Fifth Johnson Symposium Riddled with Wit

Author: Michael Hatch

Students and professors alike flexed their academic brawn at the Fifth Annual Christian A. Johnson Symposium in the History of Art and Architecture, held Saturday in Bicentennial Hall. Asked to present research under the theme, "Envisioning Belief: Art and Religion," six professors and four students presented work included on topics such as 14th-century devotional sculpture of "naughty nuns" to self-taught American artist Howard Finster's bible-thumping Baptist art.
While highly diverse in theme, the group of 10 quarter-hour presentations united the common qualities of articulate wording and witty perspectives as well as a penchant for finding the more entertaining characters in the history of art.
From Reformation era paintings of Judith, the heroine-temptress as presented by Ingrid Erickson '03, to devotional rituals of Krishna, the "handsome bad boy" of Professor of History of Art and Architecture Cynthia Atherton, each paper presented a perfect mixture of academic fortitude and humorous characterization that provided for a thoroughly entertaining day.
The most curious and entertaining paper of the day was Visiting Assistant Professor of History of Art and Architecture Jackie Jung's "Crystal Wombs and Pregnant Hearts: A Fourteenth-Century Devotional Sculpture in its Female Monastic Setting."
Opening with witty narration of a "naughty nun" turned repentant anecdote, Jung went on to explain the meaning of a curiously beautiful sculpture of the Virgin Mary and Saint Elizabeth.
What energized these figures is the ovular rock crystal inlays set in the chest of each figure like giant transparent voids. Sprightly tracing a variety of biblical and historical trends, Jung's argument laid to waste the notion of medieval art as boring art, raising excitement for her future course on medieval art.
Student presenter Erickson, whose speech "The War of Images: Interpretations of Judith During the Reformation" served as a precursor to her upcoming thesis, impressed the crowd of academics and community members alike with her precise language and argumentation.
Erickson argued that the biblical Judith, a seductress-turnedheroine who slept with King, Holofernes only to decapitate him in the morning, was used as a tool for gaining support for nascent political movements only to be abandoned as a dangerous vixen once power had been achieved -- about as saucy as art history gets.
Equally impressive as a student presenter was Sommerville Johnston '03. Johnson's talk was titled, "Listening to Howard Finster's Sermons in Paint," and was based on her thesis prototype.
Complete with an authentic southern drawl, Johnston made the case that, while Finster is often appreciated for his status as a quirky outsider artist who created over 46,000 works in his life, little attention is paid to his true motive of preaching to the masses.
Part of the speech's convincing nature derived from Johnston's personal connection as an Alabama resident to the southern tradition of Baptist revivals and their counterpart roadside art preaching, "Repent now or the Devil will get you."
Amory Wooden's '03, "Mark Rothko: A Spiritual Search" and Aubry Threlkeld's '03, "The Memorials of Prince Shotoku at Horyuji: Buddhist Saint and Political Symbol," rounded out the student symposium participation with succinct academic argument that made the other art history majors both jealous and excited for the coming thesis presentations on Wednesday, March 19, at 4:30 p.m. in Johnson, where all senior majors will be presenting their thesis arguments for the public.
The other faculty presentations included Assistant Professor of History of Art and Architecture Pieter Broucke's, "Antoninus Pius, The Temple of Faustina and the Politics of (Self)- Deification" and Atherton's "Clothes Do Make the God"
Decoding Costume at the Radhavallabh Temple in Vrindaban, India," Christian A. Johnson Professor of Art Glenn Andres' "The Recasting of Florence Cathedral," Professor of History of Art and Architecture John Hunisak's "Pope Julius II, patrone straordinario of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling" and Professor of History of Art and Architecture Kirsten Hoving's "Resurrecting Content in Willem De Kooning's Easter Monday."
Charming and funny, the Fifth Annual Johnson Symposium in the History of Art and Architecture was art history at its best, making academia accessible and intriguing to the public and the College community alike.