Junior art history major Nadia DelMedico presented her original research into extant slave dwellings on the antebellum UA campus at the new undergraduate poster session during the 22nd Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History, at UA's Bryant Conference Center in March, and at the recent URCA conference. DelMedico and Sommer Hallquist were awarded Harrison Prizes for Excellence in Undergraduate Research at the symposium. DelMedico's poster titled, “Too Close to Home: The History of Slavery on the University of Alabama Campus,” was selected as the third place winner in the Arts & Humanities category of the URCA poster sessions. DelMedico’s poster won second place in the Harrison Awards.
Art History Professor Publishes Groundbreaking Study in Visual Culture
Associate Professor Lucy Curzon has published the first full-length study of the British group Mass-Observation's engagement with visual culture. Mass-Observation and Visual Culture – Depicting Everyday Lives in Britain (Routledge, 2017) critically analyses the role that visual culture played in the early development of the innovative British anthropological research group founded in 1937. In Curzon's new book, she explores the paintings of Graham Bell and William Coldstream; the photographs of Humphrey Spender (brother of Stephen Spender); the paintings, collages and photographs of Julian Trevelyan; and Humphrey Jennings’ photographs and widely recognized Mass-Observation film, Spare Time, among other sources. Her research positions these works as key sources of information with regard to illuminating the complex character of British identity during the Depression era. Curzon is associate professor of art history in the UA Department of Art and Art History. Her research focuses on issues of identity politics as they concern the production of visual culture in twentieth-century Britain. She has previously published work on LGBTQ+ portraiture, as well as articles or chapters on the Ashington Group and Humphrey Spender’s photographs of Blackpool in the 1930s. She regularly presents her work at national and international conferences. She received the PhD in Visual Culture Studies from the University of Rochester in 2006 and holds a doctoral certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies. In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Curzon has organized numerous exhibitions showcasing the work of both regional and nationally recognized artists. She serves as Director of Graduate Studies for Art History and is editor-in-chief of FutureForward, the journal of Integrative Teaching International. For more information about The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History degree programs, go to our website.
UA Students Give Rare Tour of Historic Home
Sunday, April 30, UA art history students will give special public tours of Lyon Hall, a historic Greek Revival home in Demopolis, Alabama. Talks on the historic architecture, art and decorative arts in the home will begin at 2:00 pm and occur every twenty minutes until 5:00 pm. Under the direction of UA assistant professor Dr. Rachel Stephens, five art history students have engaged in a semester-long study of Lyon Hall, built in 1852. To research the home, they were given access to the Lyon family archives, which have remained largely untouched since the mid-nineteenth century. The tours and talks are the culmination of research by student guides Laura Wymer, Olivia Turner, Amy Smoot, Jamie Reschke and Lauren Eich. Lyon Hall, owned by the Marengo County Historical Society, is not usually open to the public, so this will be a rare opportunity to view this historic home and learn about its inhabitants. Refreshments will be provided. The event is free and open to the public. Any donations received will benefit the preservation of this historic landmark through the Marengo County Historical Society. For more information about art history and other degree programs in the UA Department of Art and Art History, go to our website.
Art and Art History Students Present Research at URCA
FLIGHT SIMULATION Senior BFA major Kalypso Homan made a head-spinning presentation at the recent Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference held at UA. Art history majors Nadia DelMedico, Sommer Hallquist and art history minor Reed O’Mara presented their research in posters during a session held in the Heritage Ballroom at Ferguson Student Center on UA campus. Homan explained how her dizzying idea was brought to life: “The aim of this project is to use a HTC Vive headset to bring the viewer on a 3D time-based immersive virtual reality experience. With our research we are exploring the possibility for a realistic flight simulation from the point of view of a bird. This simulation takes the form of a predatory chase. The player will enter the role of the prey fleeing a supernatural force, the goal being to add a sense of speed, urgency and fear to the simulation. The entire experience should be so intense that the player might suspend disbelief for long enough to believe that they are flying, or even flying for their life.” ART HISTORY RESEARCH POSTERS Junior art history major Nadia DelMedico presented original research into extant slave dwellings on the antebellum UA campus. Her poster titled, “Too Close to Home: The History of Slavery on the University of Alabama Campus,” was selected as the third place winner in the Arts & Humanities category of the URCA poster sessions. DelMedico’s poster also won second place in the Harrison Awards for Excellence in Research at the Undergraduate Poster Presentation during the 22nd Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History at UA’s Bryant Conference Center. Other presenters at the URCA poster session included senior double major in art history and anthropology Sommer Hallquist. Hallquist's poster was titled "Images of Antichrist within Bible moralisée Codex Vindobonensis 2554, Vienna, Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek." Economics and German major Reed O'Mara presented her art history research poster, "Getting Ahead: The Roles of Headless Saints in the Contest for Coronation Site."
