Fine Arts Commons^™

Keynote Address: Climate Change: From Global To New York Scale, Christopher D. Thorncroft

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This talk is concerned with the science and impacts of climate change from global to New York scales. It will provide an assessment of how the climate has changed over the past Century based on a purely observational perspective. The scientific basis for anthroprogenic climate change will be explained and discussed including a description of the “greenhouse effect” and why it is important for life on this planet. We will briefly discuss global and local consequences of a warmer climate and what we need to be prepared for going forward in the coming decades.

Opening Keynote Address: Using Data To Understand Cultural Destruction, Brian I. Daniels

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Brian I. Daniels, Ph.D, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, University of Pennsylvania Museum.

Why is cultural heritage targeted in conflict? Under what circumstances? By whom? Today, due in part to the recent notorious instances of cultural destruction in the Middle East and North Africa, there is perhaps more attention among the broader scientific community than ever before about the phenomenon of cultural loss. At the same time, there are many significant data and analytical gaps. Little social science literature about cultural destruction exists and many critical questions—and avenues of research—are, as of yet, unstudied. A primary reason for this lack …

Marshall University Music Department Presents The Mu Trombone Ensemble, Michael Stroeher, Director, Thomas Cavender, Trombone Soloist, Michael Stroeher, Thomas Cavender

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Marshall University Music Department Presents A Faculty Duo Recital, Johan Botes, Piano, Şölen Dikener, Cello, Johan Botes, Şőlen Dikener

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Marshall University Music Department Presents The Brass Band Of The Tri-State, Fall Concert, Michael Stroeher, Conductor, Michael Stroeher

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Marshall University Music Department Presents A Guest Artist Lecture Recital, Dr. Magdalena Adamek, Piano, Magdalena Adamek

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Marshall University Music Department Presents Jazz Ii, Dr. Martin Saunders, Director, Martin W. Saunders

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Marshall University Music Department Presents Jazz Combo I, Mr. Jeffrey Wolfe, Director, Jeff Wolfe

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Marshall University Music Department Presents Music For An Occasion, Marshall University Symphony Orchestra, Elizabeth Reed Smith, Conductor And Violinist, Scott Foote, Guest Conductor, Şölen Dikener, Cellist, Elizabeth Reed Smith, Şőlen Dikener

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Marshall University Music Department Presents The Symphonic Band & Wind Symphony, In Concert, Dr. Adam Dalton, Conductor, Captain Brian O. Walden, Conductor, With Guest Artist, Dr. Briana Nannen, Soprano, Adam Dalton, Briana Nannen

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Biopolitical Masochism In Marina Abramović’S The Artist Is Present, Jaime Brunton

Department of English: Faculty Publications

This essay analyzes The Artist Is Present, Marina Abramović’s heavily mediatized 2010 performance at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, through the lenses of Freudian and Deleuzean concepts of masochism, specifically with respect to how the masochistic tendencies of this performance may be read in the current context of biopolitics. The essay seeks answers to questions of political import that many critical analyses of Abramović’s performance, which focus on details of the performer’s personal history, have not adequately addressed. Drawing on the documentary film Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012) that follows Abramović through the conceptualization and enactment …

Jasper Skulls And Memento Mori, Kathleen C. Paul

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

The jasper skulls in this Curiosity Cabinet sit on the scale atop the touch-ables table. Jasper, a type of impure silica usually a reddish color, is commonly carved for small sculptures, as we see in the skulls.

The reddish tones of both skulls match the overall tone of the cabinet nicely, as well as complimenting the rich medium blue of the walls. Thematically, skulls perfectly align with other objects in the cabinet.

A ubiquitous theme of curiosity cabinets in the 16th and 17th century is the inevitability of death. Symbols of this notion in art work are known as …

Ortelius Map Of Africa, Meredith D. Staats

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

The “Presbiteri Iohannis Sive, Abissinorvm Imperii Descriptio,” or “Map of the Kingdom of Prester John,” is a work by Abraham Ortelius, a cartographer, cosmographer, and publisher who was born and died in Antwerp, Belgium. This map was published in the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, or Theater of the World, “the first uniformly sized and systematically collected set of maps by different mapmakers which is acknowledged as the first atlas,” published c. 1570 and edited into a number of languages posthumously through 1612. The atlas contained 70 maps engraved by Frans Hogenberg on 53 folio sheets. [excerpt]

