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Contents:

• Profile:听Anastasia Velikova
• EDI Festival: The Importance of Open Conversations -听Anastasia Velikova
• 鈥淲OMEN IN REVOLT! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990鈥� - Anastasia Velikova
• 鈥楢 Safe Space of Remembering 鈥� the Artists, Story and Space of the Bulgarian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Art Biennale鈥� 鈥� Anastasia Velikova
• Profile: Amelia Chukhnova听
• 鈥楢ffordable Art History鈥� as a Community of Sharing: a Local Guide - Amelia Chukhnova
• 'Hecho a Mano Review: The Traditions of Splits and Bounds'听-听Amelia Chukhnova
• In-between the Memories and Frozen Landscapes of the Gulag Camps - Amelia Chukhnova
• Profile: Hermione Killian-Dawson
• Sediment embodied: Maren Hassinger鈥檚 steel River - Hermione Killian-Dawson
• Threads of Thought: An Interview with Philomena Epps - Hermione Killian-Dawson
• Exhibition Review: 鈥楾ropical Modernism 鈥� Architecture and Independence鈥� 鈥� Hermione Killian-Dawson
• Profile: Charlotte Borthwick
• 鈥楢rt History is a Posh Girl Subject鈥� 鈥� Charlotte Borthwick
• Review: 鈥楿nravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles and Art鈥� at the Barbican 鈥� Charlotte Borthwick
• An interview with PhD student Cora Chalaby 鈥� Charlotte Borthwick

Profile: Anastasia Velikova

I love exploring the London art scene through a feminist lens, examining how women are represented, and what topics seem to remain taboo, hidden or unspoken of. Strolling around a London museum, with a pen and paper in hand, it is intriguing to see what narratives are created within an exhibition. Once we step into that space, we seem to lose our perception of the space as specifically curated and absorb feelings and ideas that we believe are our own, when in fact every single element in that space is specifically and strategically chosen.听

My background as a Bulgarian international student who moved to a different country as an undergraduate, and as a young woman, has shaped my journey in navigating the Western art world. In my EDI journal, I would like to explore the important topic of who gets to see art and who controls the narrative of seeing, alongside the journey of transition between two spaces of origin. Come along as I discover ways in which London accommodates (and excludes) both narratives of women鈥檚 bodies, and the Eastern European point of view.听

EDI Festival: The Importance of Open Conversations -听Anastasia Velikova

The UCL History of Art Department鈥檚 Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Festival was held 20-22 March, 2024 and was a wonderful opportunity for students and staff to engage in a discussion about accessibility in the field of art history. The three-day festival included three different forums that encouraged students and staff to share personal experiences, ideas and opinions, to explore the struggles of being in this discipline and gain perspective on how to widen participation in the department. There were three main events: 鈥榊OU REALLY NEED TO READ THIS鈥� a forum discussion on literature that had impacted the staff and student鈥檚 lives, no matter if academic or not; 鈥楢ffordable Art History鈥�, a student-led (Charlotte Wilcock and Lakshmi Tran, MA History of Art) forum discussion of elitism within the field, which aimed to provide a space for the discussion of class and highlight the benefits of diversity for the department; and finally the 鈥楨DI Forum鈥�,听an informal discussion of general accessibility issues and ideas on how to highlight diversity and employ inclusion within the department.听

As a student journalist, I attended the last event on March 22, which proved to be an insightful conversation in which students and staff engaged in a thoughtful exchange of opinions and ideas about听issues related to EDI that being part of the UCL Art History Department has raised. A topic that was brought up in the conversation was the usual 鈥榞ap鈥� between students and staff that remains invisible, yet ever-present.听However, in this room, this gap was bridged by a common interest in a productive discussion of student and staff needs in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion. Two of the main issues discussed were accessibility issues in terms of mobility within the department buildings, and听financial accessibility related to potential gallery visits during a course.听

The first issue raised at the forum was the inaccessibility of the departmental buildings. The two five-story buildings on Gordon Square with no elevators, which house all the teachers鈥� offices, and some classrooms, create a clear barrier between students and staff with mobility issues. As was noted by one of the participants, the building does not feel welcoming听and poses a problem, especially for prospective students for whom that may become a factor that dissuades them from joining the department. Most of the History of Art classes are held in seminar rooms and lecture halls scattered across campus, so a visit to the History of Art building may be rare. However, even if that is the case, it can still create a sense of 鈥榥ot belonging鈥�, of not being a part of your own course and a sense of alienation. It also limits some students from receiving in-person office hours, since most of the staff have their offices in the two buildings in Gordon Square. It may even prove a problem for staff to reach their own offices. However, this issue is difficult to be resolved, since these issues must be raised with Camden City Hall, which slows the process down considerably.听

As the discussion and conversation kept going, a solution was found to one part of the problem, which is the constant need to flag accessibility issues as a student or a member of staff. Since most of the classes are held outside of the department, mobility and accessibility issues can be flagged by an individual for a certain class鈥檚 location to be changed, which in recent years has become quite a fast process, with an immediate response generated by UCL. However, there remains the issue of self-identifying multiple times instead of only once. At the end of the discussion, it was resolved that though the department may not be able to change accessibility in the History of Art department buildings, they can work towards a system that allows a person to flag accessibility issues only once, without having to ask for additional requirements every time. Additionally, it was noted that perhaps the issue can be flagged to prospective students.听However, it should be followed with the reassurance that everyone should feel welcomed in the history of art department, where all students will be treated with the same care and attention. 听

The second issue raised was on financial accessibility, particularly about courses that include additional costs, like trips to a museum or a paid exhibition. It was discussed that planning far ahead for each term is not possible for听staff, since some exhibitions that are on the topic of the course are announced after the start of the course and a tutor may decide to visit them halfway through the term. Thus, sometimes it is impossible to give a specific budget necessary for a course. However, the issue was not about the problem of cost, it was about flagging to the students a general, or a range, of costs that may be necessary for a module that has gallery visits and trips, so that students are not missing out on opportunities and are not disadvantaged. This is something that the Department has already taken into consideration. As some of the staff mentioned, the tutors always make sure that they visit free exhibitions, or that if a visit proves inaccessible for everyone, it is made optional and is not part of any of the assessments for that module. Additionally, on the History of Art page, there is information about potential additional costs, which acts as a guide for prospective students 鈥� for example, they advise听getting the Student Art Pass. Everyone agreed that it was important to flag general costs and perhaps a range for each course, as much in advance as possible, to not put students at the disadvantage of missing out on an opportunity for a class or a visit.听

Though EDI problems are not easy to resolve, forums and discussions like these prove to be extremely important. Even though change may come slow, and not all issues can be resolved, to have a shared conversation around these topics, to have an open exchange between staff and students, to examine what is being done well and what could be improved is beneficial for creating a safe and welcoming environment, a space where feelings and wellbeing are taken into consideration, and ideas and feedback are welcomed. 听

鈥淲OMEN IN REVOLT! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990鈥� - Anastasia Velikova

Tate Britain鈥檚 鈥淲omen in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990鈥� curated by Linsey Young presented a comprehensive and versatile display of works related to the second wave feminist movement in the UK. The exhibition explored the works of more than 100 artists spanning over two decades, and showcased issues ranging from equal pay protests to inequality in the domestic sphere, the punk protests of the late 70s, the Greenham anti-nuclear march, as well as the lesbian and black feminist movements that had previously been excluded from the discussion.

