Art History Speaker Series

Barbara Abou-El-Haj
What's the Matter with Pilgrimage Studies? History, Historiography, Hagiography and the Camino de Santiago

POSTPONED due to weather

Yeager Recital Hall

Barbara Abou-El-Haj (Associate Professor and Chair of Studies in the History and Theory of Art and Architecture at SUNY- Binghamton) will present: “What's the Matter with Pilgrimage Studies? History, Historiography, Hagiography and the Camino de Santiago" in Yeager Recital Hall at 6:00 p.m.

Abou-el-Haj’s lecture will examine the role of pilgrims and pilgrimage, fundamental to the historiography of Santiago de Compostela, to ask what is overlooked and who is excluded in a history that concerns itself almost entirely with the consumption, not the production, of the cult of Saint James.

She will review the production of the cult in the twelfth century, the documentary sources for Santiago and their modern asymmetrical circulation. She will then trace the centerpiece of pilgrimage studies, the history of the Camino de Santiago (Route or Way of Saint James), its revival in the nineteenth century and its role in political ideology and cultural capital in the twentieth century from Franco’s Spain to its incarnation as an icon for European unity and a premier destination in the trans regional heritage industry.

A Journey of Friends: The Collaborative Art of the Theatrical Designers of Elon

Isabella Cannon Room, Center for the Arts

An exhibition that considers how theatrical design develops and impacts the choices made in theatre production. Renderings, models, sketches, antique garments and other source materials will be on view as well as costumes and props from recent productions. Exhibition continues through April 23.

Ken Hassell to speak at the Ackland Museum - Feb. 26

Ken Hassell, associate professor in the art department, has been invited to speak at the Ackland Museum of Art at UNC Chapel Hill in conjunction with their exhibition At The Heart Of Progress: Coal, Iron and Steam. The exhibition focuses on representations of the industrial revolution in imagery since 1750 also celebrates the Ackland's 50th anniversary. Hassell's presentation is part of a series of discussions on industrialization and the exhibition entitled Perspectives on Progress. The talk will feature his images and scholarship on coal mining in central Appalachia from historical and contemporary perspectives. It will take place Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. in the midst of the exhibition's main gallery.

A Preparation for Death

Arts West Gallery

Reception February 9, noon - 1:30.

Jean Sanders exhibition A Preparation for Death consists of photogravure prints utilizing the Buddhist meditative technique called Tonglin.