Stuart Arness
2008

“Bosch’s Bodies; an anatomy of fascination with the Garden of Earthly Delights”

Abstract
The unique and fantastic imagery of The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymous Bosch has earned the triptych incessant intrigue. Yet despite all the scholarship on Bosch that has been produced, there is no generally accepted interpretation of this work. Instead of attempting to interpret what Bosch has painted, I propose an approach towards The Garden of Earthly Delights that concentrates on how Bosch’s enigmatic imagery works to fascinate and captivate the viewer. I analyze Bosch’s use of scale, agency, and threat to the human bosy in an attempt to break down how Bosch’s triptych engages viewers. By contrasting the triptych and its depictions of the world upside down with other art works that belonged to the same collection, on is able to gain insight into Bosch’s own time. In the end this approach brings to light the artist’s grapples with the transition from a medieval to renaissance consciousness, a dramatic shift that is communicated in the artist’s famed but misconstrued triptych. 

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Brandt Buell
2008

“Memorial Activity; confronting issues of Holocaust (re)presentability through The Harburg Memorial Against Fascism”

Abstract
In 1986 artists Jochen and Ester Shalev-Gerz installed a 40-foot tall column in Harburg, Germany. This area is a densely populated, working class suburb of Hamburg- not an area of predetermined or historical importance. The artists invited spectators to sign the column, which was lowered in the ground as the surface filled with inscriptions, until the piece completely disappeared in November, 1993. The location of the monument, and the spontaneity of interaction via sanctioned and unsanctioned inscription that it allowed, let the piece inspire an activist form of audience interaction, which provided a form of memorialization focused more on individual thought than the thoughts projected by the monument itself.  This minimalistic column, void of figurative connotation and with the purpose of inspiring activist interaction, allowed an effective and meaningful negotiation of several problems associated with Holocaust memorialization.

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Kat Haklin
2008

“Breaking ‘Nude’ Ground; female nudity and modern male identity in Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’Herbe”

Abstract

In my paper, I focus on the topic of Modern masculine identity with regard to Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (1863).  Taking into account the traditional genres of the nude and landscape as well as Manet’s portraits of Emile Zola and Charles Baudelaire, I will argue that in the Déjeuner Manet constructs a distinctly Modern male identity that is contingent upon the presence of the female nude.  Examining the pivotal role of the Déjeuner in Manet’s oeuvre, I will demonstrate how the male figures in Manet’s paintings become increasingly dependent upon the presence of a female figure – a trend that Manet revisits throughout his career.

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Elizabeth Kay
2008

“Papal Power, Popular Myth; Investigating the balance of politics in the Trevi Fountain”

Abstract
An ancient legend portrays a young virgin maiden leading the soldiers of Marcus Agrippa to a fresh, new water supply for Rome.  It was the work of Agrippa, in the first century BC, which led to the creation of an aqueduct, the Aqua Virgo and in turn, its terminus, the Fontana di Trevi.  Indicative of its lasting power, the Trevi Fountain was the subject of a competition in 1730.  Instated by Pope Clement XII, it solicited the ideas of grandeur and innovation.  Ultimately, it was the design of the architect Nicola Salvi that was chosen for the modern-day Trevi Fountain.  With the papal coat of arms sitting loftily atop the façade and the crisp waters of the Aqua Virgo available for the populous of Rome cascading into the basin below.  Through an analysis of the topography, iconography, and imperial and mythological associations, I will argue that the Trevi Fountain is the depiction of a perfectly balanced structure highlighting the relationship between papal and popular cultures.

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Katie Rasmussen
2008

“Dissecting Doubt: Investigating the Impact of Public Discourse on Private Viewing in Caravaggio’s Rome”

Abstract
To thoroughly understand and appreciate the startling physicality of Caravaggio’s Doubting Thomas, I investigate several analytical frameworks that significantly impacted the public, sacred sphere of late sixteenth-century Rome.  Taking into account the regulations established by the Council of Trent, the progression of medical curiosity through anatomical understanding, the impact of personal empiricism and individual experience, and private collecting, Caravaggio’s Doubting Thomas evokes new, “alternative” ways of seeing.  The removal of highly sensual images from the public sphere isolated them specifically for the private viewer.  The sudden emergence of the boundaries established between these two realms of viewing is at stake in my argument.

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Kelly Schaffer
2008

“Degas and the Ambiguous Spaces of the Opera House: Art, Sex, &Labor”

Abstract
In my paper I analyze Degas’ artistic methods as they construct the private and public worlds of the modern ballerina. I connect the private sphere of his studio to the transitional spaces within the Opéra house. I then discuss the public sphere of the Opéra such as the orchestra pit and individual Opéra boxes. Next, I progress to the problematic space within the Opéra house, that being the space in which the abonnés reside. It is on the stage, in the midst of performance that the world of the dancer and abonné, (patrons entitled to behind the scenes access to the dancers) intertwine, thus, creating an ambiguous space. Based on his treatment of the public and private sphere, I also argue that Degas is the epitome of an avant-garde artist. In the repetition, craft and practice of the ballerina Degas finds an apt parallel to his labor in making art.

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