The exhibition explored women鈥檚 lives and protests in and outside the home. It showcased works in various mediums and styles, from video installations, photographs, collages, sculptures, to sociological surveys, protest posters, performances and many more. It is one of Tate Britain鈥檚 largest exhibitions to this day and conveyed what it means to be a woman in protest. Some of the artists in the exhibition are well-known in the world of art, but it also explores some lesser-known artists.听

With that many artists and mediums in such a small space, the visitor could easily get lost in their admiration of the numerous themes that echoed across the gallery. At times, it felt like the power of some of the individual works had been diminished. However, on display was not the individual artist, but the collective display of the authentic female self 鈥� not the voiceless subject of the male gaze, but the empowered and loud true self.听

Spanning across two decades, the six rooms delved into a different subject of women鈥檚 protest.听

followed the start of the second wave feminist movement and the fight for equal pay and equal rights.听

explored the aftermath of the equal pay law in the workplace, and how inequality continued into the space of the home. The room also dealt with medical prejudices against women and the taboo around menstruation.听

presented the punk and post-punk movement in which women used various media and mediums to convey the art of living, and how life is art.听

saw a drastic change of themes. The room showcased works related to the women鈥檚 march at Greenham Royal Air Force base in September 1981, and the community that the women in the camp created.听

explored the black feminist movement, and focused on themes such as discrimination, the colonial and male gaze, and police brutality.听

was an exploration of the AIDS crisis, and the struggles of lesbian feminist groups under the misconception that women could not transmit HIV, and their exclusion from important discussions at the time.听

The exhibition presented a comprehensive display of the various ways women protested their place in society. Though some of the themes could have been explored more in depth, the voice of protest was a collective one and reminded the viewer of the importance of the conversation around women鈥檚 rights, their experiences and their truth. By listening to women鈥檚 manifold voices and giving them a space for expression, we move forward in abolishing the word 鈥渨oman鈥� that we place in front of 鈥渁rtist鈥�, and creating a space of inclusion and diversity.听

Read Anastasia's full review here.

Read Anastasia's full review here.

鈥楢 Safe Space of Remembering 鈥� the Artists, Story and Space of the Bulgarian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Art Biennale鈥� 鈥� Anastasia Velikova

Dirty dishes left in the sink. Bread on the kitchen table. Mosquitoes buzzing. The confusing sense of presence in a deserted home. A story left untold; a memory kept hidden is suddenly revealed. Who has authority over our memory? And what about our collective memory? Can you ever restore a past that was hidden or erased?听

The Bulgarian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Art Biennale presents the complicated notion of memory. The Neighbours (2024) is an interactive multimedia installation created by Krasimira Butseva, Lilia Topouzova and Julian Chehirian, and explores the complex memory of the survivors of forced labour camps and political violence during the Communist regime in Bulgaria. A 鈥渕ust see鈥� according to The Art Newspaper and The Guardian, the project is the fruit of twenty years of research by the three creators, and raises issues about the history of memory, trauma, and political violence. Curated by Vasil Vladimirov, the space is a solemn and powerful space of remembering and 鈥渦n-silencing鈥�.听

The theme of the 60th Venice Biennale is 鈥淔oreigners Everywhere鈥�, and The Neighbours explores the idea of being a foreigner in your own country 鈥� the 鈥渘eighbour鈥� that we live next door to, yet actually know nothing about, as Butseva explains in her talk for the Sofia Human Rights Forum. The work shares stories about the labour camps that have been left untold and forgotten by the collective memory of Bulgaria.听

Inside the Pavilion is a recreation of a home with a living room, a bedroom and a kitchen. It is meant to represent the homes of the survivors, spaces which Butseva calls 鈥渧ernacular memorial museums鈥�. The space of the home is filled with ordinary items, with plates in the kitchen, food in the fridge, an old sewing machine and a record player. However, there are also unusual items, such as soil, water, stones and grass from the former camp sites of Belene and Lovech -听the biggest labour camp sites. The space feels occupied and is filled with a cacophony of sounds -听birds singing, mosquitoes buzzing, waves crashing. And, of course, the testimonies of the survivors.听

Image: Close-up of the bed inside the installation, Krasimira Butseva, Lilia Topouzova and Julian Chehirian, The Neighbours, 2024, multimedia installation, Venice, Italy. /Credits: The Bulgarian Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale, 2024.

The work is the product of archival research, forty interviews and searching for hidden documentation. No one knew of the camps鈥� existence or the forced labour that was going on inside while they were operating. People were arrested and sent to the camps because they were believed to be a 鈥渢hreat鈥� to the regime -听this even included a person speaking a Western language and listening to Western music, or someone wearing skinny jeans. Allegations against the prisoners were unclear, unreasonable, and not put on trial. Once the camps were dismantled and prisoners were freed, after the fall of the Communist regime, there appeared to be no memory of the places, with no official memorial sites created by the government, and the camps left to crumble to the ground. Little to no documentation was left behind. All the survivors were left with were their own homes and their own stories. Their homes became vernacular museums or memorial sites, and their stories became a way to keep the memory alive. That memory remained rather private, silenced in the collective memory. For a while at least.

Image: Detail of the kitchen counter, Krasimira Butseva, Lilia Topouzova and Julian Chehirian, The Neighbours, 2024, multimedia installation, Venice, Italy. / Credits: The Bulgarian Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale, 2024.

Butseva is a visual artist, researcher and writer based in Sofia and in London. A senior lecturer in the University of the Arts London, she has spent most of her life between the Western and Eastern European world. Her works deal with political violence, traumatic memory and the official and unofficial histories of Eastern Europe. So, when ten years ago, while doing her Masters in Photography at the University of Portsmouth she discovered the story of the labour camps, she was intrigued as to why there were no official monuments or memorials for this horrific history. Soon enough she met Topouzova, assistant professor of History and Creative Nonfiction at the University of Toronto and documentary filmmaker, who worked with archival material about the camps. They met Chehirian, a multimedia artist and researcher, who is a doctoral candidate in the History of Science at Princeton University, USA, and works on post-war and transnational history, and the history of attention and psychotherapy. The three combined their research and began their journey into the hidden past. They found their information in dumpsters, archives, but mostly -听in people鈥檚 homes.听

Image: Lilia Topouzova, Krasimira Butseva, and Julian Chehirian, photograph by Borislav Skochev

The 鈥渘eighbours鈥� as they call them are the survivors of trauma, they are the foreigners who were forgotten and unknown. A neighbour could be someone you live next door to and know everything about. Or you live next door to and rarely speak, until one day they open up to you. Or someone you share a wall with whom you know nothing about. You are strangers yet somehow intimately connected by space.听

Image: Detail from The Neighbours, Krasimira Butseva, Lilia Topouzova and Julian Chehirian, The Neighbours, 2024, multimedia installation, Venice, Italy. / Credits: The Bulgarian Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale, 2024.

