By Kendall Baer
Four art historians discussed art from various periods of time to students and faculty gathered at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center lecture hall.
“This was a great opportunity to see what my future professors do outside of the classroom,” said Greenville junior Austin McCroskie.
Of the four professors, each chose a topic of his or her interest and gave a lecture over that specific subject.
“I know I speak for my colleagues when I say we appreciate your support of art historical research,” said Dr. Amy A. DaPonte, Ph.D, an assistant professor in the art department, to the audience, “Whether you believe it or not, this is fun for us.”
Nathan T. Elkins, Ph.D began the series of lectures with his topic, The Visualization of Political Rhetoric in the Reign of Nerva AD 96-98, that discussed Nerva’s coinage and the symbolism represented through different coins.
The second speaker of the evening, Dr. Heidi J. Hornik, a professor in the art department, discussed Michele Tosini and The “Baptism of Christ”, a painting specifically done in the reflection of the gospel of Luke.
“It’s so interesting to hear about an artist who has done a lot and the fact that people aren’t looking into it,” said Spring junior Kat Largent. “It really surprised me that some of this stuff is just out there waiting to be discovered and no one is out there discovering it except for these awesome Baylor professors.”
In the third part of the lecture, Dr. Sean DeLouche, a lecturer in the art department, presented his topic of Art Criticism and Celebrity Culture at the Salon of 1840, discussing a piece of art by Émile de Champmartin that was harshly criticized for its style and representation of the subjects it depicted.
To close the lecture series, DaPonte gave her presentation over A Postmodern Theater: Günther Förg’s Stations of the Cross, which showed the work of Förg that depicted the crucifixion of Christ in various abstract pieces and his motivations for the pieces.
“I liked that the lectures spanned so much of art history,” said Frisco junior Geordyn Hoge. “You have the ancient, the renaissance, and then modern, and that appealed to a lot of different parts of art. I thought it was interesting to learn about something so specific and tangible.”
A reception for the Faculty Exhibition followed the lectures and showcased original art produced by Baylor art studio faculty.
The exhibition will be on display from until Feb. 28. at The Martin Museum of Art.
