One of the reasons I love architecture is that it is not just something that you look at. It serves a specific function, yes. But whatever its function, it is experienced on many different sensory levels. You are immersed within it and therefore become a part of it. Your experience in it is part of … Continue reading Architecture’s Sounds
Longing & Nostalgia
It’s been a (delightfully) hectic couple of weeks for me, as I’ve been completing several freelance projects. In the moments that I’ve allowed myself to come up for air, I have read several arts-related news stories that I had hoped to discuss here. There was the recent news that ISIS deliberately destroyed works of art … Continue reading Longing & Nostalgia
Online Resources Roundup
I have long been meaning to compile a list of some of the Internet’s most useful resources for teachers and students of art history and history. On my Resources page you can find a list of some of the sites I have bookmarked over the years, along with a brief explanation of what you’ll find there. … Continue reading Online Resources Roundup
The Renaissance Baby Shower
Somehow, I only recently attended my first baby shower. From what I can tell, it was your standard baby shower, though better than most since it didn’t involve silly games. The mother-to-be was glowing, the other mothers talked shop with her, and she was showered with gift after gift. Materially speaking, the modern mother has … Continue reading The Renaissance Baby Shower
Death of Walter Liedtke
Last night, there was a terrible crash on New York's commuter rail line, Metro North, that killed six passengers. Today we learned that one of those killed was Walter Liedtke, curator of Dutch and Flemish painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum's official announcement on its Facebook page says, ". . . We pay … Continue reading Death of Walter Liedtke
A Newcomer’s Guide to the Art-Historical Vagina
This week, I read an article about a legal dispute between a French art teacher and Facebook. The man posted an image of L’Origine du Monde (NSFW) on his page to promote an art-historical video. Facebook cried indecency and removed the image. If you’re not a student of art history, you might not be aware … Continue reading A Newcomer’s Guide to the Art-Historical Vagina
Codex Mendoza
I just learned of very exciting news via Hyperallergic: The Codex Mendoza, a sixteenth-century manuscript filled with valuable information about Aztec culture has been fully digitized in a collaboration between Mexico's National institute for Anthropology and History and the Bodleian Library at Oxford, King's College. The importance of the Codex Mendoza can hardly be overstated. … Continue reading Codex Mendoza
On King Tut and the “Botching” of His Mask
You no doubt heard the upsetting news about the famous mask of King Tutankhamun last week: In attempt to clean it, the beard was broken off and incorrectly glued back on, in what is roundly being dubbed a “botched” job. This is upsetting for many reasons, but mostly for the fact that such an important … Continue reading On King Tut and the “Botching” of His Mask
Sumerian Hymn
Today I stumbled upon a link to an article that discusses "the oldest song in the world," from Sumeria dating to around 1400 BCE. If you found last week's discussion of music from ancient Babylon interesting, you should definitely check this out. The music is embedded in the site. (By the way, the article is … Continue reading Sumerian Hymn
Resurrecting Babylon
Last week an interesting article popped up in one of my social media feeds: “What Did Ancient Babylonian Songs Sound Like?” I couldn’t resist. The article discusses the work of a composer who teamed up with an expert on ancient instruments. Using lyrics that have been preserved in cuneiform, they sought to recreate the music … Continue reading Resurrecting Babylon
Ellen A. Hurst 