Those seem to be the three types of 鈥渘eighbours鈥� present in the work, and they represent three different ways of remembering. In the space of the living room, we hear the testimonies by survivors who have been very vocal in their lives, have shared their stories with people and in documentaries -听they want their stories to be heard, to be remembered. In the space of the bedroom, considered a more private space, are testimonies by survivors who have never spoken of their experience before -听not even to their family or friends -听but have decided to finally share their stories. The kitchen, the space of solitude, is filled with human presence, yet there are no voices, just ambient sounds -听here are the 鈥渘eighbours鈥� who never got to tell their stories, because they were silenced, because they never made it alive to the time when they could speak. You feel their presence and feel connected to them, even though you cannot hear them.

Image: The kitchen, Krasimira Butseva, Lilia Topouzova and Julian Chehirian, The Neighbours, 2024, multimedia installation, Venice, Italy./ 听Credits: The Bulgarian Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale, 2024.

The work representing my country at the Biennale is a frightening one. It opens one鈥檚 eyes to the true brutality of the Communist regime in Bulgaria and to one鈥檚 own role in this collective oblivion. This powerful space of collective healing is a step forward in creating an official memorial, a space of remembrance and acceptance. Laura Cumming from The Guardian calls it 鈥榯he most delicate and elegiac expression of a terrible history鈥�. The space lets you immerse yourself in the scent of the old furniture, in the multimedia projections of nature. It lets you in and invites you to participate in remembering.听

I felt honoured to be represented by such brilliant creators, and their call for reflection, conveyed through a safe space of intensity, is a powerful message to send on an international scene.

Image: Krasimira Butseva, Lilia Topouzova and Julian Chehirian, The Neighbours, 2024, multimedia installation, Venice, Italy./ Credits: The Bulgarian Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale, 2024.

Bibliography:听

• Butseva, Krasimira, 鈥榁ernacular memorial museums: memory, trauma and healing in post-communist Bulgaria鈥�, Museums & Social Issues, 16 (2022), 41鈥�56.

Images source:

Profile: Amelia Chukhnova

Hey! My name is Amelia, I鈥檓 in my second year of art history, and I have not yet found the answer for what art has and can be for me. Surprisingly enough, prior to coming to UCL I was sure I would be met with some rather elitist art theory; thus, even more encouraging is it now to know history of art here as a polar opposite -听full of diversity and inclusion.

Growing up in Russia, with family and friends scattered across multiple distant regions, I had a chance to notice how radically听the living conditions change the further one moves from the 鈥榗entre鈥�. How much more alienated and silenced the local native people (of whom there are millions) become, how easily colonial attitudes towards minority cultures find their way into 鈥榤odern鈥� life.听

That is why I find it crucial to advocate against a unifying, ignorant dismissal of the many unprotected non-dominant cultures under one umbrella term, one devised and curated 鈥榟eritage鈥�, one official language. I hope here, as an EDI journalist, to provide spotlight and due recognition to Eurasian minority cultures and to cross-sectionally interrogate the issues of historical and contemporary class and gender representation.

鈥楢ffordable Art History鈥� as a Community of Sharing: a Local Guide - Amelia Chukhnova

London鈥檚 March has, quite unexpectedly, defied its annual rain rites during the 鈥楢ffordable Art History鈥� forum of the History of Art Department EDI Festival. The leaders of the forum - Charlotte Willcock and Lakshmi Tran, two MA History of Art students -听could not have been more supportive, generous, and optimistic in their opening speeches and the moderation of subsequent discussions. The idea of creating a forum for all members of UCL History of Art Department to share their experiences in and thoughts on elitism in the field of art history, in Charlotte鈥檚 words, grew out of their own friendly conversations. Here, then, an overarching idea materialised: you mitigate inaccessibility by initiating - and maintaining -听the ecosystem of sharing. Of looking out for each other.

There were, as I have lately noticed, quite a few remarks about 鈥檓uch鈥� and 鈥榳orth鈥� and 鈥榣ess鈥� and 鈥榬elative鈥� -听it is, after all, (pick your own intensifying adjective here) expensive to study and engage with art history. In this ground-floor seminar room, too small for the greater than anticipated number of active, willing participants, were outlined some of the most pressing issues: the costs of the courses themselves, of occasional field trips, of unplanned exhibition spendings. Largely, it is these expenses' unpredictability paired with wider economic shifts and downturns that makes them particularly acute.听

Focusing on question papers pinned to the walls, groups of five to eight circulated around the room and considered how and why our art history journeys have been affected by inaccessibility and elitism, what the prospects are for the graduates in the art-related industries, and what our own Department can do to ensure the accessibility of art history to its members. Four colourful stickers hung at eye level had, by the end of the session, turned into webs of sticky notes with questions and answers and new questions. One (beginner to upper-intermediate art historian, tally ho!) could not miss an allusion to a gallery space with its white walls, interpretation-prompting exhibits, and relative silence. Yet during the EDI forum there was not silence but active chatter: 茅迟耻诲颈补苍迟蝉, carefully, openly, meaningfully acknowledging the conditions and presuppositions of their 茅tudes.听

Among the final points was an inevitable acknowledgement that some financial burdens are rather pertinent to the economy and the education sector as a whole, that career prospects may at times look bleak, that structural inequality stretches far beyond the words 鈥榓rt history鈥� and 鈥榰niversity鈥�. However, in the process of sharing personal experiences - so genuinely connecting in their sincerity -听we, too, searched for our own roles in shaping a better, more accessible future for the field of art history. One could start from, for example, acknowledging that almost everyone has experienced some form of inequality or elitism in the field. From there, slowly but steadily will take form a sense of a community: an understanding, supportive, caring one -听one ready to listen and embrace. A reassurance, that there is a potential for positive impact of our own EDI and visibility initiatives and that hope is to be found in the future. This hope lies, in part, as Dr. Jess Bailey has kindly suggested, in the grass-roots initiatives and local focus. In drawing strength and resilience, once again, from a like-minded, interconnected community.听

Towards the end, in the wrap-up section of the forum, every thought expressed was met with a round of applause and loud cheers: there was physically no more room for paralysing loneliness. The windows were open, at last, and the fresh, sun-drenched breeze filled this compact yet inexplicably comfortable place with faintly visible glitter. So too, glowed softly the forum鈥檚 powerful, resonating statement: one is never alone in their struggle. At 911爆料网 History of Art a community is always there -听just around the corner, in the adjacent seminar room, in every shared conversation, in every friendly smile.听

Our supportive community, we say, is here.

'Hecho a Mano Review: The Traditions of Splits and Bounds -听Amelia Chukhnova

At least two of the artworks were already fragmented and tucked into standard boxes for moving on听to the next show by the time I entered the exhibition on the pre-closing day. The technician and his systematic听work took up one (of the two) rooms听and, by听doing so, turned Hecho a Mano [translation: 鈥榟andmade鈥橾 into听a meta-commentary of its own kind.

Taking place from the 22nd of February to the 22nd of March 2024, Hecho a Mano at Cecilia Brunson听Projects showcased eight modern and contemporary Latin American artists working across multiple media. It听aimed to diversify and de-colonise mainstream narratives about textile art -听those of misplaced fascination听with the 鈥榗raft鈥� and 鈥榩re-Colombian鈥�, primitive references. The gallery, overall, advocates for the idea of a听more sustainable and reciprocal link between Latin American and European art, while also championing the听independence and self-sufficiency of the former for its own local context.

