last decades.

One of the characteristics of Greek and Roman society is the use of marble. The Roman-period Holy Land (the province of Iudaea-Palaestina) became an active consumer of imported marble for both architectural and artistic purposes, overlapping the almost exclusive use of local stones in previous building and artistic programs. Palestine became a peripheral market of the large centers of marble quarrying and producing, mainly those from Asia Minor, and eventually developed a local response to imported architecture and art using local stones of different kinds.

Free and open to the public, the lecture is cosponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America, the Program in Classical and Mediterranean Studies, the Department of History of Art, and the Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park. Those who plan to attend the AIA lecture are encouraged to call the Nashville Parthenon at 615.862.8431 to reserve a seat. The Parthenon is located at 2500 West End Avenue in the Centennial Park.

Posted by vrcvanderbilt on October 22, 2018 in Events, HART, Lectures, News, VRC

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