Department of the History of Art and Architecture
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Department of the History of Art and Architecture University of Massachusetts Amherst Summer 2018 Newsletter Greetings from all of us in the Depart- highlights in the department include last fall’s 18th Roskill symposium that ment of the History of Art and Archi- the election of a record five undergrad- focused on contemporary practices in tecture. It is finally spring in Massa- uate majors to Phi Beta Kappa, terrif- Native American arts, about the spring chusetts and we are delighted to share ic prospects for the MA class of 2018, 2018 curatorial fellowship exhibition at our annual newsletter with you. We with the award of a year-long Nation- the University Museum of Contempo- have introduced a new spotlight fea- al Gallery of Art internship to Ashley rary Art (Color in Containment), and, ture that allows us to bring you more Williams '18 MA and a curatorial po- of course, updates from our students, in-depth news about the work of a se- sition in Islamic Art at the Museum of alumni and faculty. lected faculty member as well as that of Fine Arts Houston for Maggie Squires an MA alumna and BA alumnus. Other '18 MA. Inside you’ll find news about Faculty Spotlight - Gülru Çakmak, Associate Professor The past year witnessed the completion of several long-term projects for Gülru Çakmak. Her book Jean-Léon Gérôme and the Crisis of History Painting was published by the Liver- pool University Press (December 2017 UK edition, June 2018 US edition). In Spring 2017, she received the College of Humanities and Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher Award, and was nominated for a Distinguished Teaching Award. In January 2018, she was promoted to Associate Professor. The fostering of student scholarship has been a key aspect of Gülru's teaching. To this end, since her first semester at UMass in Fall 2011, she developed digital exhibitions that hosted research projects conducted in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate course re- quirements. Most recently, a Five College Blended Learning Initiative grant supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Prof. Gülru Çakmak during her gallery talk for her 2017-2018 exhibition at The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. enabled her to transform her under- College Art Museum (July 2017- May Sculpture at the End of the Nineteenth graduate seminar, Modernizing Sculp- 2018) entitled A Very Long Engagement: Century. ture from Canova to Duchamp, into a Nineteenth-Century Sculpture and Its blended class with online components. Afterlives (https://artmuseum.mtholy- The students in the seminar were giv- oke.edu/exhibition/very-long-engage- en training in a series of software that ment?bc=node/224) and an online dig- they could use to build 3D-models ital exhibition (http://scalar.usc.edu/ of sculptures in the collection of the works/modernizing-sculpture/index), Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, thereby promoting UMass student which they were then encouraged to scholarship on a regional and national employ in their research projects. The scale. The digital exhibition is hosted main objective of the course was to on Scalar, the online platform of the deepen the students’ learning, and to Alliance for Networking Visual Culture enable them to address the question under the auspices of the Andrew W. of how to translate real-life embodied Mellon Foundation. experiences of sculptural objects to digital space, an issue that has become In Fall 2018, Gülru will be the Florence Professor Gülru Çakmak, Benjamin Quinn '18, central to the use of new digital media Gould Foundation Fellow at the Clark and Hannah Blunt, Associate Curator of the for art historians and curators. The re- Institute in Williamstown, working on Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, at the sulting student research projects led to her next book project, Materiality, Pro- opening reception of A Very Long Engag- ment: Nineteenth-Century Sculpture And Its an exhibition at the Mount Holyoke cess, and Facture in English and French Afterlife. Alumnus Spotlight - Emily Devoe '16 MA After completing the MA program at Press with my friend Gretchen Kraus. UMass, I began work at The Aldrich Space Sisters Press is an artist-centric Contemporary Art Museum in Ridge- independent publisher that works with field, CT, first as the Press and Social artists, musicians, and poets on projects Media Coordinator, and now as the that look beyond the typical boundaries Communications Manager. In this po- of a book. We launched with our first sition I work closely with my colleagues publication, Net Worth by Suzanne Mc- in each department to share the work Clelland, on March 1 at Printed Matter, they are doing and to act as a liaison Inc. in New York City. Upcoming proj- between the institution and the public. ects include working with Jenny Mon- Day to day I manage and execute the ick, Melissa McGill, and Linnea Kniaz. Museum’s