First of all, the exhibition presented some curious splits of space and gravity. Within the physical听gallery plane, artworks were separated from the plain white walls by the necessarily wooden frames: their听colourful noise and delicate materiality stood out starkly, almost alive. Johanna Unzueta鈥檚 work, Pipe (2010)听connected two walls and the floor in a single mass of hand-stitched indigo felt, turning itself into a haptic听locus of the room. Seeming both fragile and unapproachable through its looming materiality, it, like a听spider鈥檚 web, nevertheless drew one in and contorted the physical space.

In-between the Memories and Frozen Landscapes of the Gulag Camps - Amelia Chukhnova

'The larch is a very serious tree. It is the tree of knowledge of good and evil -听no, it wasn't the apple tree, nor the birch! -听the larch was the tree standing in the Garden of Eden before the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise.

The larch is the tree of Kolyma, the tree of the concentration camps.'

听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听V. Shalamov, The Resurrection of the Larch

It is mainly in the setting within and right outside of Sevvostlag - a 鈥楴orth-Eastern鈥� forced labour camp in Kolyma region in Russia鈥檚 Far North - that Varlaam Shalamov wrote his memories of camp life (of camp lives, of camp deaths). Spread over the whole of the Soviet Union for more than thirty years, governed separately from the 1930 to the 1960, labour camps have in total contained approximately 18-20 million people. Such a vast number of internees was ensured by mass political repressions: anyone, be it a high-ranking party official, a CER construction returnee, a university professor, an already arrested citizen鈥檚 spouse, or an indigenous farmer, could fall victim to the infamous, broadly formulated Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code, that of conducting counter-revolutionary activity.

The camps were designed for crude labour exploitation, fuelling ambitious projects of the new Soviet state and its government. Such was, for example, the Trans-Polar railway of around 1320 km from Salekhard to Igarka -听abandoned half-way through for being poorly planned and not exactly needed, its rails still float over Siberian swamps, sink deeper with the melting snow, pass by thousands of its forced builders鈥� graves. The type of labour, though, varied significantly -听from building railways to sewing clothes, digging canals between seas, mining coal and gold. By themselves unrealistic productivity expectations were perpetuated by severe malnutrition and weak legal and humanitarian frameworks. Simultaneously, any expression of such toil would be censored: in the eyes of the official state magazines (e.g. USSR in Construction), detainees were classified as the 鈥榚nemies of the people鈥� and thus had a road of 鈥榬eforging鈥� ahead of them. Thus, the reality of forced labour in its raw, cruel form, was glossed over for the 鈥榝ree鈥� citizens en masse - and the art of the gulags would either serve as the concealer or remained concealed. Landscape, therefore, in its human-like expressivity could serve as a record -听a physical way of conveying an otherwise censorable experience of the labour camps.

Naturally, in such restricted conditions, art was produced on its own distinct terms, for the nature dictated the culture. The landscape and its local peculiarities crept into the sheer materials available for the production of art, into the multiple landscape-sensitive theatre set designs (mostly for the governors鈥� purposes), into the visuality of casual drawings. On the contrary, the state sought to 鈥榯ame鈥� the land, to bring it again into the reign of the human culture. Both internees and the land were seen by the government as projects, as something to be 鈥榬eforged鈥�, as Aglaya Glebova argues. Such treatment by an external (overbearing) force speaks now to a parallel, thus, between the surrounding land and the detained people: a parallel in which human is put into the context of the natural, the eternal. The landscapes where camps stood provide a material, visible space for memory - for human memory was denied and silenced in the post-GULAG decades.听

There is a term, famous in Russian language-centred literary studies -听鈥榩sychological parallelism鈥� (锌褋懈褏芯谢芯谐懈褔械褋泻懈泄 锌邪褉邪谢谢械谢懈蟹屑) -听which suggests a transfer of human emotions onto the nature, an affinity between the two. Such reflexivity is evident in a1940 watercolour-gouache painting Golgotha by Viktor Sigismundovich Toot, a Hungarian-Soviet painter imprisoned in Kargopollag in the 1938-1946 [Figure 1]. It depicts a brownish snow-covered field with a leaden cloud looming in the upper-right corner; a sight both regular and ambiguous in its nature. Toot鈥檚 Golgotha visualises what is, officially, invisible -听the human vulnerability and suffering, both physical and mental. Here an expanse of nature and skies accountable only to themselves are free and unbound -听yet overwhelmed by the unsettling, almost physical weight of the half-visible cloud. It translates through the uncertain direction of the cloud鈥檚 movement -听is it past or will it soon be future? What exactly does it behold? The fearsome nights of the waiting for the doomed names of the soon-to-be-executed passed as a red thread through the labour camp experience, and Toot was not an exception, writes Valentina Tikhanova, the editor of the only existing catalogue of the Gulag art. Golgotha testifies to the mental torment that an unpredictable, unstoppable threat of death imposed on the internees.

Further, in the camps, the weather itself was often a cause of frequent, violent suffering. The weather, as if a derivative of the land, puts the grass, the 鈥榣ifeless air鈥� in Golgotha to the test, yet Toot reveals the former鈥檚 extraneousness and transience. The field is stable, solid, it was -听and will remain -听earth; the tormenting clouds and the snow, however pertinent and cyclical, are merely layered over. The vastness of the landscape, not exhaustible by a frame, mediates the immediacy of the human context, and changes the category of time. In Kolyma, Shalamov writes, it was the freezing cold that killed the internees, yet, too, the millennia-old nature that preserved the memory about 鈥榯he millions of corpses鈥�. Similarly, in The Gulag Archipelago, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn begins with a story of ancient tritons conserved by the ice in the permafrost -听he compares the tritons to the forced labourers鈥� stories; thus, history continues and takes shape through the land. The earth preserves the human -听a dichotomy of imminent mortal threat and eternal memory: 鈥楩or you are dust, and to dust you shall return鈥�.

Figure 2. Chelyabinsk. Golden Mountain Mines, Tomasz Kizny, 2009. Picture taken from the GULAG History Museum, Moscow.

To this day, GULAG camps retain gaps in their visual history; gaps that often cannot be filled. Activists search for mass graves and abandoned barracks, for mere rotting decks as remnants of past lives spent behind the concentration steel. Post-GULAG photography, too, cannot avoid those gaps -听and thus shows, at last, the freezing absence of life, an absence powerful in its statement of non-presence. That is the case with, for example, Tomasz Kizny鈥檚 Chelyabinsk. Golden Mountain Mines photograph of 2009, which presents a location of a mass grave of the executed people, thrown into the old golden mines [Figure 2]. It shows neither the transformed land nor the human remains; but the air, the forest themselves are ripe and dense with the untold stories. This photograph, thus, merges the past with the current memory of it -听metaphorically suggests death to not be the final point, reverse-pointing to the idea of life, continuing.

Nature, share the mementos of the camps, perseveres, resurrected and untamed as it is -听withstanding the snow again and again and again.

