Hans J. Van Miegroet Professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies 1953-2024 The Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies mourns the sudden loss of our extraordinary colleague, Prof. Hans J. Van Miegroet. He was a powerful force in our program, leading the charge for the introduction of digital methods into art historical and visual analysis. A memorial service to commemorate Hans' life and impact will take place Saturday, March 30 at 1 p.m. in the Nasher Museum of Art Auditorium. A reception will… read more about Hans J. Van Miegroet, 1953—2024 »
Duke professor Hans Van Miegroet’s office in Smith Warehouse was seldom empty and rarely quiet. Van Miegroet considered it a gathering place. “He shared his space with his lab and encouraged students to collaborate there,” said Paul Jaskot, chair of Duke’s department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies (AAHVS). “They might be just doing email or engaged in their own research, but passing the door, you also saw the frequent conversations and dynamic interaction happening across the room.” Van Miegroet, a pioneering… read more about Art History Professor Hans Van Miegroet Dies »
What inspired an Economics and Mathematics dual major to also pursue a seemingly disparate minor in Cinematic Arts? For Parinay Gupta, it was his Writing 101 course: Gender and Sexuality in Latin American Films.“Delving into the analysis of gender representation in Latin American cinema, I became increasingly intrigued by the creative processes that transpired behind the camera and shaped the narratives presented on screen,” he explains.He took an acting course in Theater Studies in the spring and followed with a summer… read more about When Cinematic Arts Brings Economics into Focus »
Athena Yao has been interested in neuroscience from the moment she picked up a book in her high school library addressing the science of stress and motivation.“I was trying to figure out the source of my own stress and how I could develop a better sense of control over my life,” she shares. “It was fascinating to learn about the biological basis of emotion and behavior.”After witnessing the impacts Alzheimer’s had on her grandfather and family, the Neuroscience major, who is also minoring in Computer Science and Visual… read more about Science + Technology + Design = Innovations at Duke »
The Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies’ Year in Review is a compilation of the e-newsletters (NewsByte) sent out during the previous academic year detailing the Department’s activities and achievements. NewsByte was mined, collated, and re-edited to form a comprehensive review of the past year in the life of the Department. It was also re-designed as its own publication and is made available now as a downloadable PDF from the Department’s website. John Taormina Editor Jack… read more about 2022-23 Year in Review »
from: Turning Passions into Prose: Duke Colleagues Pen Books Duke Today, October 30, 2023 A Lifetime of Art Duke Art, Art History and Visual Studies' Bill Seaman. While, Bill Seaman, Professor of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, and Computational Media, Arts and Cultures, has published books on pioneering design theorists and the future of AI in recent years, the retrospective of his own art in “Selections from the Archive,” which was published in the summer of… read more about Bill Seaman Featured Among Duke Colleagues "Turning Passions into Prose" »
Majoring in Neuroscience with minors in Chemistry and Visual & Media Studies and on the pre-med track, Stephany Perez-Sanchez knew she wanted to pursue a career in medicine, all thanks to a high-school psychology course.“My favorite unit in that class was neuroanatomy,” the junior explains. “I was so fascinated by the brain and how this structure controls all our functions.”She brought her cerebral fascination to Duke and began her research in earnest during the summer of 2022 in the Huang Fellows Program. Focusing on… read more about Future Physician Discovers Intersections Between Media and Science »
A muse of Salvador Dalí and a regular at Andy Warhol’s Factory 54. Friend of Mia Farrow and photographed by legendary photographer Richard Avedon. Featured on the covers of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. So why do so few people know about Donyale Luna, the first Black supermodel? Richard Powell’s interest in Donyale Luna goes “way, way back.” The John Spencer Bassett Distinguished Professor of Art and Art History, whose research focuses on Americans from the Black diaspora, started looking into… read more about Richard Powell Helps Revive the Legacy of Donyale Luna »
Two Duke faculty in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences have been appointed National Humanities Center (NHC) fellows for the 2023-2024 academic year. Richard Jaffe, professor of Religious Studies, will lovingly craft 15-plus years of research into a comprehensive biography honoring a name many are familiar with: Suzuki. “This isn’t Suzuki the motorcycle inventor or the music method Suzuki,” Jaffe cautions. “This is Daisetsu Teitaro (D.T.) Suzuki, who introduced Zen Buddhism to the United States and Great… read more about Duke Professors Awarded for Research on a Zen Influencer and a New Approach to Color Theory »
Associate professor of the practice Shambhavi Kaul’s film, Slow Shift, will have its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival takes place Thursday, September 7-17, 2023. Slow Shift is a rich reflection on the intersections between myth and reality, as Kaul trains her camera on a World Heritage Site overrun by langurs in Hampi, India, revealing an uncanny co-existence between past and present. Kaul’s film will be part of… read more about Slow Shift World Premiere »
Summer is a great time to catch up on reading. Books from more than a dozen Duke authors offer insight on a range of topics – from gratitude for everyday life to the antislavery writings of Henry David Thoreau. Below is a roundup of some of the most recently published and soon-to-be-out titles. Many of the books, including new editions of previous titles, can be found on the “Duke Authors” display shelves near the circulation desk in Perkins Library. Some are available as e-books for quick download. Most can also be… read more about Hot Off the Press: Summer Reading From Duke Authors »
From Frederick Douglass to Angela Davis, “natural hair” has been associated with the Black freedom struggle. In New Growth Jasmine Nichole Cobb traces the history of Afro-textured coiffure, exploring it as a visual material through which to reimagine the sensual experience of Blackness. Through close readings of slave narratives, scrapbooks, travel illustrations, documentary films, and photography as well as collage, craft, and sculpture, from the nineteenth century to the present, Cobb shows how the racial… read more about New Growth: The Art and Texture of Black Hair »
