I have spent the last several days hunched over fine print and my eyes are feeling crossed and my spirits a bit squashed. Finishing up my work for the day yesterday, I decided to cheer myself up by looking at the pictures I took when I travelled to Moscow for my dissertation. Since I study … Continue reading Old Architecture: My Happy Place
Musings
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
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
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
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
A Winter Evening
And now for the first of my “musings.” This week has been cold and snowy (by mid-Atlantic standards), which I love. I love it even though it screws up traffic and makes me late. Even though it’s a hassle to bundle up my toddler for daycare, and even though my hands freeze when I need … Continue reading A Winter Evening
Ellen A. Hurst 