Bibliography:

• Ginzburg, Eugenia, Krutoi Marshrut [A Whirlwind Journey] (Riga: Publishing of the CC CP of Latvia, 1989).
• Glebova, Aglaya, 鈥楢 Visual History of the Gulag: Nine Theses鈥� in The Soviet Gulag: Evidence, Interpretation, and Comparison, ed. Michael David-Fox (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016).
• Glebova, Aglaya, 鈥樷�楴o Longer an Image, Not Yet a Concept鈥�: Montage and the Failure to Cohere in Aleksandr Rodchenko鈥檚 Gulag Photoessay鈥� Art History 42, no. 2 (2019), pp. 332鈥�61.
• Khlevniuk, Oleg, and Belokowsky, Simon, 鈥楾he Gulag and the Non-Gulag as One Interrelated Whole鈥� Kritika (Bloomington, Ind.) 16, no. 3 (2015), pp. 479鈥�98.
• Mildenberger, Florian, 鈥楳ertvaya Doroga 鈥� a Railroad as the Backbone of Soviet Defence in the Arctic, 1943鈥�54鈥� Polar Record 37, no. 200 (2001), pp. 49鈥�54.
• Shalamov, Varlaam, Kolymskie Rasskazy [Kolyma Tales] (Paris: YMCA-Press, 1985).
• Shalamov, Varlaam, Voskreshenie Listvennitsy [The Resurrection of the Larch] (Paris: YMCA-Press, 1985).
• Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr, Archipelag GULAG [The Gulag Archipelago] (Yekaterinburg: U-Factoriya, 2006).
• The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Bibles, 2016).
• Tikhanova, Valentina Aleksandrovna, Tvorchestvo i byt GULAGa鈥�: katalog muze沫nogo sobranii汀a Obshchestva 鈥淢emorial鈥� = Art and life in the Gulag鈥�: 鈥淢emorial鈥� Society museum catalogue / [sostavitel使 V.A. Tikhanova] (Moscow: Zven使i汀a, 1998).

Profile:听Hermione Killian-Dawson听

My current academic interests are focussed within medieval Europe, including religious architecture and manuscript illuminations. I am curious about perceptions of the past, particularly related to contemporary political, social and economic considerations and beliefs, and am interested in how art functions within these spheres. My particular passion for architecture originated in many visits to English country houses with my family, notably Wentworth Woodhouse, Blenheim Palace and Osborne House. Acutely aware of their history of wealth and privilege, I was subsequently inspired me to look more broadly into different artistic communities, such as the Gutai Art Association, who operated in 20th century Japan. My work as an EDI journalist largely aims to champion underrepresented voices in the art world. I wish to explore these artists鈥� work through different mediums, including photography and film, to diversify the scope of this position and communicate information in a more accessible manner. 听

Sediment embodied: Maren Hassinger鈥檚 steel River - Hermione Killian-Dawson

Maren Hassinger (b.1947), an African-American artist who grew up in Los Angeles, offers the viewer an open-ended interpretation of River (fig. 1), a mixed media instillation that pools out across the gallery floor in a careful imitation of a river鈥檚 natural progress. A possible interpretation of this work can be found in the sculpture鈥檚 form, which suggests an implicit presence of sediment, a complex organic process that becomes a fluid metaphor to interrogates humanity鈥檚 relationship with the natural world. The work also invites the viewer to consider our complex layered histories through its dynamic ephemerality, deliberating how this may be seen as a memorial to the atrocities experienced by enslaved Africans during the Middle Passage.听

River currently resides in the Studio Museum in Harlem, where it oozes out in a tumble of bright steel and coarse rope onto the floor. The serpentine, languid curves of the tightly woven rope and steel compress the piece as it lies unmoving, shaped into the natural form of a river. The bright, interrogatory spotlights in the gallery bounce off the dull metallic rings of steel in alternating sections of dark and light, creating soft shadows that are enhanced by the natural fibres woven within the chains as they absorb the remaining light. Conceptual sediment lives throughout the sculptural form, existing in the tightly coiled and tidily placed piles of rope at either end while also being pushed along the length of interwoven rope and steel through the viewer鈥檚 continuous movement and perusal around the piece. Caught within these neat coils are escaped fibres as the rope frays and breaks apart at points. A river is uncontrollable and powerful 鈥� like the rope, it will not be subject to the whims of human design. The heavy chains weigh down the piece in an evocative manner, like stubborn mud being pushed downstream. For Hassinger, it is important that her works 鈥渙ffer an experience to look and to see, to contemplate鈥�; for this reason, circumambulation of the sculpture is encouraged.听

River offers a continuous interrogation of the relationship that we have with the natural world. LeRonn Brooks, an academic and curator at the Getty Research Institute, describes how Hassinger 鈥減erforms in an awareness of the bonds between nature and culture鈥�. The artist was a keen dancer prior to her university studies and this love of movement carries through in her work, particularly in her metal sculptures where she bends, weaves, frays and welds the materials to create a structure that resembles the natural world. Her minimalist approach is pertinent to the intangibility of rivers for if you stand in one spot, you never see the same body of water as the liquid is continually replaced through the act of flowing. While Hassinger鈥檚 sculpture does not flow in the traditional sense, the work still gives an impression of movement through its gentle curvature and interwoven materials. The work is continually renewed through each viewer that reflects on the piece.听

鈥淭he black body is acted on, cut down, too often, too easily erased鈥�.听LeRonn Brook鈥檚 words should ring in the ears of the spectator as they view River. Hassinger did not identify as an activist artist, nor did she overtly refer to her race or identity in her works, preferring for the viewer to form their own thoughts. Maureen Megerian, when writing for the Women鈥檚 Art Journal, described Hassinger鈥檚 works as 鈥渂oth understated and powerfully suggestive鈥�. The Studio Museum in Harlem, where the work is displayed, describes the instillation as evocative of the historical terror and exploitation of the Middle Passage through its use of chains and rope; the symbolic river could also be suggestive of the long, muddy rivers and estuaries where the voyages, carrying enslaved Africans and trading goods, started. This work, therefore, may be seen as a memorial to the horrific brutality of those expeditions, and the blood of slaves that much of America鈥檚 wealth was built upon. Inevitably, the steel chains will rust and the rope will decay, although its memory may still linger, like the memory of our complex, layered, colonial past. Thus, the metaphor of the instillation: a river carves its identity into the landscape in which it flows, its sediment leaving behind tracks that will linger in the river鈥檚 path long after the water dries up or changes course. Hassinger鈥檚 sculpture may show how the repercussions of the slave trade rippled like shockwaves into the future, tracking its sediment forwards as the burden which today鈥檚 generation hold. Thus the progress of River is not only evocative of water flowing downstream, but also perhaps of time passing, with generational memory passed downstream, in regard to the metaphorical sediment.听

The idea of embodied sediment in the sculpture is a product of the artificial relationship created between Hassinger鈥檚 manmade sculptural form and the natural world it imitates. This sediment is conceptualised in the liminal space between illusion and reality where Hassinger鈥檚 sculptural river is contrasted with the watery depths of a natural river. Her sediment is metaphorical; it is not the thick, gritty mud that a river displaces but a viewer鈥檚 circumambulation of the sculpture, where one is encouraged to think externally of the sculpture and gallery space and let their thoughts flow like sediment down a river, their eyes following the weighty chains and thick rolls of rope twisting around the meandering structure. Hassinger鈥檚 materials ground this theoretical concept. Her early pieces are primarily concerned with nature, particularly when she was at 911爆料网A where her studies in fibre formed the foundation of her later works and also where she started incorporating steel wire into her projects.听River represents this early voyage into exploring new materials as it is a combination of Hassinger鈥檚 early graduate studies in fibre and the later steel which came to define her style.听

