Art, Art History & Visual Studies
Once coronavirus lockdown orders and social distancing rules went into effect, people began to consume more visual media than ever before. Streaming platforms saw their numbers surge as subscribers binged new shows and watched movies into the wee hours of dawn. Behind the scenes, however, million-dollar film and television productions were forced to come to a halt. In the interval, many independent filmmakers began to rise and release fresh media. Working with the resources and knowledge they had, new filmmakers seized the… read more about Student Filmmakers Seize the Moment as Industry Adapts »
Duke Entertainment, Media & Arts Network (DEMAN) is partnering with Duke Boston, Duke Asian Alumni Alliance, and the Art, Art History & Visual Studies department to present a virtual preview of Yuri Shimojo’s Memento Mori, a monumental painting series premiering in the US on the tenth anniversary of the Japanese Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear crisis. A Conversation on Art & Healing: US Exhibition Premiere of Memento Mori Thur, March 11, 2021 at 8–9 p.m. EST via Zoom.… read more about Yng-Ru Chen ‘01 on Why She Opened Praise Shadows Art Gallery »
When Elizabeth Schrader signed up for a free short-course in the summer of 2019, the doctoral candidate in religion had no idea it would have an immediate impact on her scholarship. Two years earlier, Schrader published an article arguing that early Christian copyists may have altered the Gospel of John to minimize the role of Mary Magdalene. This was an important finding, but it wasn’t getting the attention in scholarly circles that she’d hoped for. “Although my work had appeared in a prestigious journal (the Harvard… read more about What I Got Out of the Duke Graduate Academy »
When Sara Galletti first walked into the town hall in Arles, France, she was stunned. “It’s a relatively large room, and it’s covered by an absurdly shaped vault,” the associate professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies said. “It’s several types of vaults interpenetrating each other, and it holds up this heavy stone ceiling with no pillar at the center.” The mix of sober, bare stone and intricate, delicate lines fascinated her. It’s a style of vaulting called stereotomy, and Galletti’s fascination only grew as she… read more about This Difficult Method of Building Vaults Has Lasted for Millennia. But Why? »
An excerpt of Going There: Black Visual Satire, the new book by Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Distinguished Professor of Art and Art History and African & African American Studies, was recently published by Artnet News. read more about How Should We Understand the Shocking Use of Stereotypes in the Work of Historical Black Artists? It’s About the Satirical Tradition of ‘Going There’ »
Richard J. Powell knows every artist, critic and art world star featured in the new HBO documentary “Black Art: In the Absence of Light.” He was a friend of the late art historian, curator and artist David Driskell, whose 1976 exhibition, Two Centuries of Black American Art, inspired the 90-minute special. Powell also knows a thing or two about correcting outdated narratives of art history. As author, curator, art historian and professor, Powell has dedicated his career to rewriting the cannon to include Black artists who… read more about Richard Powell on Where Black Art Goes From Here »
The following piece is reprinted from Duke Baldwin Scholars’ February 2021 newsletter. I am narrowing in on a year of editing the photography for New York Magazine and digital sites from my apartment in Brooklyn. I have been working at New York Magazine for nine and half years. I am currently the Senior Photo Editor, where I primarily work on print but also oversee the digital editing. Moving remote last March was a major adjustment for our newsroom and especially for the print production of the… read more about Baldwin Alumnae Spotlight: Maya Robinson ‘11, Senior Photo Editor, New York Magazine »
The Department welcomes new faculty member Franklin Cason, Jr. as an assistant professor of the practice in cinematic arts. Cason is a filmmaker and film scholar who has taught courses in film theory, history, aesthetics, criticism, and analysis. His research interests have been primarily concerned with film, modern visual culture, and media studies. As such, his writing and artistic practice reaches across the disciplines of art history, film studies, digital multimedia, graphic novels, philosophy, sociology, literature… read more about New Faculty Member Joins Cinematic Arts »
