Medieval History
Images at Work: Image and Efficacy from Antiquity to the Rise of Modernity.
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck-Institut
30 September ? 2 October 2010
According to legend, Virgil made a fly out of bronze and placed it above the gates of Naples. The sole purpose of the bronze fly was to prevent other flies from entering the city. The conference Images at Work will set out to explore the intention, function, and reception of images like Virgil?s fly: images made to influence the natural world. We seek to examine the theories behind the construction of these operative images, to interrogate how the production of apotropaic images related to the production of Art, and to question how the manufacture of such working images interacted with the production of other types of mechanical apparatus.
In contrast to religious miracle-working images that perform multiple miracles of varying types, and which, crucially, are usually perceived as operating in the world only subsequent to their creation, the images with which this conference seeks to engage had, in most cases, very specific, predetermined functions. The objective of Images at Work is thus to focus on the scientific and magical spheres of image production; it will consider these adjunctive images as both objects in space and actors in ritual. The goal of the conference at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz will be to map the central issues regarding images that function in the natural world. We aim to discuss the phenomena ascribed to this category of images historically, culturally, and geographically, employing a broad array of theoretical and disciplinary approaches. The conference will address the manufacture of images that work, their function in real as well as in imaginary realms, and their reception on both functional and aesthetic levels.
Paper topics could include discussions of apotropaic imagery, as well as a wide variety of automata, from mechanical armed guards to timepieces and astronomical clocks. The interaction between the function of religious ?miracle working images? and scientific developments in image making, as well as the place of magic in the making of images that work are welcome subjects. Theories of the making of images that work, as well as discussions of workshop methods that address the interaction between images that work and the creation of typical images (i.e., Art), are also possible topics.
Scholars interested in participating in the conference are invited to send a 250 word proposal, a CV and a list of publications to the following address by 19 April 2010:[email protected]
Conference organized by Ittai Weinryb, Ashley Jones, Hannah Baader and Gerhard Wolf
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- Women Portrayed As The Causes Of ?wars And Other Evils? In Roman Mosaics
Research coordinated by Carlos III University in Madrid (UC3M) analyzes the images of women in Roman mosaics and their impact on the collective consciousness of feminine stereotypes. In many cases, the research concludes, the images pointed to the female...
- Digital Images Of Yale?s Vast Cultural Collections Now Available For Free
Scholars, artists and other individuals around the world will enjoy free access to online images of millions of objects housed in Yale?s museums, archives, and libraries thanks to a new ?Open Access? policy that the University announced today. Yale is...
- Carolingian Images
After two decades teaching medieval art history and doing photography for my own use, I have started a photography business. As part of that project I am posting my archive of images online for all to use without charge. So far I have posted about 950...
- An Unusual Kneeling Donor
Cumnor, Berkshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum.This early sixteenth century roundel at Cumnor in Berkshire, isn't a particularly distinguised piece of glass painting. It is however rather interesting. It appears to show a female kneeling donor...
Medieval History
Images at Work: Image and Efficacy from Antiquity to the Rise of Modernity.
Images at Work: Image and Efficacy from Antiquity to the Rise of Modernity.
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck-Institut
30 September ? 2 October 2010
According to legend, Virgil made a fly out of bronze and placed it above the gates of Naples. The sole purpose of the bronze fly was to prevent other flies from entering the city. The conference Images at Work will set out to explore the intention, function, and reception of images like Virgil?s fly: images made to influence the natural world. We seek to examine the theories behind the construction of these operative images, to interrogate how the production of apotropaic images related to the production of Art, and to question how the manufacture of such working images interacted with the production of other types of mechanical apparatus.
In contrast to religious miracle-working images that perform multiple miracles of varying types, and which, crucially, are usually perceived as operating in the world only subsequent to their creation, the images with which this conference seeks to engage had, in most cases, very specific, predetermined functions. The objective of Images at Work is thus to focus on the scientific and magical spheres of image production; it will consider these adjunctive images as both objects in space and actors in ritual. The goal of the conference at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz will be to map the central issues regarding images that function in the natural world. We aim to discuss the phenomena ascribed to this category of images historically, culturally, and geographically, employing a broad array of theoretical and disciplinary approaches. The conference will address the manufacture of images that work, their function in real as well as in imaginary realms, and their reception on both functional and aesthetic levels.
Paper topics could include discussions of apotropaic imagery, as well as a wide variety of automata, from mechanical armed guards to timepieces and astronomical clocks. The interaction between the function of religious ?miracle working images? and scientific developments in image making, as well as the place of magic in the making of images that work are welcome subjects. Theories of the making of images that work, as well as discussions of workshop methods that address the interaction between images that work and the creation of typical images (i.e., Art), are also possible topics.
Scholars interested in participating in the conference are invited to send a 250 word proposal, a CV and a list of publications to the following address by 19 April 2010:[email protected]
Conference organized by Ittai Weinryb, Ashley Jones, Hannah Baader and Gerhard Wolf
- Jerusalem Tomb Reveals First Archaeological Evidence Of Christianity From The Time Of Jesus
The archaeological examination by robotic camera of an intact first century tomb in Jerusalem has revealed a set of limestone Jewish ossuaries or ?bone boxes? that are engraved with a rare Greek inscription and a unique iconographic image that the scholars...
- Women Portrayed As The Causes Of ?wars And Other Evils? In Roman Mosaics
Research coordinated by Carlos III University in Madrid (UC3M) analyzes the images of women in Roman mosaics and their impact on the collective consciousness of feminine stereotypes. In many cases, the research concludes, the images pointed to the female...
- Digital Images Of Yale?s Vast Cultural Collections Now Available For Free
Scholars, artists and other individuals around the world will enjoy free access to online images of millions of objects housed in Yale?s museums, archives, and libraries thanks to a new ?Open Access? policy that the University announced today. Yale is...
- Carolingian Images
After two decades teaching medieval art history and doing photography for my own use, I have started a photography business. As part of that project I am posting my archive of images online for all to use without charge. So far I have posted about 950...
- An Unusual Kneeling Donor
Cumnor, Berkshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum.This early sixteenth century roundel at Cumnor in Berkshire, isn't a particularly distinguised piece of glass painting. It is however rather interesting. It appears to show a female kneeling donor...