The dichotomy between the natural form of River and its manufactured materials reflects the tension between human activity and our environment. The representative use of rope and chains to create River as a reference to the transatlantic slave trade creates traction between past and future. The futility of our production is finalised in River鈥檚 snake-like course that finishes with a pool of rope. The metaphorical sediment: Hassinger鈥檚 reminder that nature will always prevail over the cruelty of humankind. Thus, Maren Hassinger鈥檚 River shows how our preconceived notions of the natural world can act as a metaphorical tool within artwork. In this piece, the idea of a river鈥檚 sediment becomes conceptual as the viewer is invited to embody this natural process.听

Bibliography听

• Brooks, LeRonn P., 鈥淣ATURE鈥橲 A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN A STORY ABOUT MAREN HASSINGER鈥�, Callaloo 39, no. 1 (2016), 76鈥�79
• 鈥溾��, Studio Museum in Harlem, Accessed January 22nd 2024听
• Megerian, Maureen, 鈥淓ntwined with Nature: The Sculpture of Maren Hassinger鈥�, Woman鈥檚 art journal 17, no. 2 (1996), 21鈥�25
• O鈥橤rady, Lorraine, Interview of Maren Hassinger by Lorraine O鈥橤rady, New York, NY: Hatch Billops Collection, 1993
• Stanger, Arabella, 鈥淏odily Wreckage, Economic Salvage and the Middle Passage鈥�, Performance research 24, no. 5 (2019), 11-20
• Tani, Ellen, 鈥淗assinger, Maren鈥�, In Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, 2022, 1-6

Threads of Thought: An Interview with Philomena Epps - Hermione Killian-Dawson

I interviewed Philomena Epps, a current PhD student in our department, to discuss her research and personal journey going into academia.听

I would like to start by asking about your personal journey into doing a PhD and could you offer any guidance to those of us who may be considering this path?听

I did my undergraduate degree at Sussex University听in English Literature and听graduated from my BA in 2012. Then I took a year out where I did an internship at White Cube and one at the Barbican, when I decided that I wanted to do an MA. I undertook the History of Art MA at the Courtauld and finished in 2014. After my MA, I worked for Third Text journal, then initiated an independent career as a writer and editor. In 2020, I began considering applying for the PhD. Some advice I would give is that it is so important to find the right supervisor. The application process can be quite mystifying because not only are you applying to the university, you are also applying for the funding which is awarded by a separate body, and can be very competitive. You have to really think about what the academic structure can offer your research that you can鈥檛 do somewhere else.听

Your PhD largely focuses on the work of three female artists: Rose English, Alina Szapocznikow and Hannah Wilke. Let鈥檚 start with how you narrowed it down to these three women and what in particular fascinates you about their work?听

I narrowed it down to Szapocznikow and Wilke and that was my main research proposal. For me, there was a kind of commonality in their use of sculpture, their collapsing of the corporal, and the way they were using the body that was embedded in their material explorations. Very soon after I started the PhD, I realised听it鈥檚 quite complex to just do a PhD project on two artists because you have this thorny issue with comparison and they become at odds with each other. So, I added Rose English to the project. I was aware of her practice and adding this third artist allowed me to examine the relationship between fetishism and sexual difference in a broader, more productive way. My project extensively engages with performance and sculpture, and the slippages between the two. There are various touchstones. I have my main characters and a subsidiary cast of other artists, such as Sarah Lucas, Helen Chadwick, and Linder, that I use in generative ways, contextualising them as part of a broader intergenerational lineage. You can create quite an interesting dynamic and interactions.听

You mentioned the body earlier. Considering the female body in the 20th century, how is this concept helpful in your research?听

The female body in performance art is a vast and varied topic. Sometimes the work can seem slightly dated or this idea of the 鈥榥ude female artist鈥� that has been closely associated with 1970s feminist practice. I鈥檓 interested in moving beyond some of the more essentialist ideas around the body and how that subscribes to certain forms of identity or gender. I鈥檓 thinking about the body as material and the body as a vehicle for something, as opposed to representative of. Lots of the artists that I鈥檓 working on use humour, mimicry, the carnivalesque; there鈥檚 a kind of playfulness. There is a sort of send-up of this idea of the masculine reading of what the feminine body means or what it can represent.听

This idea of the perversity of the body that you allude to links to the psychological aspect that your research looks at, particularly with Freud.

Absolutely. The construction of the fetish in Freud is essentially a denigration of the female body at its core. And I wonder what it means to work with this as a strategy, as a feminist artist? Not all these artists identified as feminist. I鈥檓 working with Freud and against Freud constantly, which is an interesting position.听

You have a long history of writing, being a founding editor of independent publication Orlando as well as having art criticism published in numerous academic journals including Artforum, ArtReview and Frieze, to name a few. More recently, you have an article coming out about Rose English in Object, our department鈥檚 postgraduate research journal. Using this article as a starting point, how do you consider your writing to have directed your relationship with art?

I see my relationship with writing and art as being in tandem, one informs the other. With Object, the articles are formed by the upgrade papers that we submit [as part of the PhD]. It was quite useful working on all those things at the same time because I was really having to think about my ideas for English. It鈥檚 also really good to publish something like that because there鈥檚 not a lot of scholarship on English, which is another reason I was interested in her work. I think听doing a BA,听an MA and enjoying writing, led me to carve out a writing career. But there鈥檚 always adjustments, a different tone. There are certain magazines that really like an academic tone, certain ones that are more informal. You鈥檙e always having to modify.听I started Orlando after the MA. Everyone was making magazines at the time, around 2015-2016. I did an issue a year and I ran a series of events that fundraised for the magazine. I would email people and ask if they鈥檇 like to write about 鈥榯his鈥� and I was so surprised that people were so generous. Artists would write about their work or interviews, and it was very experimental.听

Just one听final question: Now that exam season is over for most of us and we hopefully have a bit more free time in the summer, would you recommend any exhibitions?听

I would say the Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind exhibition is really good, which also feels appropriate as we鈥檝e been talking about performance and the multidiscipline. I knew a lot of her early work, but I鈥檇 never seen it and it was great to see, for example, Cut Piece. In terms of gallery shows, I鈥檓 also hoping to check out a few exhibitions in central London in July, including Kiki Kogelnik: The Dance at Pace Gallery and Lynda Benglis: Knots and Videotapes at Thomas Dane.听

Exhibition Review: 鈥楾ropical Modernism -听Architecture and Independence鈥� -听Hermione Killian-Dawson

at the Victoria & Albert Museum offers a refreshing perspective on the impact of colonial architectural styles, exploring how Modernism was developed into a style that was subsequently reclaimed by former colonised countries such as India and Nigeria in the 20th century. The exhibition consisted of four spaces, starting with the first seeds of colonial powers planting Modernist projects in their colonies and ending with a documentary projected in the final room, exploring the themes of the space and the impact that Tropical Modernism left on these newly independent countries several decades later.听

The space was bright and clearly organised with a range of media, including photography, sculpture, architectural models and plans, video footage and sound. The effect was an immersive exploration of this brief period in architectural history, with images accompanied by large text on the wall that explained significant political movements and figures. Although the exhibition was not highly politicised itself, it offered a much-needed insight into a fraught period in history and highlighted the far-reaching nature and deep-seated impacted that colonialism has to this day on populations. The final note that the exhibition ended on was a musing about the future, considering how we could learn from the principles of Tropical Modernism to re-evaluate our approach to building in the current climate crisis. This exhibition is open until the 22nd September 2024.