Carved Ivory Puzzle Balls, Erica M. Schaumberg

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

The Chinese Carved Ivory Puzzle Balls reference the interest in combing art and nature while designating curiosity in Chinese craftsmanship and imagery affecting a European market.The Chinese Ivory Carved Puzzle Balls have been beloved items in the Gettysburg College collection since they were donated in 1959 by Frank Kramer and John Hampshire. The Puzzle Balls, featuring nine balls were displayed in the Schmucker Hall Library. Alumni love the items and regularly ask about the collection in Special Collections as they represent an aspect of the college they continue to love. [excerpt]

Quintus Curtius, Francesca M. Costa

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

This book would have been created and read during the 1600’s, and throughout the European Enlightenment period. Written in Latin, it was made to be consumed by a wealthy and educated gentleman. This example was donated to the exhibit by Charles Emmons. It is covered in not-so-well-tooled vellum and gold leaf. All in all, it is in good condition with no marginalia, so while the vellum cover in the Renaissance is sometimes used on textbooks or other travel-appropriate tomes, this was probably only in a stationary location for a long period of time. [excerpt]

Veduta Del Tempio Di Antonino E Faustino In Campo Vaccino, Emma J. Conant-Hiley

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

Giovanni Battista Piranesi is one of history’s best etchers and architects. His two main series of copper etchings, I Carceri (The Prisons) and Vedute (The Views) spread out across the European continent and beyond both during his life and after his death. The “Wonders of Nature and Artifice” exhibition at Schmucker Art Gallery is lucky to have one of his original prints from the Vedute series generously on loan, from the Collection of Professor Charles F. Emmons, Professor of Sociology here at Gettysburg College. The print sizes in at 35 inches by 25 and a half inches, depicting a temple-church …

In Defense Of His Holiness: The Cellini Plaque, Christopher J. Condon

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

The plaque depicting Cellini was donated to Gettysburg College by Reverend Jeremiah Zimmerman, Class of 1873, who later became a lecturer at Syracuse University and a frequent benefactor of Gettysburg College. A highly educated alum, Reverend Zimmerman became a clergyman and traveled the world for over a decade to further his studies, ranging from Asian culture to ancient coinage.

The plaque itself measures 32” x 26.75” x 2.5”, is of considerable weight for a porcelain plate, and is painted in the 19th century academic style to offer a dramatic interpretation of Benvenuto Cellini’s actions during the 1527 Sack of Rome. …

Immolation Of The Phoenix, James H. Raphaelson

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

The time period of wunderkammer opened a plethora of sciences that scholars devoted their lives to. Among these were botany, zoology, ethnography – studies that had already been somewhat established before. But there were some fields that had not been tapped into, one of them being the study of human anatomy. Up until the late 15th century, the most legitimate writing on anatomy was the Fasciculus medicinae which had very crude illustrations and professed incorrect, archaic theories about the human body. [excerpt]

Blue-And-White Wonder: Ming Dynasty Porcelain Plate, Laura G. Waters

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

This authentic Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) plate is a prime example of early export porcelain, a luminous substance that enthralled European collectors. The generous gift of Joyce P. Bishop in honor of her daughter, Kimberly Bishop Connors, Ming Dynasty Blue-and-White Plate is on loan from the Reeves Collection at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. The plate itself is approximately 7.75 inches (20 cm) in diameter, and appears much deeper from the bottom than it does from the top. Gradually sloping forms are what make the dish so deceptively shallow. In fact, from the reverse, it appears closer in shape …

A Latin Letter, Francesca M. Costa

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

This manuscript was written sometime within the Renaissance, and can open up the world of a gentleman to us. Johannes Lampreicht would have been classically trained around the same time as he learned how to read, write, and count. Because of this, he could compose letters in Latin, and possibly Greek too. He mentions a few Greek authors, and seems well versed in their work. Throughout he uses many shorthand symbols to make writing faster, including an em-dash, and an ampersand. These do not help date the document, however, because they wereinvented by Cicero’s right-hand-slave Tiro in the first century …

Small Asian Wonders, Gabriella A. Bucci

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

As curiosity grew in the Renaissance, so did the scope of collections of wonders. The Cricket Cage, Jade Screen, and Iron Dragon are three examples of rare collection items from the Far East. While these three east Asian small wonders may have been commonplace in their country of origin, they were considered marvelous to the collectors of Europe who had never seen objects such as these produced in their own countries. [excerpt]

Woman Standing, Allison Adams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This is a feature-length screenplay following Farren Cane, a young woman living in a rural Appalachian town, as she struggles with the intersections of gender, class, and the tension between her own ambition and her familial obligation.

