Art History

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Art History Alumna Speaks on her Work in Venice

Alumna Leslie Contarini (BA Art History, 2005) visited campus November 2-3 and spoke to the Renaissance Art class about her work with Save Venice, Inc., an organization devoted to the restoration and conservation of works of art in the Italian city.  After Leslie graduated she went to the University of Warwick, where she earned her MA in the History of Art, a program that included a semester in Venice.  When she completed her degree, she returned to take a position with Save Venice, and has lived and worked there since.

Leslie Contarini speaking to ART 324: Renaissance Art, November 2015.

Leslie Contarini speaking to ART 324: Renaissance Art, November 2015.

Leslie presented the work of the organization to preserve the spectacular paintings in Venice, including those in their original location in churches across the city as well as some in the Academia, the main Art Museum.

While at Truman Leslie also was able to visit with current Art History majors, including members of the Art History Society, an organization Leslie was active in while a student here.

Art History students with visiting alumna. From left: Kathryn Hodge, Carrie Whitson, Leslie Contarini (BA, 2005), and Lena Leuci.

Art History students with visiting alumna. From left: Kathryn Hodge, Carrie Whitson, Leslie Contarini (BA, 2005), and Lena Leuci.

Posted on by Art Department Art History, Department History Gallery

Happy Halloween!

Taylor (Klein) Worley (BA Art History, 2009)as Max, from Where the Wild Things Are.

Taylor (Klein) Worley (BA Art History, 2009) as Max, from Where the Wild Things Are.

Art students celebrate Halloween enthusiastically because of all its creative potential (not to mention a bit of candy to enjoy).  Those who overlapped at Truman with Taylor (Klein) Worley from 2005 to 2009 will remember her elaborate and convincing costumes.  After she graduated with her Art History BA, Taylor completed her Master of Library Science at Emporia State University in 2012.  She is now a Youth Services Librarian at Springfield Public Library in the Oregon Willamette Valley. She still enjoys going all out for Halloween, this year by entertaining children and parents alike with her convincing Max (Where the Wild Things Are) costume.  She is pictured here at her library’s annual “Little Monster’s Bash!” event. Youth Librarianship lends itself creativity in many ways, but dressing up as beloved characters is one of Taylor’s favorites!Taylor (and we) wish you the Happiest of Halloweens!  If you are an alum and have news (or Halloween pictures) to share, please write to us at art@truman.edu  We’d love to hear from you.

Posted on by Art Department Art History, Department

Undergraduate Research in Egypt

Matt Treasure repairs an early 5th/late 4th century BCE Phoenician Torpedo Jar found at Mendes, a major center of perfume production in antiquity. This jar was used to transport oil scented with cedar chips used in manufacturing perfume.

Matt Treasure repairs an early 5th/late 4th century BCE Phoenician Torpedo Jar found at Mendes, Egypt.

Senior Art History major Matt Treasure has recently been awarded a Grant-in-Aid of Scholarship from Truman’s Office of Student Research. He will use these funds to travel to Egypt in December where he will photograph and sketch the wall reliefs and architraves at the Temple of Esna. This is part of the research for his senior thesis in Art History.

Last summer Matt participated in an archaeological field school at the ancient city of Mendes located in the north-central Egyptian Delta. Members of the Mendes Expedition repaired broken pottery, documented, identified, and sketched lithics, small finds, and bones, and excavated two locations inside the ancient city’s walls.

Members of the team also had the opportunity to visit various museums, temples, pyramids, and archaeological sites throughout Egypt. Some of the highlights of the Mendes study tour were pyramids at Giza, Saqqara, and Dahshur, temples at Karnak, Luxor, Dendera, Philae, Kom Ombo, Abydos, and Edfu, and archaeological sites from Aswan to Alexandria.

Members of the Mendes Expedition at the Avenue of Sphinxes just outside the Karnak Temple Complex. Matt is on the left of the lower row.

Members of the Mendes Expedition at the Avenue of Sphinxes just outside the Karnak Temple Complex. Matt is on the left of the lower row.

Posted on by Art Department Art History, MAE, Uncategorized

Alumni News

We were thrilled to see that the research of Art Department alumnus Dr. John Garton (BA:  Art History and Studio Art, 1997) has been getting a lot  of circulation recently in the Boston area.  While Dr. Garton’s Ph.D. and current research continue his Senior Thesis  focus at Truman on painting in Renaissance Venice, he maintains an active secondary specialization in Latin American art, especially art of the pre-Columbian period.  Most recently his interdisciplinary, collaborative research on Olmec sculpture has resulted in a short piece in the Boston Globe and a video feature which will be displayed in the galleries of the Worcester Art Museum and can be viewed on line.  Dr. Garton is Associate Professor of Art History at Clark University in Massachusetts.  Congratulations!

Grant Kniffen (BSE: Art, 1984) stopped by when he was in town this September, when he told Bob Jones, Professor of Art, that he retired in 2013 after teaching 27 years at Parkway North High School in Saint Louis, Missouri. In 1995, Grant was selected Secondary Art Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Art Education Association. He was Parkway School District’s High School Teacher of the Year during the 1996-1997 school year. You can see his work in a variety of mediums on his website.

