In the twenty-first century, many artists show an interest in early modern collections, and this fascination has manifested itself in their artistic practice. Especially the cabinet of curiosity is...Show moreIn the twenty-first century, many artists show an interest in early modern collections, and this fascination has manifested itself in their artistic practice. Especially the cabinet of curiosity is frequently reintroduced, cited and reappropriated, with underlying concepts and visual tactics resurfacing. It will be determined to what extent visual or conceptual phenomena are reinterpreted or referenced by discussing the work of Steffen Dam, Damien Hirst, Marc Dion, and Marc Quinn. In their art, there is a revival of the traditions of collecting, classifying, categorising, ordering and displaying the natural world. Furthermore, the interrelationship between art and science forms a prominent factor. This study aims to identify the main influences, strategies and connections to the curiosity cabinet and explore to what extent these are reflected in work by these artists. Various case studies will be discussed using visual analysis. Primary and secondary sources will be used to support this visual analysis to uncover possible connections and gain insight into the artists' sources of inspiration and intent. It will be considered how far their methods are tied to curiosity collections. The goal is to determine the collective characteristics present in those case studies. This will add to the comprehension of the main historical influences on these artists and the interconnection between their artistic practices.Show less
Starting around the twentieth century, technological innovations and shifting ideas in self-portraiture resulted in more body-focused self-representations, because access to every aspect of the...Show moreStarting around the twentieth century, technological innovations and shifting ideas in self-portraiture resulted in more body-focused self-representations, because access to every aspect of the body has become significantly easier. The relationship between the material self and social self has changed since artists started to incorporate medical procedures in their artistic practices, which allowed them to represent themselves through their internal body. Three self-portrait series that have been produced by incorporating medical procedures in the creating process will be discussed. These concern Body of Work (2019) by Itamar Gilboa, Self (1991-current) by Marc Quinn, and Self-Portraits (2012) by Angela Palmer. These artists have used the representation of their bodies as a starting point to produce sculptural self-portraits. The incorporation of medical procedures comes with its implications. By discussing these series, it will be demonstrated how the use of medical procedures goes hand in hand with a more scientific, transparent and malleable view on the body and the manners in which this challenges the notion of the self in self-portraiture. To get to a deeper understanding of the artworks, an analysis is performed using theoretical sources that reflect upon the intersection between the fields of art history and (medical) science. This analysis will provide a deeper understanding of how contemporary artists make use of procedures that derive from the medical field, how these explore the boundaries of self-portraiture, and how a new domain is opened up within the genre that challenges more traditional modes of representing the self.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This paper examines the use of the medium of sculpture in the public sphere in Roman East Midlands including sculpture in the round, reliefs, architectural decoration, tombstones and inscriptions....Show moreThis paper examines the use of the medium of sculpture in the public sphere in Roman East Midlands including sculpture in the round, reliefs, architectural decoration, tombstones and inscriptions. The aim of the research is to analyse the social aspects of the public display of the sculptural medium in order to understand what role sculpture had within the society and the reasons behind choices such as subject matter, form and style. All of the sculptures and inscriptions from the chosen study area between and including Lincoln, Leicester and Water Newton are examined in detail and discussed within the context of their find location. The visual effect of sculpture is examined in terms of location in the landscape, the composition of the image and the visual impact of style. The question of identity is also discussed in terms of the commissioning and use of sculpture and the choice of style. In order to gain a better understanding on the fragmented nature and poor survival of sculptures in the area, their fate in terms of re-use and the scale of possible loss is also examined. Although the poor survival of Romano-British sculpture in the East Midlands makes them a difficult area of study, the aim of this paper is to examine different ways of viewing the material in order to gain more insight into the society who acquired and used such sculptural displays.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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The focal point of this thesis is the relationship between women and jewellery in the Roman Empire. This relationship is surrounded by positive and negative values, e.g. the responses of ancient...Show moreThe focal point of this thesis is the relationship between women and jewellery in the Roman Empire. This relationship is surrounded by positive and negative values, e.g. the responses of ancient authors range from more positive comments to extreme criticism. The central research question was: What social norms, relations and values does jewellery signify regarding women in the Roman Empire? The central aim is to differentiate and investigate the social norms, relations and values that were associated with the relationship between women and jewellery. In order to do this, jewellery finds and sculptural representations of jewellery from Rome (defined as core) and Palmyra (defined as periphery) in the first two centuries AD were studied. These two categories of evidence were analysed separately per region and then compared. Comparative investigation of the material in both regions increases understanding of the signifying function of jewellery with regard to the prevailing social norms. In visual culture other values, social norms and relations come forward than in the jewellery finds. Four central aspects regarding the finds and representations were focused on: types of jewellery, context, social position of the owner/portrayed, and the expression of gender. These aspects followed from the framework that was developed to study the relationship between women and jewellery, which included the concepts gender, sculptural representations and core-periphery. The research problem this study intended to solve was that archaeological evidence has been rather neglected in the study of women and jewellery. The systematic quantitative and qualitative analyses of the jewellery finds and sculptural representations of jewellery from Rome and Palmyra, attempted here for the first time on exemplary sample sets, as well as the comparison between them, have brought new insights to this field of study.Show less
In this thesis I have examined if and how indigenous religion in north-western Europe (specifically Roman Britain and northern Gaul) changed after the Roman colonization. The basis of my research...Show moreIn this thesis I have examined if and how indigenous religion in north-western Europe (specifically Roman Britain and northern Gaul) changed after the Roman colonization. The basis of my research is the idea that agriculture is a very important factor in shaping culture and religion. Ton Derks (1998) has stated that in northern Gaul, the southern territories were much more accepting of Roman religious customs because the agricultural basis of their society, namely arable farming, was the same as that of the Romans. In the north, were stockbreeding was much more important, people were much less accepting of Roman culture and as a consequence religious habits did not change much after the Roman conquest. In other words, the core of people's beliefs remained the same. I have applied this theory to Roman Britain, as the differences between the highland and lowland zones present us with a very similar agricultural division. This research has shown that, while indigenous religion and world views did become more Roman (especially in the areas were arable farming was more important than stockbreeding), native populations also attempted to preserve, or create new local traditions to retain their own identity. Such changes were not always directly related to local forms of agriculture, but areas were arable farming was dominant were far more susceptible to them than the more conservative pastoral zones.Show less
