Art History Research Articles

A history of arts and health in South Australia: Policy and practice

This article traces the history of arts and health in South Australia, using an interview-based methodology to detail how grassroots practice developed into formal arts and health policy. The project interviewed 47 arts and health stakeholders, including former state government ministers, artists and health professionals. South Australia has a long history of arts and health work. However, interviewees describe a lack of momentum for the field since the endorsement of the 2013 National Arts and Health Framework, largely because it did not contain binding commitments which left the field vulnerable to changes associated with political leadership. South Australia thus represents both a case study of how grassroots support can maximize political interest in arts and health to create formal policy as well as a warning on the challenges that occur when this interest wanes.

Otkriti nâs nama samima – Josef Strzygowski i Ljubo Babić

Ljubo Babić (1890-1974) - one of the pivotal figures in twentieth-century Croatian art and culture - frequently addressed the research and theses of Josef Strzygowski (1862-1941) in his writings on various topics, directly or indirectly. Babić’s interest in the work of the renowned Austrian art historian and theorist primarily revolved around formulating ideas that emphasized the significant role of art in shaping national identity. In essence, Babić’s complex views on the role of art in moulding a distinct artistic expression - as a central and constitutive part of cultural identity - can be traced, among other things, to his contemplation of Josef Strzygowski’s though-provoking yet contentious theories on Croatian preRomanesque art and national cultural heritage in general. This paper investigates Strzygowski’s impact on the comprehension and appreciation of Croatian cultural heritage during the interwar period, i.e. on the overall atmosphere in which a broader discourse emerged on the relationship between artistic centres and peripheries, while the pursuit of national artistic expression began to dominate a major part of the Croatian cultural landscape. Consequently, the paper examines connections between Strzygowski and the Croatian cultural milieu between the two world wars. Finally, Strzygowski’s importance to Babić is highlighted, delineating the aspects of his theoretical work that the Croatian artist, critic, and art historian used to support his own viewpoints. Josef Strzygowski’s influence on Croatian culture was undoubtedly profound. Besides positioning himself as a connoisseur and advocate of Ivan Meštrović’s art, this Viennese scholar centred his interest on art-historical material from Croatia. Despite often eliciting direct counterreactions from the professional community - exemplified by Ljubo Karaman’s early theoretical writings on “ancient Croatian monuments” as a critique of Strzygowski - his focus on “our” material secured him an important place within the national cultural milieu of the time. Ljubo Babić, who was at the peak of his creative prowess in the late 1920s, approached Strzygowski’s work without critical detachment, integrating certain segments of the latter’s assumptions into his own theoretical framework. While direct influence cannot be unequivocally asserted, it is apparent that Babić found substantial support for his formulation of the “our expression” strategy in Strzygowski’s views. Both scholars believed that the characteristics of a specific body of art were crucially determined by the geographical area of its creation, with the national component being a pivotal aspect. Consequently, they embraced the concepts of soil, race, and blood, which makes them apologists of cultural nationalism. The relevant ideas of the distinguished Viennese art historian lent Babić additional confidence in presenting his own thoughts as indisputable and firmly established, thus framing the hypothesis that the Croatian people had inherited distinctive features of artistic production from their ancestral homeland - regarding them as a form of “our expression” in the past. Moreover, Babić endorsed Strzygowski’s call for further scholarly research into the history of Croatian cultural heritage, viewing adherence to the principles of geographical and national predisposition of artistic production as facilitating the consensus on “our expression” in contemporary times. Additionally, he concurred with the suggestion to investigate folk art, incorporating the interpretation of colours on folk costumes into his strategic framework. Through his writings and artistic oeuvre, Ljubo Babić strove to help us “reveal ourselves to ourselves,” and the work of Josef Strzygowski provided significant support in this endeavour. The prominent position of the renowned Viennese art theorist within Croatian culture certainly lent credibility to this support. Therefore, the relationship between Strzygowski and Croatian culture should not be solely construed as a kind of rivalry with Ljubo Karaman or as merely stimulating the formulation and development of a significant theoretical scope within Croatian art history, even if devoid of scholarly foundations. Rather, it can also be understood within the context of cultural nationalism during the Croatian interwar period. Such a perspective reveals that Josef Strzygowski and Ljubo Babić inhabited the same intellectual universe, which played a vital role in shaping modern European culture.