communication and market- It’s been really wonderful to have a cre- ing needs including e-communications, ative project outside of my job and I’m mailings, press outreach, social media, looking forward to seeing how Space and creating, writing, and editing con- Sisters Press will evolve and grow in the tent across platforms. I also work close- coming years. ly with our graphic designer to oversee the Museum’s visual and branded iden- A fun aside: This summer I’m look- tity. The Aldrich’s history as an incuba- ing forward to being a bridesmaid in tor for contemporary art greatly appeals Gretchen Halverson’s ('16 MA) wed- Emily Devoe '16 MA at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art. to me and I’m pleased to support the ding. Museum’s mission. In 2017, I co-founded Space Sisters Alumnus Spotlight - Kaelan Burkett '17 The past two years since graduating have an architecture website called Architizer, di- been a bit of a whirlwind for me, but I can rectly applying the skills I developed while say with confidence that my experience with working with Professor Vickery and Profes- the UMass Art History department has am- sor Kurczynski on my senior thesis, which ply prepared me for life after college. Short- focused on modern architecture and pho- ly after graduating, I moved to New York tography. After my internship, I stayed on City for an internship at The Metropolitan at The Met, and now work as a Production Museum of Art, working with the Muse- Coordinator for the Digital Department. um’s video team. The internship program Everyday I draw upon my experiences at was a helpful transition from an academic UMass, whether I am making animations setting to a professional environment, and about Gothic boxwood carvings or film- helped me better understand how I could ing a Moche nose ornament. Yet even more apply my education in an arts institution. important than how it relates to my profes- One of my fondest memories from the pro- sional pursuits, my education with the Art gram is giving museum tours to the public, History department has made me a critical- and doing my best to emulate Professor ly aware and articulate individual in a time Kaelan Burkett '17 preparing for an interview with Curator Carmen Noble’s hearty discourse on Thomas Hart when such skills are as vital as ever. Bambach for a video about the recent Benton’s America Today mural. During this exhibition Michelangelo: Divine time I also worked as a freelance writer for Draftsman and Designer. 2017 Mark Roskill Graduate Symposium On September 15, 2017, the sec- fessionals, and scholars are doing to and CEO of the Abbe Museum in Bar ond-year Master's students in the De- promote justice for Native American Harbor, ME, and Sonya Atalay, an As- partment of the History of Art and communities, both in the art world sociate Professor of Anthropology at Architecture presented a symposium and beyond.The keynote was given UMass Amherst who works on Native entitled "Strength, Unity, Power: Con- by internationally renowned Native American studies and repatriation. temporary Practices in Native Arts." American artist Wendy Red Star. A Over 140 attendees joined us for the This symposium explored the cutting panel discussion followed with Cin- event, which finished with a reception edge of what artists, museum pro- namon Catlin-Legukto, President in the Student Center. (Left) 2017 Mark Roskill Graduate Symposium during the panel. (Right) Poster for the 18th Mark Roskill Graduate Symposium in Fall 2017. Drawing in Contemporary Art In Spring, 2018, Karen Kurczynski's at the University Museum of Contem- the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the seminar Art History 391A: Drawing porary Art, and developed their own Mead Art Museum, and Smith College Connections: Drawing in Contempo- virtual exhibitions in teams. They then Art Museum. Their scholarship will be rary Art, focused on drawings in the produced research papers on specific published online as a collective, public Five College Collections. Students works from Five College museum col- investigation of the changing meaning researched works in the exhibition lections, after visits to view drawings at of drawing. Kurczynski curated, Drawing as a Verb Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Undergraduate Events & Activities The Department’s undergraduate lab Holt, Alethea Melanson, Benjamin Museum docents. Throughout the aca- exhibition space, Greenbaum Gallery, Quinn, Charlotte Seaman, Kara West- demic year they led tours of Five Takes featured Pix or it didn't happen on hoven, and Dannie Zhong curated two on African Art and contemporary artist view throughout the fall 2017 semes- Gallery exhibitions, spring 2018’s Im- Fred Wilson’s 42 Flags. ter. Featuring photographs by History pressions on Paper: Art of Place which of Art and Architecture alumnus Julian focused on how a selection of 20th Several majors studied abroad in Ar- Sidney Webb Witt Chappell '15, the century American print artists created gentina, Italy, Korea, Spain.