AAH Student Conference in Conference Nottingham 1999
The Ninth Conference On Research In Progress At The Arts Centre, Department Of Art History, University Of Nottingham 27 February 1999.
The 27th February marked the 9th Conference on Research in Progress which was held at Nottingham University. This conference formed part of an on-going series of One-Day Conferences which are led by, and focus on contributions from students who are working in a variety of art historical areas.
In the absence of the Chair of the Student Group, Dennis Wardleworth, the Conference was chaired instead by the former Student Chair, Gabriele Neher, and the proceedings opened with a relaxed gathering session with coffee and biscuits which set a tone of informality which ran throughout the day. The conference itself was opened by Nicholas Alfrey, the head of the department of Art History, who welcomed the AAH Student Group to Nottingham, and who also extended a warm welcome to the seven speakers of the day.
The first paper was given by Amy Marie Zucca (University of Warwick) who gave an informative and entertaining paper on 'Rethinking the Main Chapel at the Madonna dell'Orto, Venice'. Amy's paper focussed on Tintoretto's altarpiece of the 'Construction of the Golden Calf', and by contrasting secular with religious interpretation, Amy explored a number of forces that contributed to the iconographical framework and compositional rendering of the piece as a whole. By introducing issues that focussed around changing Venetian understanding of the value of gold, and its semiotic relationship with the Jews of the nearby Ghetto of Venice, Amy explored sixteenth century tensions surrounding idolatry and anti-Semitism which have underpinned many readings of the altarpiece.
The Research in Progress conferences welcome contributions from students from all levels of research and were therefore pleased to give the floor for the next paper to a Final-Year undergraduate student, Hannah McCracken (University of Nottingham), who addressed some provocative issues of gender and reading in her piece on Velazquez's 'Rokeby Venus'. Hannah's highly feminist paper raised a number of interesting questions on the provenance and display of the female nude.
Next came the contribution from Pauline Diamond (University of Nottingham), who presented a paper based on research for her PhD. Pauline talked on the representation of travellers to Nottingham in the eighteenth century, centred around the discussion of a series of whimsical prints through which she explored attitudes towards the provinces amongst the fashionable elites of the day. Given the location of the venue, Pauline's paper provided an apt local touch to the conference.
The morning session concluded with Tim Harrison's (University of Nottingham) paper on 'Ruskin's Drawings and the disputed status of the material world'. He examined Ruskin's attitudes in relation to the work of earlier eighteenth century landscapists, and focussed in particular on Ruskin's preoccupation with the underlying divine forces of the physical world. The paper drew on a number of fascinating images to expose how the visual language of the two forms of naturalism was dependent upon a number of different perspectives and assumptions concerning nature.
The issues which were raised in the morning enjoyed further discussion over a replenishing meal in the Arts Centre's Cafe Lautrec, after which the Ruskin theme was taken up again in the first paper of the afternoon session by Heather Birchall, also from the University of Nottingham. Heather's paper examined the theme of 'John Ruskin and Photography', and she considered Ruskin's use of photography mainly as a drawing aid for the student of architecture.
The Nottingham monopoly was broken by the next speaker, Vicki Kirkman from the University of Liverpool, who delivered an informative paper on 'The Architectural Review and notions of Constructivism in Britain, 1930-39'. She focussed on Camilla Grey's pioneering study of the 'Great Experiment: Russian Art 1863-1922', which underpinned the revival of interest in Constructivism in the 1960's.
The final speaker of the day was Veronica Davies from the University of East London who explored aspects of post-war reconstruction in German and British museums, focussing her paper on the municipal collections in Leeds and Krefeld. Veronica explored the art and politics in the British zone of Germany and in England itself in the period immediately following WWII. The paper focussed on issues of National identity and was based on research carried out in both Germany and England.
As two Final year Undergraduate students, who had never before attended any conferences of this format and character, we found the day both entertaining and encouraging. These conferences provide an extremely valuable opportunity for reflection and provide a forum for the presentation of research in a friendly, responsive and encouraging environment of fellow students. We found the conference an invaluable addition to our understanding of the discipline of Art History, an educational as well as social experience, and we would encourage anyone in our position to follow our lead and to attend these conferences.
