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Department of Art History and Art in the ICMA Newsletter

The most recent issue of the news bulletin published by the International Center of Medieval Art has a plethora of features penned by our grad students! Claudia Haines writes about her ICMA-sponsored session, “Digital Medievalism,” at the 2023 Association for Art History Annual Conference at University College London (pp. 15-16). Rebekkah Hart offers an astute review of Riemenschneider and Late Medieval Alabaster exhibition, which just closed at the Cleveland Museum of Art (pp. 51-54). And Cecily Hughes, Reed O’Mara, Sam Truman, and Angie Verduci celebrate Prof. Gertsman’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Medieval Studies in a simultaneously heartfelt and hilarious reflection on her pedagogy and mentorship (pp. 41-43). Read these excerpts here.

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Elina Gertsman Delivers a Plenary at the International Medieval Congress

On July 4, 2023, Prof. Elina Gertsman delivered the annual Medieval Academy of America lecture at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds, UK. Titled “Somatic Entanglements,” the plenary explored the ways that zoocephalic images in Hebrew manuscripts stage a wide variety of complex visual arguments about likeness and difference, and about humanity and animality. This lecture serves as the Academy’s showcase for the important work being done by scholars in North America. One part of Prof. Gertsman’s lecture formed the basis for her forthcoming article in Art History, the flagship journal of the Association for Art History.

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Justin Willson publishes in Speculum

Justin Willson, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Art History Leadership at CWRU/CMA, has published the article “On the Aesthetic of Diagrams in Byzantine Art,” in the July issue of Speculum, the flagship journal of the Medieval Academy of America. Bringing many new primary sources to light, the essay argues for the importance of diagrams in understanding the formal qualities of Byzantine icons.

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The Absent Image wins the 2023 Otto Gründler Prize for an Outstanding Monograph in Medieval Studies

Congratulations to Dr. Elina Gertsman, professor of medieval art and Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor in Catholic Studies II, on winning the 2023 Otto Gründler prize for The Absent Image: Lacunae in Medieval Books. Given annually, the Otto Gründler Book Prize recognizes a monograph on a medieval subject that the selection committee determines has made an outstanding contribution to the field. Authors from any country are eligible, and nominations are accepted from readers and publishers. This is not the first honor for The Absent Image, which received the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award from College Art Association in 2022.

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Simona Di Nepi, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Curator of Judaica at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Visits CWRU and the CMA as the First Short-Term Mellon Visiting Fellow

From May 1 to May 4, Simona Di Nepi, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Curator of Judaica at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, visited Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) as the first Short-Term Mellon Visiting Fellow. Dr. Di Nepi participated in an archival workshop at the Western Reserve Historical...

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Prof. Gertsman publishes a book in honor of Stephen Fliegel

The Department of Art History and Art is delighted to announce the publication of Collectors, Commissioners, Curators, which just appeared in the Early Drama, Art, and Music series (De Gruyter / Medieval Institute Press). Edited by Elina Gertsman, this volume celebrates the career of Stephen N. Fliegel, the former Robert Bergman Curator of Medieval Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Authors offer insights into curatorial practices as well as perspectives on the histories of collecting and display by highlighting key objects under their care in some of the most illustrious medieval art collections in North America and Europe, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Getty.

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Congratulations to Alex Kaczenski on the Opening of the Exhibition “All Consuming: Art and the Essence of Food” at the Norton Simon Museum

Congratulations to Dr. Maggie Bell and Alex Kaczenski (PhD candidate CWRU History of Art), on the opening of the exhibition All Consuming: Art and the Essence of Food at the Norton Simon Museum! The show explores how artists responded to and shaped food cultures in Europe from 1500 to 1900. Explore a bite-sized...

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Congratulations Graduate Award Winners!

Art History was extremely well represented at tonight’s Grad Awards ceremony! Congratulations to our fabulous winners:

Angie Verduci, who received the Friends of Art Best Overall Performance by a PhD student Award
Cecily Hughes, who received the Friends of Art Best PhD Paper Award for her methods paper, “Sacred Tides on Secular Shores”
LukeHester, who received  the Friends of Art Best MA Paper Award for his QP, “Greening Power”
Katie Young, who received the Instructional Excellence Award
Katelyn Jones, who received Graduate Appreciation Award
Jess Long, Rebekah Utian, Clara Pinchbeck, Arielle Suskin, Katelyn Jones, and Susana Montanes-Lleras, who received Pancoast Awards
Thanks to all those who came to support the winners! Click below for more photos!

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The City is Our Museum!

Students in Prof. Benay's course on public art and monuments worked with Megan Jones and Tara Turner of Cleveland nonprofit LAND Studio this semester to create content for their mobile app. With over 3000 users, the app offers curated neighborhood tours of Cleveland's public art and will now feature...

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