Rhinoceros Horn Libation Cup, Erin C. Harten

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

On display in the “Wonders of Nature and Artifice” exhibit at Gettysburg College is an exquisitely carved Chinese rhinoceros horn cup decorated with many images of animals, from dragons to tortoises.The rhinoceros horn has been noted by the Chinese as early as the T’ang dynasty (618-907) to have magical properties, and it was believed that when a poisonous liquid was poured into a rhino horn, the horn would change colors to alert to the presence of poison.Due to these magical properties, rhinoceros horns have been regarded as especially valuable. [excerpt]

Skeletons In The Closet, Kevin M. Isky

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

Among the collections cabinets of the Renaissance, fish, in the forms of naturalia and artificialia, can be widely found. They were sought after for their beauty as well as their relation to the natural world. In the famous frontispiece to Ferrante Imperato’s Dell’historia naturale (1599), fish of varying kinds are hung against and atop the ceiling on either side of a large alligator. They are mixed between an assortment of crustaceans and shells, also sea creatures, including the prized nautilus shell found so abundantly in Renaissance culture. As seen in this frontispiece, fish could be found as decoration in …

Aurora: A Painting Of The Coming Dawn, Noa Leibson

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

While collectors and scientists sought out the rarest and best preserved naturalia for their collections, others sought out and commissioned paintings and other forms of artifice to go beside them. One artist held in high regard during the era of curiosity cabinets was Guido Reni, artist of the famed ‘Aurora,’ a copy of which remains in the gallery today. Paintings like this one would have hung regally on the walls of curiosity cabinets, the beauty showing the potential of man, and the themes of nature and classics fitting right in with other pieces surrounding them. [excerpt]

Wondrous Cetaceans, Logan D. S. Henley

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

The Renaissance was named for the cultural rebirth it witnessed. It meant a decrease in the widespread artistic and scientific suppression of the Middle Ages. As a result, Europeans enjoyed a new exploratory enthusiasm, which brought them to the far corners of the world. The concept of exoticism was renewed by European contact with places like China and Brazil. But as well as new cultural connections being bolstered, immense scientific discovery was going on. Science, then named natural philosophy, was seeing breakthrough after breakthrough. Scientists and interested persons brought knowledge and specimens from far and wide together in curiosity cabinets, …

19th Century Writings On The Grand Tour, Emily E. Wilcox

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

Two collections of writings, found in the glass cabinet on the left wall of our Wonder Cabinet, contain the descriptions of two travelers’ times abroad during the Grand Tour. The first item is a travel journal written by Henry Louis Baugher, son of Pennsylvania (now Gettysburg) College’s second president, Henry Lewis Baugher. The journal was generously donated to Gettysburg College’s Special Collections and College Archives by Gary Hawbaker, class of 1966. Beneath the travel journal you’ll find a collection of letters written by Louisa Augusta Webb about the tales of her and her sisters’ travels. This compilation of letters is …

Quartz And Prehnite: Minerals During The Renaissance, Shannon R. Zeltmann

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

Minerals were displayed in wonder rooms for their beauty and used by apothecaries for their medical properties and artists, for sculptures and pigments. Minerals during the Renaissance were collected and displayed in wonder rooms to illustrate the beauty of nature. Humanists would have categorized minerals by their external qualities- color, transparency, form, luster, and smell. Over time, geologists continue to study these external qualities when they are first analyzing minerals, and the internal properties. Today the six major factors in identifying minerals are cleavage, the tendency of minerals to break into flat surfaces; color; crystal form or how the form …

Guardians Of Ink And Vellum: Ethiopian Magical Scrolls, Zachary A. Wesley

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

Ethiopian magical scrolls are powerful tools to combat sickness and demons in Ethiopian folk belief. As works of art, they display influences from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian sources. The scroll showcased in the “Wonders of Nature and Artifice” Exhibition was graciously donated by Mike Hobor, Gettysburg College Class of 1969. A prolific traveler, Mike purchased this piece in an art shop in Rome along with two other scrolls. 1 The scroll is believed to come from the city of Gondar, and is believed to date to the eighteenth-century. [excerpt]

Crocodiles - The Singular Beast In The Renaissance Cabinet, Peter Zhang

Wonders of Nature and Artifice

Stuffed crocodiles often predominated many famous cabinets, hanging in the center of the ceiling. Crocodilians are the largest reptiles and the largest predator that spends time on land. They have existed for about 240 million years, and today there are 23 species of crocodilians in total, categorized in three families: 13 species of crocodiles, two species of alligators, and six species of caimans. Archaeologists found a “Supercroc” fossil as long as 40 feet (12 meters) and weighting 17,500 pounds in Niger. They believe that the crocodile lived alongside dinosaurs about 100 million years ago. [excerpt]