If you are an alum and have news to share, please write to us at art@truman.edu!  We’d love to hear from you.

 

Posted on by Art History faculty Art History, Department, News and Events, Website

First day of classes!

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Thursday, August 20 is the first day of classes!  Welcome back to everyone, and best wishes for a great Fall 2015 semester.  We look forward to seeing you at lots of great Art Department events this year so check back here often to see what’s going on!

Posted on by Art History faculty Art History, Department, News and Events, Student Groups, Website

Majors Day Today!

Don’t forget Majors Day on Tuesday, August 18, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. in the University Art Gallery (OP 1114).  This is a day for all majors new to the Art Department (first-years, transfers, and others here this week) to meet the faculty and staff and learn more about the Department’s programs.  Students will also have a chance to meet with faculty in their respective areas (Art History, Studio Art, and Visual Communication) and have any advising questions answered as well.  There will also be treats and a good chance to socialize.  We’ll look forward to seeing everyone there!

Posted on by Art History faculty Art History, Department, MAE, News and Events, Student Groups, Website

Welcome, new students!

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Welcome to all new students:  first-year, transfer, everyone!  Those living in dorms will be moving in on Sunday, August 16 and starting Truman Week classes as well.  We are so happy that you’re all here and look forward to seeing you all both during Truman Week and in classes this fall.

Just as a reminder, Majors Day for the Art Department is Tuesday, August 18 from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. in the University Art Gallery (OP 1114).  This is a day for all new students to get to know the programs, faculty, and staff in the Department of their chosen major.  We look forward to seeing all new Art majors there!  Any questions, please e-mail art@truman.edu.

Posted on by Art History faculty Art History, News and Events, Website

News from Alumni

We always love to hear from alums of the Art Department.  Here’s some of the great recent news we’ve received!

Leah Bowring received her MFA in Ceramics from the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Mamie Cox writes:  “I will be studying at Newnham College at Cambridge University [in the UK]. Continuing research I began in my undergraduate [Art History] thesis on illustrations of anthropomorphic animals in children’s literature, I will complete a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature.

Taylor (Wysocke) Henry and her husband had their home featured in the finale of the DIY Network’s show Desperate Landscapes.

Lori Nix had her work featured in the February 9, 2015 issue of Newsweek: http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/20/post-mankind-vision-photographer-lori-nix-305531.html 

Kelsey Wiskirchen is currently doing a fibers residency at the Appalachian Center for Crafts – a part of Tennessee Tech University in Smithville, Tennessee.  She writes:  “It is a satellite campus of Tennessee Technological University, which offers a BFA program in fibers, metals, woods, clay, and glass. During the summer, the Craft Center offers a program of weeklong workshops in all of the studios. I help manage the fibers studio, teach classes in Foundations and Fibers, and teach in the high school outreach program.”  Kelsey shared some photographs with us which are included below.

Congratulations to all!  Again, if you are an alum, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write to us at art@truman.edu.

Kelsey image1 Kelsey image 2

Posted on by Art History faculty Art History, Department, Faculty Scholarship and Creative Work, News and Events, Website

Summer activities in Art!

Summer has arrived in Kirksville and the students, faculty, and staff in the Art Department will be taking full advantage of it.  Here are a few notes about what we’ve heard about from some faculty and students about summer plans:

Faculty

Dr. Sara Orel (Art History) writes:  “I will be working on two long-simmering Egyptological projects: the publication of the Gebel el-Haridi survey from the 1990s, and the re-examination of the excavations by John Garstang at Beni Hasan more than a century ago.  In addition, I am attending the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) business meeting, and beginning my third year as chair of the Arts and Humanities Division of CUR.”

Prof. Ping Xu (Visual Communications) will take five Visual Communications students to China for internships at TBWA Worldwide and McCann Workgroup Shanghai.

Students

Vis Comm students Will Genazzi, Nick Hollander, Olivia Brady, Lauren Jin, and Conner Frazier will join Prof. Xu’s study abroad trip.

Katie Feldkamp (Art History-History double major) writes:  “This summer I will be interning at the National WWI Museum in Kansas City. I will be working with the education coordinator to create different public programs and gain a better understanding of the mission of a museum.”

Duncan Holahan (Art History major) writes:  “For my summer I will be spending a month abroad in Málaga, Spain taking a course at the Universidad de Malaga on Spanish Art and Architecture.”

Dani Martin (Art History-Anthropology double major) will travel to Ireland for six weeks where she will tour various Medieval castles and cathedrals, as well as participate in an archaeological dig at Isert Kelly.

Emma Shouse (Art History major) has been accepted to do an internship with Saving Antiquities for Everone (SAFE).  Ms. Shouse will be working on social media writing, centering on Syria and Iraq, with possibly also some posts about Yemen.

Matt Treasure (Art History major) will participate in an archaeological dig under the direction of faculty from Pennsylvania State University at ancient Mendes in the Egyptian delta.

If you are a current student and have information to share about your summer activities, please e-mail us at art@truman.edu.  We’d love to hear from you!