‘Anybody can do sculpture, it is purely mechanical’: Harriet G. Hosmer and the relation between sculpture, reproduction and machine invention

This article examines the work of Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, focusing on her unique approach to sculpture in the context of evolving ideologies and technological advances in the nineteenth century. The various facets of her life and career, shaped by the collaborative nature of sculpture making in this period, shed light on her identity as both a sculptor and inventor. Hosmer’s work and aspirations to be a harbinger of a new status for women that celebrated female strength and power can be seen against the backdrop of several nineteenth-century freedom movements, but also the emergence of spiritualism in the United States. Exploring invention, authorship and reproduction and revealing the processes of making sculpture in different sizes and materials, this article also incorporates notions of gender by discussing Hosmer and her goal of creating surrogates and machine inventions, considering the mutual interaction of body and technology. Hosmer’s success and her dedication to inventions is drawn out alongside the challenges she faced as a female sculptor in a male-dominated field. Drawing on Gilbert Simondon’s insights into invention, the article suggests that Hosmer’s commitment to invention and the ownership of her creations not only established her as a professional inventor, but also secured her an enduring place in the history of art and science.

О живописных претекстах у Тарковского

The broad topic “Tarkovsky and painting” contains commonalities, such as the director’s citing of the paintings by Pieter Bruegel or Leonardo da Vinci, but there are also less explored aspects. The latter include A. Tarkovsky’s method of working with images based on the work principles of the old masters of painting; implicit references and allusions not just to individual paintings, often not yet described, but to the entire worlds of certain authors or movements; and a total commitment to quotation together with a skilful and deliberate disguise of the technique, also described by the director in theoretical works. Tarkovsky was an artist in the very first sense of the word — a student of an art school, author of film sketches and storyboards, paintings, and even art history works. However, the main thing regarding the topic “Tarkovsky and painting” is his application of the very vision of a painter in his own work. He worked with frame structures in complex ways, often appealing to the repetition of the recursion technique, like great artists did in their works. He used iconographic repetitions in plots, themes, individual images, details, and motifs of his works. He often implicitly alluded to reference pictorial sources in such a way that without the testimony of colleagues the reference is impossible to guess. He applied the entire philosophical concepts assigned to individual artists and artistic movements and was not afraid to mix eras, using the elements and techniques of his predecessors to create his own film painting, finely crafted but full of anachronisms.

Prospective research in the field of teaching creative skills to artificial intelligence

The research relevance is determined by the importance of a thorough study of methods, schemes and models used by artificial intelligence to mechanise creativity in modern conditions of active technological development. The study aims to analyse the main processes taking place in modern art in connection with active technologization of work processes, to identify the leading concepts regarding the possibility of creating machine art in the future, etc. The employed methods are theoretical, such as analysis, systematisation, generalisation, etc., for studying key problems and further development of creativity based on artificial intelligence. The study examines in detail the main developments of Artificial General Intelligence and Artificial Narrow Intelligence, in particular the achievements of Generative adversarial networks and Creative adversarial networks. Artificial intelligence-generated art demonstrates the remarkable capabilities of technologies. The evolving artificial intelligence in the arts introduces “digital art”. Generative Adversarial Networks are used as a foundational tool for artists who use digital methods and texture generation to create unique compositions. Furthermore, sculptors collaborate with artificial intelligence tools to convert drawings into 3D models or transform historical art databases into sculptures. Creative thinking, a hallmark of human intelligence, is determined as artificial intelligence’s ability to generate new and original ideas. The development of emotional intelligence in artificial intelligence enables empathetic responses and the identification of human emotions through voice and facial expressions. The issues of authorised internationality, awareness of the creative process, psychological foundations of artificial empathy and emotional intelligence define the prospects for the development of neuroscience. Challenges persist in defining creativity, authorship, and legal aspects of artificial intelligence-generated art. The study materials may be useful for artists, art educators, technologists, and researchers interested in the intersection of technology and art, legal professionals (especially intellectual property law), and individuals involved in artificial intelligence development may find these findings valuable

The Technical Dimension of the Works of Artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns

The research entitled (The Technical Dimension of the Works of Artists Rauschenberg and Jasper Jones) dealt with the nature of the concept of technology and the mechanisms of its operation in plastic art, The research come in four chapters. The first chapter: The methodological framework of the research, in which the research problem was presented, the importance of research and the need for it, and the goal and limits of the research. As for the second chapter; The theoretical framework, it contained two sections, The first section focused on technology, its concept and its transformations in the history of art, The second section dealt with (the experience of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns). The third chapter was concerned with research procedures, where the researcher presented the method used, and the research tool, community, and sample of (3) are a model. As for the fourth chapter, it included the results, conclusions, proposals, and recommendations, and the most important of these results reached by the researcher are: 1- Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns used the collage technique (mixed medium), where the artist created multiple processes between gluing, composition, and color painting, thus presenting mutually reinforcing techniques within one visual field. 2- Most postmodern artists invested in disparate ready – made objects to develop them through color, collage, composition, printmaking, photography, and other techniques, as in models (1,2,3).