Gary Yeh (Trinity ’17) is the founder of ArtDrunk, an art media company focused on spreading the emotional and cultural power of art with all. Having grown to nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram, ArtDrunk recently launched a weekly newsletter to make it easy to learn about contemporary art. ArtDrunk’s newsletter taps into the success of millennial newsletters like the Skimm and Morning Brew. It’s a digestible guide to today’s top artists without any of the fancy language that can often make art difficult to understand.… read more about FORM Alumni Series: ArtDrunk’s Gary Yeh ‘17 »
Spring 2021 - Instructor: Bill Fick - ArtsVis 290S - Special Topics in Visual Arts: Poster Design and Printing This course will explore poster design strategies throughout history with a focus on 20th-Century and contemporary methods. Students will produce a series of unique screen-printed posters that address issues and topics that engage the current conversation around racial equity, social justice, and the environment. The class will work directly with internationally recognized artist Carl Pope, who… read more about New Course! Poster Design and Printing »
Editor’s Note: This is part of an occasional series of essays by Duke faculty members whose normal fall 2020 class routines were disrupted by the pandemic. These essays will examine how faculty adapted. When I started the fall semester, I was very worried about teaching my art history class, Virtual Museums (ARTHIST 305) — which usually has several digital lab activities — entirely online. The enrollment was high, with 20 students from five different time zones stretching from Oregon to China and Singapore. This… read more about When You View the Sistine Chapel, Where Does Your Eye Go? An Art History Class Used Digital Tools to Find Out »
From the anger and grief following the killings of several unarmed Black citizens to difficult conversations with younger family members about how the world will see them when they grow up, Zaire McPhearson had many moments this year when she saw in stark terms how far society has left to go before it truly confronts its racism. “The last couple of months have been extremely difficult, especially being a Black woman living in the American climate that we’re in,” said McPhearson, who graduated from Duke’s… read more about Desire for Change Drives Racial Justice Art Contest Winner »
Stephen Hayes, instructor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, won the Gibbes Museum of Arts's 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art. Awarded each year by the museum in Charleson, South Carolina, the prize "recognizes the highest level of artistic achievement in any media" by artists from the U.S. South. “Thank you to the Gibbes Museum and Society 1858 for the honor of receiving the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art,” said Hayes. "I initially began creating as a way to impress my mom and brother and now I… read more about Stephen Hayes Wins 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art »
“This is a project which I began inspired by the lockdown imposed by the global pandemic. The project started as a pseudo-autobiographical documentation of my experience, recording things seen and heard out of my balcony during my time in lockdown. Aimed at fostering a community and hopefully providing some entertainment, the project evolved into a constantly-growing website, inviting people to share their own balcony community in order to grow a shared virtual one. I had initially made this for a class, but the project… read more about Sofia Zymnis ’21: Virtual Balconies »
The exhibition features projects from the following classes: Advanced Visual Practice Cinematography Digital Imaging Experimental Drawing Experimental Interface Design Intro to Digital Photography Printmaking. Relief and Monotype Virtual Museums https://sites.duke.edu/fall2020exhibition/ read more about Fall 2020 Online Exhibition »
When COVID hit last spring, many graduate students had to give up their summer plans for teaching, field research and internships. The Provost’s Office quickly pledged support, and Vice Provost Ed Balleisen spearheaded the effort to identify virtual opportunities. Experiential fellowships with eight host organizations and research assistantships with more than 20 Duke units provided summer funding and career development for all 59 Ph.D. students in need. Every student who responded to Duke’s end-of-summer evaluation would… read more about Duke Ph.D. Students Find Unexpected Benefits in an Unusual Summer »