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Profile: Charlotte Borthwick

My name is Charlotte and I will be approaching my final year of my BA in History of Art this Autumn (2024). I have lived in England my whole life, situated just outside of London in Berkshire. I was first introduced to Art through my Nana who was and still is a brilliant artist herself. Inspiring my creativity, I studied art throughout school, attaining an Art scholarship going into my secondary school. It was my parents, however, that really broadened my artistic understandings, bringing me into the world of art history. Taking me to museums all around the world, I was able to gain insight into art that went beyond my initial, Eurocentric knowledge of art.听

I am delighted to be a student journalist for the department鈥檚 EDI journal. I have always loved writing as a medium to express my thoughts and opinions. Through my studies at 911爆料网, I have cultivated a passion for a more methodological study of art history. I believe the UCL history of art course is really like no other. Rather than focusing teaching on specific periods of art or individual artists, UCL has curated a syllabus that centres around developing our minds, pushing us beyond visual analysis, taking us through the challenging process of truly unpacking genres of art. Throughout my second year, I really feel as if my understanding of what the term 鈥榓rt history鈥� actually means has evolved greatly. 听I look forward to applying this newfound understanding, focused on the theorising of art, to the EDI board journal, sharing my own personal relationship with the art world.
听

鈥楢rt History is a Posh Girl Subject鈥� 鈥� Charlotte Borthwick

I believe there to be about 4 men currently in my History of Art BA degree. The rest, girls. Additionally, many History of Art A-Level classes are reported to be fairly female-heavy. Statistically, under 20 state schools are said to currently offer History of Art as an A-level, whereas over 100 private schools offer this same A-level. Despite being approximate numbers, they do support the conclusion that History of Art is a posh girl subject.听

Here is why I think this should be changed.听

History of Art is a niche subject, with a misconception that it limits one鈥檚 post-graduate opportunities. This perception, in my opinion, could not be further from the truth. When taking a summer course at The Courtauld University, a university solely offering History of Art, my lecturer said these words to me when explaining why I should pursue a degree in Art History:听

鈥楬istory of Art is everything everywhere, it is the spine of culture and the visual centre of our world History. How could this be useless?鈥� 听听

Let鈥檚 break this down. 鈥楬istory of Art is everything, everywhere鈥�. What does this mean? This can mean something different to everyone. To me, it translates to my everyday experience. I wake up in the morning, sunk into my memory foam mattress, held by my antique French framed bed, the style of such encompassing the romantic Rococo Boudoir, a type of room design that emerged during the 18th century. The boudoir became the epitome of the secluded room, associated with the female gender, conveying notions of delicacy, softness and roundness, with a hint of the mysterious. In other words, a part of art鈥檚 historical significance.

Wandering down the historical streets of London, past Notting Hills pastel-coloured terraces and twentieth-century Brutalist architecture, I make my way to the UCL campus. A thesis by Spencer Amy Louise, an architectural historian at 911爆料网 in 2021, writes on the visual history of this building. Tracing back to 1825, the buildings 鈥榝irst architectural expression was the neoclassical building constructed in 1827-9 by Willian Wilkins鈥�. This astounding building was built by a group of radical thinkers, 鈥榮et about to establish a secular, non-residential metropolitan university鈥�. Creating an institution away from traditional, religious beliefs was a huge step in academic history and being a part of that shows how art/ architecture is intertwined with our educational history.

Outside of the everyday, I also find my degree very applicable to culture and current affairs. At 911爆料网, we are offered various methodology modules within our History of Art BA. These typically include teachings from notable thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and Mary Wollstonecraft. Ideas we learn and use to apply to art can also, very easily, be applied to real-world problems and discussions. Mary Wollstonecraft, for example, changed how women were viewed and valued in academic discourse, a huge step for the feminist movement. In these modules, tutors help us to break down such texts and theories that accompany such radical movements. Understanding these is essential for us to carry on social growth, continuing the work of these profound thinkers. One could apply such thinking to areas in politics, or journalism, both extremely respectable careers, showing how transferrable a degree in Art History can really be.

When we look at traditional teachings in Art History, tutors teach us tools such as visual analysis, critical engagement, and academic writing - all valuable to our professional future. A student looking to enter a business-focused profession, such as logistics or consulting, would benefit hugely from these skills. Breaking down dense, complicated sources and documents, as well as writing up important proposals is necessary when understanding and translating difficult language and views presented - a skill practised and perfected within a History of Art degree. Visual analysis is also applicable to professions such as advertisement or event planning. Having an idea of how aesthetics, proportion and placement can influence how a viewer receives an image or exhibit is an excellent skill when creating content for companies wanting to widen their audience. Overall, we can see that each of these components can apply to a variety of different fields, not necessarily centred around traditional art, making it a valuable education to showcase when applying to post-grad jobs. 听

I believe the push, and availability of History of Art to state school students is limited due to this conception that it鈥檚 not a worthwhile degree when aiming to make money and build a comfortable life post-grad. Underprivileged students are typically encouraged to choose subjects with higher-paid graduate routes such as business or law. However, this idea is not true. According to 鈥榃hatUni鈥�, employability for a business degree after graduation is 80% with a base salary of around 拢24,000 per year. History of Art also has an 80% employability with a 拢20,000 start salary. This is only a 拢4000 difference, equating to 拢333.33 difference per month, not a lot 鈥�

So why do I think my degree is good to take? I believe I can use brilliant examples such as my academic writing, research and analysis abilities, my organisation and the value of visual analysis when tempting future employees. Yes, I may be heading towards more creative roles such as journalism or gallery curation, but I equally believe you could use such examples to secure management roles, advertisement and PR roles, alongside many others.听

I also think increasing the student diversity would benefit the course content and lecture engagement hugely. Human beings have such different views and perspectives, differentiating even more depending on background. Discussing subjects within greater contexts is a skill extremely applicable to real-world careers and situations.听

I believe History of Art is currently taken by mainly posh girls and middle to upper class, but I do not think the subject is a 鈥榩osh girl subject鈥�. I believe it has gained that reputation due to its inaccessibility amongst state schools and the perpetuated opinion that the arts are typically more feminine, meant for 鈥榯he gays and the girls鈥�.听

Review: 鈥楿nravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles and Art鈥� at the Barbican 鈥� Charlotte Borthwick