Interior design history and timeline

Interior Design history and timeline offer fascinating explorations of the evolution of design practices across various civilizations and epochs. This paper, delves into the rich heritage of interior design, tracing its trajectory from Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to Contemporary global trends. Drawing upon the interdisciplinary insights from Art History, Architecture, Sociology, and Technology studies, the study examines the cultural, social, and technological factors that have shaped interior design over time. Key themes include the influence of cultural contexts, the role of historical legacies, and the impact of technological advancements on design evolution. Through qualitative inquiry and comprehensive literature reviews, the research elucidates the enduring relevance and dynamic nature of Interior Design, providing valuable insights for contemporary designers and scholars.

“Grand Narratives” and “Personal Dramas”: (Re)reading the Masterpieces by Artemisia Gentileschi

This article discusses the œuvre of Artemisia Gentileschi, a prominent Baroque painter who was rediscovered by art historian Roberto Longhi in the 1910s. Today, her art is interpreted through various lenses, including art theory, women’s studies, and psychoanalysis. Gentileschi’s paintings are often “read” in close reference to her painful biography, with a focus on the “chiaroscuro” of trauma and its overcoming. Significantly, such biography-oriented approaches seem to be predominant in scholarship on art created by women. The argument presented is that Gentileschi’s works require a thorough re-reading free of “compulsive biographism”, as postulated by Salomon. The focus should shift from an empathic Einfühlung (or empathic projection) towards an objective analysis based purely on art-historical or sociological criteria. This article also explores the presence of the socially mediated and mediatised figure of the artist in fine literature (novels by Banti, Lapierre and Vreeland), cinematic biographies (Artemisia, directed by Merlet, documentaries (Artemisia Gentileschi: Warrior Painter, directed by River), anime (a series titled Arte, directed by Takayuki Hamana), and graphic novels (Ferlut and Baudouin; Siciliano). In this artistic constellation Artemisia is labelled as an art/feminist “icon”, a female genius, and as in numerous scholarly texts dedicated to her, “a victim”. I propose that the discussed literary and visual texts related to Gentileschi be interpreted as symptomatic (in line with Panofsky’s concept of ‘iconology’) of the contemporary mentality, which is filtered through feminist and subaltern thought.

Fenomen wielkich wystaw – przekaz pokoleń i wyraz kultury historycznej swoich czasów

The aim of the article is to reflect on the phenomenon of great art exhibitions, gathering exhibits, mainly paintings, exceptional from the perspective of national cultural heritage, which collectively represent a defined generational message. The reflection included the best‑known exhibitions of recent decades, being an expression of the historical culture of a time of great changes in the life of Polish society at the turn of the 21st century. These are two exhibitions at the National Museum in Kraków, the first exhibition ever by Marek Rostworowski, “Polish self‑portrait” (1979); the second is an exhibition of Marek Szczerski’s work entitled #dziedzictwo/heritage (2017); a jubilee exhibition organised by the National Museum in Warsaw in collaboration with the Louvre‑Lens Museum, the National Museum in Poznan and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute on the centennial of regaining independence, entitled “Poland. The power of the image” (2019‑2021). This reflection also includes the monumental exhibition organised collectively by the Royal Castle in Warsaw and the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin, with the participation of the curator Anda Rottenberg, entitled “Side by side. Germany‑Poland 1000 years of history in art.” (2012).

Nie tylko wielka literatura

The history of literature and art history were not included in the programme of my historical studies (1960–1965). Naturally, all history professors would usually include something about art and literature in their lectures on “their” historical period, but not as a key element. Efforts were made to separate history and belles‑lettres (in its various manifestations). A strongly positivist vision of research and transferring its results to the general public was cultivated – which had its advantages in the face of ideological pressure on science in the People's Republic of Poland. Today, the function of both historical sources and statements on history are frequently taken on by literature, which I define very broadly: literary texts (sometimes even of clearly inferior quality), political texts, diaries and journals, journalistic reports, petitions, defence speeches, sometimes letters. Also interesting for the historian is the route these texts take to the reading or listening public, as well as their reception, sometimes their renaissance after many years. There is no need to add that with such an approach, the people who are the authors of even outstanding historical works are not necessarily those who are professional historians.

