History of Art Research Celebrated at Showcase Event

Posted on: 05 December 2013

From medieval manuscripts to Irish modernist architecture, the research activities of the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Trinity College Dublin were celebrated recently. Outside the Box and Off the Wall: Research in Art History at Trinity College Dublin showcased the exciting range of research being undertaken in the department.

At the event members of staff and research fellows gave short illustrated presentations about the works of art and architecture that inspire their research, teaching and conservation activity. The event included a presentation from Fellow Emeritus Dr Eddie McParland on his conservation work for the Irish Landmark Trust, an exploration of agendas in landscape art by Dr Yvonne Scott and a short video from Dr Peter Cherry on his emerging monograph on the portraits of Diego Velázquez.

Pictured at the event were speakers: Laura Cleaver, Angela Griffith, Christine Casey, Eddie McParland, Marguerite MacCurtin, Rachel Moss, Ellen Rowley, Yvonne Scott and Philip McEvansoneya.

Speaking about the event, Dr Christine Casey, Head of Department of History of Art and Architecture, commented: "This event aims to celebrate the diverse and important research activities of staff, research fellows and emeritus staff. Ground-breaking work in a wide range of media is currently being conducted in art history at Trinity College but is rarely visible in its entirety. This event will provide students, alumni and visitors with a birds-eye view of cutting-edge art-historical research. Illustrated presentations by staff and research fellows will be supplemented by posters displaying the research topics of doctoral students."

Programme:

Under the Covers: Dr Laura Cleaver presented on her work on medieval manuscripts. She is currently half-way through a four-year project exploring how and why manuscripts dealing with history were decorated in the Anglo-Norman world in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
On the Ceiling: Dr Christine Casey focused on her current monograph on decorative plasterwork in Ireland and Europe and its vital role in shaping the eighteenth-century interior.
Blue Skying: Dr Yvonne Scott explored her research theme of landscape art (space, place, environment) and the changes in how it has been defined and represented in Modern and contemporary art.
Virtues of the Virtual: Dr Angela Griffith presented on a current project being undertaken with the Digital Humanities Forum to create a digital database of Irish artist-illustrated texts in the Trinity collections.
Ivory towers and Granite Lighthouses: Dr Eddie McParland considered the practical application to architectural conservation of architectural history by focusing on the conservation work of the Irish Landmark Trust.
Herding Cats: Dr Rachel Moss discussed the challenges faced in compiling a reference text on Art and Architecture in Medieval Ireland.
News from Madrid: Dr Peter Cherry discussed, via video, his research in Madrid for a monograph on the portraits of Diego Velázquez.
Up the Nile: Dr Philip McEvansoneya shared his research on Irish travellers in the Middle East. While the experiences of travellers in Ireland have been extensively researched, those of Irish travellers abroad have not. Published and unpublished accounts relating to the Middle East in the mid-nineteenth century provide an indicative case study.
Modernism by Modest Means: Dr Ellen Rowley explored the nature of Irish architecture from 1940 to 1980 - a flourishing of a modernist idiom for architecture which was appropriate to local conditions of recession and strained urbanism at this time, despite contrary histories.
Memories of the Department: Marguerite MacCurtin, broadcaster and former model, recounted her experience of the Department in the 1980s.

Media Contact:

For media queries please contact Fiona Tyrrell, Press Officer for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Trinity College Dublin | tyrrellf@tcd.ie | + 353 1 8964337