Hannah McCracken and Marie-Louise Langford
University of Nottingham
In the absence of the Chair of the Student Group, Dennis Wardleworth, the Conference was chaired instead by the former Student Chair, Gabriele Neher, and the proceedings opened with a relaxed gathering session with coffee and biscuits which set a tone of informality which ran throughout the day. The conference itself was opened by Nicholas Alfrey, the head of the department of Art History, who welcomed the AAH Student Group to Nottingham, and who also extended a warm welcome to the seven speakers of the day.
The first paper was given by Amy Marie Zucca (University of Warwick) who gave an informative and entertaining paper on 'Rethinking the Main Chapel at the Madonna dell'Orto, Venice'. Amy's paper focussed on Tintoretto's altarpiece of the 'Construction of the Golden Calf', and by contrasting secular with religious interpretation, Amy explored a number of forces that contributed to the iconographical framework and compositional rendering of the piece as a whole. By introducing issues that focussed around changing Venetian understanding of the value of gold, and its semiotic relationship with the Jews of the nearby Ghetto of Venice, Amy explored sixteenth century tensions surrounding idolatry and anti-Semitism which have underpinned many readings of the altarpiece.
The Research in Progress conferences welcome contributions from students from all levels of research and were therefore pleased to give the floor for the next paper to a Final-Year undergraduate student, Hannah McCracken (University of Nottingham), who addressed some provocative issues of gender and reading in her piece on Velazquez's 'Rokeby Venus'. Hannah's highly feminist paper raised a number of interesting questions on the provenance and display of the female nude.
Next came the contribution from Pauline Diamond (University of Nottingham), who presented a paper based on research for her PhD. Pauline talked on the representation of travellers to Nottingham in the eighteenth century, centred around the discussion of a series of whimsical prints through which she explored attitudes towards the provinces amongst the fashionable elites of the day. Given the location of the venue, Pauline's paper provided an apt local touch to the conference.
The morning session concluded with Tim Harrison's (University of Nottingham) paper on 'Ruskin's Drawings and the disputed status of the material world'. He examined Ruskin's attitudes in relation to the work of earlier eighteenth century landscapists, and focussed in particular on Ruskin's preoccupation with the underlying divine forces of the physical world. The paper drew on a number of fascinating images to expose how the visual language of the two forms of naturalism was dependent upon a number of different perspectives and assumptions concerning nature.
The issues which were raised in the morning enjoyed further discussion over a replenishing meal in the Arts Centre's Cafe Lautrec, after which the Ruskin theme was taken up again in the first paper of the afternoon session by Heather Birchall, also from the University of Nottingham. Heather's paper examined the theme of 'John Ruskin and Photography', and she considered Ruskin's use of photography mainly as a drawing aid for the student of architecture.
The Nottingham monopoly was broken by the next speaker, Vicki Kirkman from the University of Liverpool, who delivered an informative paper on 'The Architectural Review and notions of Constructivism in Britain, 1930-39'. She focussed on Camilla Grey's pioneering study of the 'Great Experiment: Russian Art 1863-1922', which underpinned the revival of interest in Constructivism in the 1960's.
The final speaker of the day was Veronica Davies from the University of East London who explored aspects of post-war reconstruction in German and British museums, focussing her paper on the municipal collections in Leeds and Krefeld. Veronica explored the art and politics in the British zone of Germany and in England itself in the period immediately following WWII. The paper focussed on issues of National identity and was based on research carried out in both Germany and England.
As two Final year Undergraduate students, who had never before attended any conferences of this format and character, we found the day both entertaining and encouraging. These conferences provide an extremely valuable opportunity for reflection and provide a forum for the presentation of research in a friendly, responsive and encouraging environment of fellow students. We found the conference an invaluable addition to our understanding of the discipline of Art History, an educational as well as social experience, and we would encourage anyone in our position to follow our lead and to attend these conferences.
Hannah McCracken and Marie-Louise Langford
University of Nottingham