Parallels and Divergences in Marxist Humanist Approach to Art in Croatia during the 1960s and 1970s

Based on reading and interpreting the key texts on the topic, the article explores the parallels and divergences between Matko Meštrović’s theory of the Neo-Avantgarde art practices of the New Tendencies and the Marxist Humanist intellectuals of the Praxis school of thought, in relation to different Marxist approaches to art in Yugoslavia. Both currents were critical, utopian, and avantgarde in nature, advocating for radical social transformation towards a new society and a new human, which they shared with the Yugoslav experimental model of self-management socialism in its initial phase. Despite these common approaches, the article argues that there was no direct connection between Yugoslav Neo-Marxists and Neo-Avantgarde artists and theoreticians. This assertion is reinforced by their different approaches to art and art history.

A Hermeneutical Perspective Towards the Defining Associations of the Term “Contemporary Art”

The term "contemporary art" in South Asia has several equivalents and connotations. Numerous art historians characterise contemporary art terms from diverse perspectives and historical linkages. However, there exists a lack of academic documentation about the accurate essence of the term contemporary art especially related to art history. The article, however, focuses on the hermeneutical connotations and perspective of contemporary art especially in South Asia. This research is significant for gaining a comprehensive and precise understanding and identification of the term contemporary art that bridges the gap in academic documentation and further expands its historical context. This qualitative study explores the term contemporary art using a hermeneutical method, that will provide a vast window for interpretation. The findings of the research offered definitions of contemporary art from an array of perspectives.

Features of the Formation of Artistic Means and Techniques of Traditional Chinese Silk Embroidery

The history of the embroidery art in China is at least two thousand years old. During this time, the methods of performing compositions, their purpose, motives, and means of artistic expression were changing. The plastic and technical transformations that occurred with silk embroidery led Chinese masters to creating works that were close in their characteristics to the images of traditional Chinese painting. Based on the surviving embroideries and their fragments, which were created during the period from the reign of the Shang dynasty to the end of the Qing reign, the author of the paper examines the fi gurative specifi cs, as well as the artistic techniques and methods of their implementation. The main task is to show how the visual language of Chinese masters and the corresponding technical features have changed.

Soviet Portrait Painting in China in the 1950s–1960s

Realistic portraiture occupies a special place in the history of Russian art. It had a huge impact on the fi ne arts of China, especially in the Soviet period, since realism and objectivity of the real world were closely intertwined in it, aesthetic perception was presented through artistic images and focused on reality and people. These artistic ideas and techniques suited the interests of the Chinese audience, allowing them to pay even more attention to the charm of modern life. This paper gives an interpretation of the study of Soviet realistic portraiture in China’s art history of the 1950–1960s, both from the side of history and from the side of research methods, and examines the serious infl uence and role of the realistic portrait of the Soviet period on Chinese painting.

Art, photography, and museums for senior students

The present research approaches the need to bring art closer to adult students, analyzing the process and the results of a course in a university program for the public over 55 years old. The interest of these students in art is given in most cases because they would have wanted to study art in their youth. Beyond the usual focus either on art history or artistic workshops, this program generates a multidisciplinary experience, introducing concepts and practices such as urban derive or performance. Aspects such as visual culture or digital technologies and art education are also integrated. This study adopted a research methodology of mixed nature, combining case study with arts-based research. The photographs acquire an important value as a result of the research. The benefits of lifelong learning were evaluated based on the participatory practices taking into account the previous experience of students and their knowledge in this regard. The information collected through individual surveys and focus groups highlighted a positive and rewarding result, according to the students.

Curating a ‘Living Museum’: Art and Justice Interactions at the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT In 2019, the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina launched an open call, inviting artists, practitioners, art historians and researchers to interact with its extensive collection of socialist-era artworks and in the process launching a ‘Living Museum’. Based on close analysis of two exhibitions that resulted from the open call, this article demonstrates how the turn to the arts and the local turn in transitional justice converged to bring the past, present and future into dialogue in a new type of justice interaction.

Glitch as a Trans Representational Mode in Video Games

Following recent work by transgender studies scholars that has questioned the relationship between queer theory and trans studies, this essay considers how glitch video games, which have previously been considered to be part of the “queer games movement,” use the glitch as a way of representing transgender life. I survey three glitch games, Problem Attic (2013, Liz Ryerson), Strawberry Cubes (2015, Loren Schmidt), and Anatomy (2016, Kitty Horrorshow)—each of which uses the glitch as an expressive visual aesthetic, remediating the analog artifacts of signal noise or error as a sonic and visual quality, as well as a game design principle. These games place an emphasis on the body as that which glitches, exploring the bad feelings of trans embodiment, including dissociation and dysphoria, as well as demonstrating how the glitched body can be both desired and transformative. In the final section, this essay considers how transgender artists and the ways their work foregrounds glitch as an operation of the body are integral not only to glitch art history, but also to video game development more widely, exploring the influence of glitch aesthetics and game design in Pony Island (2016), a glitch video game by cisgender designer, Daniel Mullins.

Paintings in naked-eye virtual reality: a parallax view between the surface and volumetric depth

This article explores a subgenre of naked-eye virtual reality (VR) video that features two-dimensional paintings in a three-dimensional space and is circulated on the Chinese video streaming website Bilibili. In contrast to traditional VR, which requires the spectator to wear a head-mounted display, naked-eye VR offers a stereoscopic view on the screen, eliminating the need for VR glasses. The apparent incongruity between the screen’s physical flatness and the volumetric depth of the painting becomes even more pronounced when the naked-eye VR image emphasises the painting’s inherent two-dimensionality. Employing an interdisciplinary humanities’ method that connects media archaeology, film studies, art history, and the field of science, technology, and society, this paper delves into this distinctive juxtaposition between the painting’s flatness and the volumetric depth characteristic of naked-eye VR, a subgenre that remains mostly uncharted in the field of film and media studies. Taking a media archaeological perspective, this paper introduces a parallax media history, suggesting that the aesthetics of VR can be traced not only to the stereoscope but also to scroll paintings, which are paradoxically defined by their flat compositions. In addition, naked-eye VR references pictorial traditions by generating a spatial illusion that leads spectators to feel as if they are delving beneath the surface of a painting, transitioning from spatial extensivity on the x-y axis to perceived depth along the z-axis. This oscillation between surface and depth is engendered by the horizontal parallax rooted in binocular disparity, thereby positioning naked-eye VR as a “parallax media.” In analysing the illusion created by naked-eye VR, this paper proposes a paradigmatic shift in the framework of media study from conceiving of an image as a mirror to experiencing it as a door, representing the oscillation between volumetric depth and two-dimensional surface.

Faith in the Stars and Architecture: Astrology as an Interpretation of Religious Permanence and the Birth of Modernity

In 1912, Aby Warburg presented his interpretation of the frescoes at the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara at the 10th International Congress of Art History in Rome. The decision to expound his theory in an academic setting was no coincidence: Warburg’s work, and the subsequent studies of Fritz Saxl, sought to centre the attention of art history on the complex world of astrological studies. The history of astrology demonstrated—via iconological analysis—the migration of knowledge from East to West. Warburg’s innovation was to superimpose the trauma of historical-artistic paths on this network. Through the Schifanoia frescoes, he could reflect upon how an international comparison with the surviving figurative concepts of Eastern Mediterranean civilisations had generated the stylistic transformation of the human figure in Italian art. Warburg defined astrology as ancient religion’s most tenacious form of hidden survival. He traced a path of continuity through art and its relationship to the architectural space hosting it. Astrological illustrations not only enable us to reconstruct the warp and weft of religious permanence but serve as a tool to explain the procedures of iconographic change that led to the Renaissance. After the collapse of paganism, many astrological images survived into the Middle Ages as symbols associated with the essences appropriated by Christianity as its own. A complex store of astrological iconography that migrated from classical cultures and reappeared during the Renaissance's construction of a universal language. Some foretastes emerge in medieval buildings; after a long period in which Christianity and astrology were considered incompatible, astrological language completed and provided meaning to the architecture that welcomed it. Such is the case of the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua. This paper aims to retrace the most significant paths of this migration of symbols through the analysis of such examples of Renaissance architecture as Villa Farnesina in Rome and the aforementioned Palazzo Schifanoia. It will also reflect on the position and training of the architect during the Renaissance and on how astrology was considered both magical thought and a mathematical description that would lead to the discovery of infinity. It is notable that the Farnesina’s astrological contents were dictated by Baldassarre Peruzzi, the building’s architect.

Built to last? Material legacies of Italian colonialism

This essay discusses what is a colonial trace and what can be done with the material legacy of colonialism in the Italian cities. These questions have been asked to scholars, artists, curators, and activists: historians Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Hannes Obermair, visual artist Alessandra Ferrini, art historian and curator Viviana Gravano, writer Igiaba Scego, and two collectives, Resistenze in Cirenaica and Colletivo Tezeta. They discuss their practices and work, but address also more general issues – such as whether Italy is a decolonized country or not. Interviewees looked at specific cases – like the city of Bolzano or the statue of Indro Montanelli in Milan – and analysed different strategies to resignify monuments and street names. The debate around Italy’s colonial legacy, and in particular monuments and street names, is ongoing and unfolding; these interviews will contribute to frame the debate for the years to come.