Summer 2019 Newsletter from Art History
Summer greetings from the Department of Art History! After a year-long search for two positions in global art history, we are delighted to announce two new faculty members: Daniel Greenberg, a specialist in East Asian art history who will join the department as an assistant professor in fall 2019, and Laura Kalba, a specialist in 19th-century art who will join us as an associate professor in January 2020.
I am pleased to announce that nine of our undergraduate majors have been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, this spring: Ashley Cope, Jenna Gustafson, Hayley Kopp, Hannah Niesen, Brielle Pizzala, Frederica Simmons, Martyna Stopyra, Abigail Thompson, and Whitney Wildman.
In other news, art history major Alisa Kamenev completed an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Project (UROP) with Jennifer Awes-Freeman on the iconography of the “good shepherd” in late antique and medieval art. Art history major Thomas Foss is studying abroad in Rome this summer, supported in part through the generosity of Patricia and Kenneth Puffer. And congratulations to Ashley Cope, winner of this year’s senior capstone prize for the best senior thesis!
Our graduate students continue to amaze us with their successes. Theresa Downing has been awarded a 2019-20 Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship in American Art, and this summer she is completing a short-term research fellowship at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. In fall 2019, Vanessa Reubendale will be a Tyson Fellow at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Colleen Stockmann is spending three weeks of the summer at Dumbarton Oaks Garden and Landscape Studies Graduate Workshop in Washington, DC. Hannah Wiepke and Aleisha Barton were both accepted into Harvard University's Summer Institute for Technical Studies in Art.
Finally, it is with sadness that we note the passing of Moira “Molly” Harris. She earned a BA in art history (1956), an MA in museology (1975), and a PhD in art history (1985), all from the University of Minnesota. She was an active volunteer and leader in the Twin Cities arts community and the author and editor of numerous books.
Please keep in touch. We would love to hear from you!
Warm wishes,
Michael Gaudio
Professor, Department Chair
Martyna Stopyra (BA 2018, art history) curated an exhibition of faculty art currently on view outside the dean’s office in Johnston Hall. She chose pieces from a variety of media that are “all connected by a common theme of translating history into modern artistic language.” Stopyra discusses this project and other experiences that have prepared her for a meaningful career. Read "Past Creations Lead to New Inspirations: An Exhibition Worth Exploring".
Accessing, capturing, and representing experimental performance art is no easy feat. However, Visiting Assistant Professor Emily Capper works hard to bring this transitory art to new audiences in novel, interactive ways—through a book, a web application, and the classroom. “The students here are inspiring to teach,” Capper says. “Nothing is more rewarding than to see them forge their own unique paths through the world of art with confidence.” Read "Bringing Ephemeral Art to Life".
