History of Art

The Experiment group were active in Cambridge between 1928-31. They were a group of undergraduate students who organised themselves around the production of a little magazine, Experiment, that acted as a forum for their poetry, prose, art, and criticism across a number of disciplines. The original editorial panel of 'Five' consisted of significant figures in British intellectual history: William Empson, William Hare, Hugh Sykes-Davies, Jacob Bronowski, and Humphrey

This thesis examines the little magazine Experiment, published in Cambridge between 1928 and 1931. It represents the first book-length study of Experiment; and therefore offers a deeper level of engagement with the magazine’s social and historical context, its influences, and crucially, its contents. The appearance of Experiment coincided with the tenth anniversary celebrations of Armistice Day; an event which I argue was a catalyst for the formation of a new generation of artists and writers. The First World War created a rupture in society: the myth of the “lost generation” weighed heavily on those who were left behind. The Experiment group had lived through the War; however, their childhood experiences were far-removed from those of frontline soldiers. The Experimenters’ self-identification with the term “postwar” recognised the importance of the War to their sense of identity while simultaneously acknowledging their temporal separation from that moment. This thesis demonstrates ...

It cannot be doubted that medieval devotion towards the cults of saints was a physical affair, involving touching, kissing and even crawling as a way of coming into direct contact with the intercessory power of the divine. Expressions of the physicality of this type of worship can be seen in the design of the architectural and decorative schemes of medieval foramina-type saints’ shrines, and permeate the artistic elements of these sacred locales. Few survive, but in the stained glass and illuminated manuscripts of the twelfth right through to the fifteenth century, pilgrims are depicted crawling into them, kissing the shrine through its apertures, and bestowing ex voto offerings in the shape of infected or broken limbs. Whilst highlighting the variety of monumental architecture deployed in the space of cult churches, they also demonstrate the importance of the multi-sensory involvement of such locations.
This paper will explore the importance of sensory experience throughout the late twelfth to the early fifteenth-century, with a particular focus on the act of bodily participation with the divine, and how this was reflected in the architectural and visual structure of a saintly site. To illustrate the importance of sensory means of veneration towards the cults of saints, several stained glass images from the decorative frameworks of two of the most popular English shrines of the medieval period will be analysed; one of whom was a very locally venerated saint, and the other who was perhaps the most popular saint in the country for the majority of the Middle Ages.

The experience of architecture and imagery is a critical area of inquiry for pilgrimage studies. For example, how was the building perceived and interpreted? Who were the spectators, and what might the decoration have meant to them? In many cases devotional campaigns – material, architectural or decorative – worked as a visual link between building and spectator, communicating to them the function of the building. Pilgrimage art and architecture was, predominantly, designed to be seen and understood and, as such, played an integral role in the visitor’s experience of a space, accommodating and expecting multiple responses whilst inspiring a reaction of the senses. Thus, these aesthetic schemes communicated; they were intended to be read and cannot be divorced from the spaces they inhabited or the people they affected

BS/008, Berrick Saul Building, University of York, 9th June, 1:00-6:00pm

This workshop event gathers together five papers concerned with excessive, wasted, intransigent and sticky materialities in art and literature. Leading on from 'Forms of Excess' held at University of York in the Spring term, this event takes a closer look at how matter and materiality offer a different perspective on cultural production. Papers will consider new approaches to ecology and the ontology of materials, as well as relationships between different species. The workshop aims to test these ideas and to foster an environment for discussion and debate. It is open to all students and faculty members and we encourage attendance for either the whole or part of the event.