UA Student Wins Competitive Museum Internship
Rising senior Sommer Hallquist, a double major in art history and anthropology with a minor in French, has been setting goals and making plans for an exciting and challenging summer. "One large goal of mine has been to receive an internship position in a museum to gain more practical experience in the field," Hallquist explained. She recently checked that goal off her list when she was offered one of eight highly competitive summer internships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Cloisters Museum in New York. Dr. Jennifer M. Feltman, Assistant Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture said, "This is such great news for her professional development and future in museum studies and art history. She will be also a wonderful ambassador for our department, college and UA." Hallquist has netted several awards and honors lately. She received an Honorable Mention for her poster research project at UA's Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Conference in April. Titled “Images of Antichrist within Bible moralisée Codex Vindo bonensis 2554, Vienna, Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek,” the poster outlining her research on apocalyptic imagery in a 13th-century illuminated Bible was also recognized in March at the new Undergraduate Poster Session at the 22nd Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History where she won third place for the Harrison Award for Excellence in Research. These awards, as well as her recent study abroad experiences, have come about in part because of the goals Hallquist has set for herself. "I have most definitely been setting goals to accumulate experiences that will be useful to me both in graduate school and hopefully within my career." Last summer Hallquist went on two big adventures. First, she studied at the National University of Ireland, Galway, on the west coast. She took courses in Late Bronze Age and Early Medieval Irish art and in Archaeology in Ireland. “We visited numerous sites on the Burren in County Clare that included wedge and chambered tombs that had been excavated by the professor himself!” Hallquist was also invited, along with two other UA students, to accompany Professor Ian Brown of UA’s anthropology department to participate in excavations in Greece. The program is part of the College of Arts and Sciences' Alabama-Greece Initiative, in which UA professors and students collaborate with their peers at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. Hallquist had worked with Dr. Brown on gravestone iconography in 2015 through UA’s Emerging Scholars Program. That year, she and fellow anthropology major Madeline Anscombe won second place for their gravestone iconography research project in the Emerging Scholars Division of Fine Arts and Humanities at the URCA Conference. Also last summer, Hallquist spent two weeks working on excavations in Vergina, Greece, known for the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Hallquist elaborated, "The goal of our project was to learn more about the city’s layout, daily life in the time period and the role of the people who lived within the city and used this sanctuary." Hallquist’s days were divided between fieldwork in the morning and early afternoon and laboratory work and scholarly lectures in the evening. Lectures were by the project archaeologists, including one who had been on the original excavations of Philip II’s tomb in the 1970s. As part of her goal of gathering more archaeological experience, Hallquist also has a job as a lab assistant at PanAmerican Consultants in Tuscaloosa, where she is able to work with Woodland, Mississippian and historic period artifacts. Looking ahead to her summer of medieval art at the Met Cloisters in New York, Hallquist is enthusiastic. "I am beyond excited for this incredible experience. I will have the opportunity to conduct my own research project and public presentation incorporating materials from the museum's collections and in conjunction with the museum professionals at the Cloisters." As for the future, Hallquist wants to continue her studies in Early Medieval art, specifically in illuminated manuscripts and so will apply to graduate schools in art history this fall. "I am very drawn to Insular art, so I may focus my attention there, but have yet to set that in stone." Go to our website for more information about UA's Department of Art and Art History's art history and other degree programs. ###
Harrison Award for Excellence in Research Given to UA Alumna
UA and UAB art history faculty announced winners of the Harrison Award for Excellence in Research - Graduate Paper Presentation and Undergraduate Poster Presentation during 22nd Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History on March 3, 2017. UA alumna Erin Hein, now a graduate student in art history at Case Western Reserve University, was awarded first place for her paper presentation, "Uncovering Roman Activity at the Aquae Apollinares through The Vicarello Goblet.” In 2016, Hein received the BA in art history and BS in chemistry from UA. She was awarded a highly competitive, six-week art conservation internship at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum. First place for the Harrison Award for Excellence in Research - Undergraduate Poster Presentation went to Sarah Faulkner, a graduate student in art history at UAB, for her poster presentation,“The Crux of Cultural Crossroads: Indigenous Elements in the Mahabat Maqbara.” The Harrison Award was begun in 2015 by Jim Harrison III, to recognize excellence in art history research. More information about this year's symposium is here. Harrison Award for Excellence in Research — Graduate Paper Presentation First Place: Erin Hein (Case Western Reserve) "Uncovering Roman Activity at the Aquae Apollinares through The Vicarello Goblet.” Runners Up Margaret Hankel (UGA) for “The Photographer as Author: Albert Renger-Patzsch and Die Welt ist schön” Rebecca Teague (UA) for “Nanni di Banco’s St Luke as a Statement Against Albizzi Control” Harrison Award for Excellence in Research — Undergraduate Poster Presentation First Place: Sarah Faulkner (UAB) “The Crux of Cultural Crossroads: Indigenous Elements in the Mahabat Maqbara” Second Place: Nadia DelMedico (UA) “Too Close to Home: The History of Slavery on The University of Alabama’s Campus” Runners Up: Sommer Hallquist (UA) “Images of Antichrist within Bible moralisée Codex Vindobonensis 2554, Vienna, Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek” Rachel Polaniec (Case Western Reserve) “To Engage, Educate, and Entertain: Living History Museums and the Visitor Experience”
22nd Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History
About the 2017 Symposium Photos: Flickr.com | Facebook.com 2017 Graduate Student Presentations and Keynote Speaker Ariana Panbechi, George Washington University, “Projections of Prestige: Aristocratic Portraiture of Qajar Iran” Isabel Lee-Rosson, University of North Texas, “American Diplomacy and Lebanese Art, ca. 1970: Contextualizing Paul Guiragossian’s Exhibitions in the United States” Mariana Gómez, University of South Florida, “Safe Conduct Pass (Paiza): Apotropaia and Human Representation in Islamic Art” Erin Hein, Case Western Reserve University, “Uncovering Roman Activity at the Aquae Apollinares through The Vicarello Goblet” Margaret Hankel, University of Georgia, “The Photographer as Author: Albert Renger-Patzsch and Die Welt ist schön” Rebecca Teague, The University of Alabama, “Nanni di Banco’s St Luke as a Statement Against Albizzi Control” Kelby M. Cox, The University of Alabama, “Stitching Agency: Enslaved African American Quiltmaking and the Prejudicial South” Carmen Gonzalez Fraile, University of Alabama at Birmingham, “Photographs of the Children’s March and Their Afterlives” Allison Springer, The University of Alabama, “Commemorating Freedom with Spectacles of Race: Abolitionist Propaganda during the American Civil War” Keynote Lecture: Dr. Kristin Schwain, University of Missouri, “Establishing an African American Eden: Samuel Albert Countee’s World War II Mural for Fort Leonard Wood’s Black Officers’ Club” Undergraduate Poster Sessions Alea Bondarenko, University of Alabama at Birmingham, “The Queen’s Stepwell at Patan, Gujarat” Nadia DelMedico, The University of Alabama, “Too Close to Home: The History of Slavery on The University of Alabama’s Campus” Sarah Faulkner, University of Alabama at Birmingham, “The Crux of Cultural Crossroads: Indigenous Elements in the Mahabat Maqbara” Sommer Hallquist, The University of Alabama, “Images of Antichrist within Bible moralisée Codex Vindobonensis 2554, Vienna, Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek” Riley E. B. Kliethermes, University of Tennessee, “Artemisia Gentileschi: Criticisms of the Feminist Perspective” Victoria Klouda, University of Tennessee, “The Luttrell Psalter: Medieval Marginalia and Viewer Visual Literacy” Reed O’Mara, The University of Alabama, “Getting Ahead: The Roles of Headless Saints in the Contest for Coronation Site” Rachel Polaniec, Case Western Reserve University, “To Engage, Educate, and Entertain: Living History Museums and the Visitor Experience” Chandler Roberts, Marian University, “The Uncreated Image: The Omission of Authentic Birth in Art” Jessica Shieh, The University of Alabama, “The Lasting Significance of Springtime: Julian Onderdonk’s Dynamic Legacy as an American Impressionist” More about the Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History Program for the 2017 symposium: PDF | Issuu.com Past Symposia
UA Art and Art History Hosts 22nd Graduate Symposium
Graduate students from UA and around the country will present their research at the 22nd Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History at The University of Alabama on March 3, 2017. Art history grad students from UA, UAB and from institutions including George Washington University, Case Western Reserve and the University of Georgia, will present papers at UA's Bryant Conference Center. In addition, this year, undergraduate students in art history have been invited to present research in a poster session. After prizes for Best Paper and Best Poster are awarded, Dr. Kristin Schwain, Associate Professor of American Art at the University of Missouri, will give the keynote address at 3:45 p.m. Schwain's talk is titled, “Establishing an African American Eden: Samuel Albert Countee’s World War II Mural for Fort Leonard Wood’s Black Officers’ Club.” This year’s symposium is generously supported by the College of Continuing Studies; Robert Olin, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Tricia McElroy, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Roger Sidje, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; The University of Alabama Graduate School; The Kirby Endowment (Department of Art and Art History), the Department of American Studies, and Harrison Galleries