ARTHIST103-001 Spring 2021 Instructor: S. Galletti Modes: ALP, CZ M-W 10:15-11:05 AM; sections TH, F 10:15-11:05 Synchronous online course The survey provides a panorama of Western architecture production from Antiquity to Modernity. The objective is to insure knowledge of architectural production, related historiography, contemporary debate, and scholarship. The reading materials are organized chronologically to facilitate the students’ approach to the field of architectural history. A thematic approach will inform… read more about Introduction to History of Architecture »
Tom Rankin and Jill McCorkle, Goat Light (Horse & Buggy Press, 2021) This fine press book is an aesthetically rich celebration of a special plot of land shared by Tom and Jill (along with a bevy of goats and other animals) for over a decade in the heart of the North Carolina Piedmont region. This 96-page book has a pub date of 2021, but we have just received finished books from the bindery and copies are available for purchase now. The book weaves together photographs and essays… read more about New Faculty Publication »
Richard J. Powell, Going There: Back Visual Satire (Yale University Press, 2020) In this groundbreaking study, Richard J. Powell investigates the visual forms of satire produced by black artists in 20th- and 21st-century America. Underscoring the historical use of visual satire as antiracist dissent and introspective critique, Powell argues that it has a distinctly African American lineage. Taking on some of the most controversial works of the past century—in all their… read more about New Faculty Publication »
Advanced Digital Art History Fiene Leunissen VMS 551SL • ARTHIST 551SL • ISS 551SL Online • M 3:30—4:45PM & 5:15—6:30PM read more about New Course: Spring 2021 »
Artists’ Writings as Philosophy Kristine Stiles ARTHIST 490S.01 (crosslisted with VMS 490S) Wednesdays, 10:15 AM - 12:45 PM Online Synchronous Artists’ aesthetic, cultural, and political texts have provided unique perspectives on, and philosophical insights into, the human condition for thousands of years, enlightening societies throughout the world. While interviews with artists are generally easier to grasp, artists' own writings frequently pose challenges, as they… read more about New Course: Spring 2021 »
When you run scientific studies that include infants, something will always go wrong. Families will be late or sick. The babies won’t behave. Or maybe, as happened at the Wilbourn Infant Laboratory at Duke (WILD), you’ll have to make a last-minute run to the store to buy a big pack of toothbrushes. In an interactive study, 20-month-old infants played with a variety of objects—things like a fake cookie and a toy apple, all of which the researchers had ensured were safe for infants. “We had it down,” said Makeba Wilbourn,… read more about Undergraduates Are Doing Real Research in Trinity College, And Everyone Benefits »
an Art History Lecture with Laura D. Corey (T’ 08) Senior Research Associate The Metropolitan Museum of Art Tuesday, November 10, 2020 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Online event. Open to public. Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/97948832111?pwd=dGprZzVyZUVYTU5QblE1bjR0TDlLQT09 The exhibition Making The Met, 1870–2020 was planned as the centerpiece of The Metropolitan Museum’s 150th-anniversary celebrations and scheduled to open in March until the Museum had to shut down in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. After an… read more about “An Anniversary Year Transformed: The Making of Making The Met, 1870–2020” »
Artist TalkTuesday, November 3, 2020 “Photographs of Contemporary Masculinity” Amy Elkins, Visual Artist6pm EST Online event.Open to the public. Zoom link: https://duke.zoom.us/j/91811348072 Please see attached flyer for additional information:AAHVS_ArtistTalk2020_Elkins.pdf read more about “Photographs of Contemporary Masculinity” with Amy Elkins »
Soul Sweat + Stretch Mon, Nov 2, 6-7pmJoin us for 45 minutes of fun, easy to learn moves, concluding with 15 minutes of gentle stretches Taught by Alyah Baker.The Art of Feeling with Duke's Cultural and Identity CentersThu, Nov 5, 7-9pmJoin the Duke Cultural and Identity Centers to convey your feelings about the election through various mediums of art (painting, writing, drawing, etc). Illustrator for Laser Cutting Fri, Nov 6, 2-4pmYou’ve visited the Co-Lab and you’ve been dying to… read more about DukeCreate November Workshops »
Beverly McIver, Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, is profiled in this article at O'Henry Magazine. read more about The Light Within »
