External News and Events
Event - The Material Life of Things: Symposium
‘Objects Making History: New Approaches to Material Evidence in Medieval Studies’
Friday 9 July 2010
14.30 - 18.30, Research Forum South Room
The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
Open to all, free admission but numbers are limited. ADVANCE BOOKING by 12 noon Tuesday 6 July is essential. Please contact: ResearchForumEvents@courtauld.ac.uk
Contact Name : Ingrid Guiot. Research Forum Events Coordinator
Contact and further information details:
Throughout the Middle Ages, manuscripts, buildings, and many portable objects, serving both secular and liturgical functions, were made to be used, and to be used for a long time. As these works continued to be used, and valued, through the centuries, they were necessarily subjected to wear, changes and adaptations – repaired as they were damaged, updated for new owners and new uses, and sometimes intentionally modified to aggrandise, or obscure, their own histories.
Approaching medieval works of art and other documents with this in mind leads us to a more nuanced appreciation of the roles objects can play in shaping our perceptions of the past, and the degree to which our understanding of history is shaped by the physical structures of objects.
As the papers in this symposium will show, production techniques and later physical manipulation could influence the network of practices, actions and beliefs occurring in the vicinity of objects in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways. A thorough awareness of the material histories of objects – the lives they have led since their creation – can offer a better understanding of the role played by medieval objects in producing knowledge and shaping historical narrative.
Organised by Dr. Francesco Lucchini (The Courtauld Institute of Art) and Dr. Kate Gerry (The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore)
Deadline for booking or submission (if applicable):
ADVANCE BOOKING by 12 noon Tuesday 6 July. Please contact: ResearchForumEvents@courtauld.ac.uk
Event details
- The Material Life of Thing
- Location: Courtauld
- Date: Friday, 9th July 2010
‘Objects Making History: New Approaches to Material Evidence in Medieval Studies’
Friday 9 July 2010
14.30 - 18.30, Research Forum South Room
The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN