Ordering Matter: Hierarchies of Material and Medium in Medieval Art
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Special Session
Organizer Name
Joseph Salvatore Ackley, Adam R. Stead
Organizer Affiliation
Columbia Univ., Western Univ.
Presider Name
Joseph Salvatore Ackley, Adam R. Stead
Paper Title 1
"Between Angels and Men": The Status of Engraving
Presenter 1 Name
Megan C. McNamee
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Univ. of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Paper Title 2
Vibrant Treasure: Material Agency in the Treasury Collection of San Marco in Venice
Presenter 2 Name
Mark H. Summers
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
Paper Title 3
Painting the Sculptural Body on Trecento Crosses
Presenter 3 Name
Karl Whittington
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Ohio State Univ.
Start Date
14-5-2016 1:30 PM
Session Location
Bernhard 208
Description
Questions of the significance of materials now occupy a central place within medieval art history. Within this material turn, attention has generally been centered on the importance and meaning of individual materials, particularly luxury materials, such as gold, silver, ivory, and gemstones. But how were these—and other—materials evaluated relative to each other? That is to say, to what extent did material hierarchies obtain, both in theory and in (artistic) practice? This session investigates hierarchies of materials and media in medieval art from Late Antiquity through the end of the fourteenth century. It seeks to build upon the burgeoning body of work on medieval materiality and to engage recent interrogations of object ontology and the relationships between surface and substrate, and between substance and appearance.
Ordering Matter: Hierarchies of Material and Medium in Medieval Art
Bernhard 208
Questions of the significance of materials now occupy a central place within medieval art history. Within this material turn, attention has generally been centered on the importance and meaning of individual materials, particularly luxury materials, such as gold, silver, ivory, and gemstones. But how were these—and other—materials evaluated relative to each other? That is to say, to what extent did material hierarchies obtain, both in theory and in (artistic) practice? This session investigates hierarchies of materials and media in medieval art from Late Antiquity through the end of the fourteenth century. It seeks to build upon the burgeoning body of work on medieval materiality and to engage recent interrogations of object ontology and the relationships between surface and substrate, and between substance and appearance.