During May, I attended the听up-and-coming exhibition at the Barbican, , on show from the 13th of February to the 26th of May 2024. I had heard many things about this exhibition from peers who had visited it, however, friends outside of History of Art primarily made such comments so they were limited to visual commentary based on colours and disbelief that an actual person could create such large works of art installations. Despite this, I felt the sheer popularity of the exhibit warranted a view from myself, a classically trained art historian (although听I听recognise I am a fairly junior art historian) to go and have a look as to how this exhibition has been curated, what was included, and what emotions and thoughts I felt it provoked for me.听

As I entered the open-plan space, I quickly noticed the sparseness of artworks on show. The industrial-like warehouse fitted in the Barbican for such exhibitions did not help. I immediately felt a sort of 鈥榰nfinished鈥� look to the display (this however would be explained as we drifted through the different segments). Similar to the 鈥榃omen in Revolt exhibition鈥� on show at the Tate Britain earlier this year (2024), large bodies of texts accompanied each piece, as if the notations were a part of the physical art on show. A trained eye does know however to often ignore these accompanying texts as it steers away from the visual analysis and experience of visiting a gallery. However, I found the texts to be overwhelming, with my eye drawn to them as opposed to solely the art. I noted in my initial thoughts that I felt these would have done better if made smaller rather than so large, almost surrounding the pieces. In my opinion, the scale made them seem slightly out of place and took up unnecessary space.听

However, with this being said, I do also believe that the space was utilised in other ways, this being that the curation meant we could view the works from multiple different areas and viewpoints, allowing for multiple perspectives and adding to their overall effect. There were two floors to the exhibit with an open banister giving you the freedom to look down (or up) on the pieces on the other level. Having this also meant getting a more rounded view of the sculptures, successfully showing them in their 3D form, and giving them the true exposure they deserved.

In concerns to my prior mentioning of 鈥榮parseness鈥�, looking to being unfinished, as I wandered through the rest of the exhibition, I learnt that this was on ethical issues, with certain artists withdrawing their pieces from the exhibition. Noted where there appeared to be missing pieces was an explanation reading 鈥渁n act of solidarity with Palestine鈥�. Artists that pulled their work include Mouniraal Solh, Diedrick Brakens, Yto Barrada and Cian Dayrit alongside three other lenders. This was following an alleged censorship scandal. In February, the Barbican cancelled a lecture by Indian writer, Pankaj Mishra, after being made aware that his lecture would be addressing Israel鈥檚 war on Gaza. Since this event, there have been many discussions surrounding censorship and museums. Historically, museums have tended to remain politically neutral (as far as 鈥榥eutral鈥� can be achieved). However, artist Barrada urged instead for these institutions to 鈥榟old space for free thinking and debate鈥�. Interestingly, this occurred as the exhibit itself has the word 鈥榩olitics鈥� in its title. For me, the censorship the Barbican have indulged in is showing us that they will only display and hold areas for difficult conversations when it suits them and whose opinions they agree with, rather than being open to this idea of 鈥榯otal free speech鈥�.听

Moving back to the curation, it is interesting to note the impact on simple aspects such as the colour of the walls, and the order of content exhibited in each separate room. I note in my initial thoughts the impact of the 鈥榙ark blue walls exhibiting the rougher, more violent pieces鈥�. Utilising the arts successfully in this way acts as a brilliant accessory. The dark walls are symbolic of the dark subjects explored, creating an ambience unescapable by the viewer, almost engulfing them in not only the art itself but also within the artist鈥檚 mind and the events that inspired the works. Like an accessory to an outfit, it is what pulls the whole 鈥榣ook鈥� together.听

Also important to note is the order in which the different themes are explored. Some rooms seemed to be paired one after the other as they both shared darkness and brutalism to their content, whilst others seemed to almost be mismatched, having a particularly heavy room followed by a much lighter, 鈥榟appier鈥� room. This was odd to me as again there seemed to be no fluidity present. However, I can also acknowledge the curator鈥檚 attempt to break up subjects, possibly aiming to give the viewer a break from the emotional violence portrayed in many of the rooms.听

Overall, I thought the exhibition to be very hard-hitting and impactful, supported by my mother鈥檚 viewing who also agreed that 鈥渢he exhibition was very thought-provoking and interesting鈥�. However, as mentioned in the essay, I do have some reservations about the curation of the exhibition which did impact my overall experience. My mother, who for this conversation represents a member of the general public, explained that she thought 鈥渢he art wasn鈥檛 something that I would normally gravitate to, but I was glad I attended鈥�. I also agree that I was glad I attended, regardless of the artworks not being within my typical area of interest. However, it was not an exhibition I would run back to, and I would warn any other visitors of the heaviness displayed, leaving out my notes on curation which I would keep reserved for my fellow art historians visiting.

An interview with PhD student Cora Chalaby 鈥� Charlotte Borthwick

I chose to interview Cora due to her brilliance in teaching my methodology seminar during the second term. Cora鈥檚 unjudgmental yet challenging methods of teaching inspired me to get more involved in the History of Art department at 911爆料网, pushing my thinking beyond the course, making her the perfect candidate to interview.

Cora鈥檚 academic background

If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Cora or learning about some of her work, let me provide a brief background on her experience while studying History of Art.听

Cora has a First Class BA in History of Art from Pembroke College, University of Cambridge and a Distinction in MA in History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art. 听In 2023, Cora participated in the Yale-UCL Collaborative Doctoral Exchange Programme and spent three months as a Visiting Scholar at Yale University. Notably, Cora assisted with research and public programmes for Dulwich Picture Gallery鈥檚 2021-2022 exhibition Helen Frankenthaler: Radical Beauty, an experience which she says was transformative to PhD and longer-term research interests in printmaking by women artists. Cora has won several prestigious scholarships including a UCL Graduate Research Scholarship, a Terra Foundation for American Art Research Travel Grant, and most recently a Getty Library Research Grant. These allowed her to spend extensive periods undertaking first-hand archival research and visual analysis in the United States. In our interview, Cora talked about how important archival research is to her work. Cora has also published articles including in the Journal of Contemporary Painting and forthcoming in the Archives of American Art Journal.
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Cora鈥檚 research explores American abstract painting and printmaking by late modernist women artists, with a specific focus on the work of Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell and Alma Thomas. She also expressed a deep love for the first-hand study of objects and archival research 鈥� she told me that throughout her PhD she has spent 24 weeks doing archival work!听

What is History of Art?

As I listened to Cora, I realised how much there is still left to learn and this is not something to fear but instead something to be excited about. Cora explained that there is a lot that goes into succeeding in the History of Art. We learn so many things beyond the degree brochure. What we choose to read and study outside of our essential readings and lectures is what will shape what this degree means to us. For example, Cora talked about being first introduced to the work of Helen Frankenthaler during a project with Kettle鈥檚 Yard Museum in her second year of University. This experience changed the course of Cora鈥檚 academic trajectory. Cora became fascinated by Frankenthaler鈥檚 work and more widely the women of abstract expressionism. Cora subsequently won a scholarship to undertake archival research on Frankenthaler and wrote her BA Dissertation on Frankenthaler. Frankenthaler鈥檚 work is now at the heart of Cora鈥檚 PhD, and Cora tells me she hopes to write a monograph on Frankenthaler following the completion of her PhD. 听I realised we have the opportunity to work hard and grow not only as art historians and academics but also as professionals, learning skills that we can use to tackle the professional world when we arrive at its doorstep.听