LLC. Download this year's program here (PDF). Issuu.com version here. Photos: Flickr.com | Facebook.com | List of presenters and award winners Now in its 22nd year, the Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History provides a forum for the presentation of graduate student research drawn from all areas of art history. The symposium also features a keynote lecture by a leading scholar of art history. Previous speakers have included Paul Barolsky (Italian Renaissance art), Allison Kettering (Dutch Baroque art), Michael Yonan (18th-19th century European art), and Graham Boettcher, the William Cary Hulsey Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The symposium alternates campuses each year. The Master of Arts degree in art history is offered jointly by The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The MA degree in art history prepares students for further academic study at the doctoral level or for professional careers in teaching, museums, galleries and other arts-related fields. Students may enroll on either campus and must take at least 6 hours of course work on the other campus. Contact: Dr. Lucy Curzon, Director of Graduate Studies, lcurzon@ua.edu, (205) 348-6458.
Kristin Schwain to Keynote Art History Symposium at UA
Dr. Kristin Schwain, Associate Professor of American Art at the University of Missouri, will give the keynote address at the 22nd Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History at UA on March 3, 2017. Schwain's talk at 3:45 p.m. is titled, “Establishing an African American Eden: Samuel Albert Countee’s World War II Mural for Fort Leonard Wood’s Black Officers’ Club.” The symposium, a shared production of the departments of art and art history at The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will take place this year at the Bryant Conference Center on UA's campus. Schwain will discuss African American artist Samuel Albert Countee (1909-1959), focusing on a mural he painted for the Black Officers' Club at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri in the 1940s. She asserts that the mural is a powerful expression of African American equality and distinctiveness in an era and place marked by racism and segregation. Schwain writes that Countee’s academic style and visual references to Greek democracy and the Christian tradition underscore middle-class values shared by European and African Americans alike, while his choice of specific images in the painting underscore black contributions to American life. Schwain received the PhD from Stanford and is Associate Professor of American Art at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She won critical praise for her book Signs of Grace: Religion and American Art in the Gilded Age from Cornell University Press. Schwain has been guest curator at the Museum of Art and Archaeology, Columbia, Missouri, for several exhibitions including most recently, "Mendive, Chaco, and the Havana Renaissance." Schwain describes her research: "[It] seeks to complicate the story of American modernism by showcasing that the roots of the twentieth-century art world are mired in the complexities of lived experience and visual culture. I do so by examining the roles played by religion, race, region, and consumption in art’s production, display, and reception." Schwain will speak at 3:45 p.m., rounding out a full day of research presentations by graduate students from UA, UAB and from institutions around the country, including George Washington University, Case Western Reserve and the University of Georgia. This year, undergraduate students in art history have been invited to present their research in a poster session. Prizes for Best Paper and Best Poster will be awarded just before the keynote speaker's address. This year’s symposium is generously supported by the College of Continuing Studies; Robert Olin, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Tricia McElroy, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Roger Sidje, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; The University of Alabama Graduate School; the Kirby Endowment (Department of Art and Art History); the Department of American Studies; and Harrison Galleries, LLC. Download this year's program here (PDF). Now in its 22nd year, the Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History provides a forum for the presentation of graduate student research drawn from all areas of art history. The symposium also features a keynote lecture by a leading scholar of art history. Previous speakers have included Paul Barolsky (Italian Renaissance art), Allison Kettering (Dutch Baroque art), Michael Yonan (18th-19th century European art), and Graham Boettcher, the William Cary Hulsey Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The symposium alternates campuses each year. The Master of Arts degree in art history is offered jointly by The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The MA degree in art history prepares students for further academic study at the doctoral level or for professional careers in teaching, museums, galleries and other arts-related fields. Students may enroll on either campus and must take at least 6 hours of course work on the other campus. Contact: Dr. Lucy Curzon, Director of Graduate Studies, lcurzon@ua.edu, (205) 348-6458. Image credit: Samuel Albert Countee (1909-1959), mural, Black Officers’ Club, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Image courtesy of Kristin A. Schwain.