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Sixth Annual Bay Area
Undergraduate
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ART HISTORY
RESEARCH
SYMPOSIUM
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de Young Museum, Koret Auditorium
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
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Saturday, April 25, 2015
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Reception to follow, Museum Café Terrace
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K OOLHAAS C URATOR
SEBASTIAN MANCERA, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
FACULTY MENTOR: THOMAS BEISCHER
The annual Bay Area Undergraduate Art History Research
Symposium began in 2010 as a forum to present the
research of undergraduate art historians from St. Mary’s
College of California, Dominican University, Santa Clara
University, and the University of San Francisco. Today, it
has grown to include speakers from four additional
institutions - Mills College, Sonoma State University, San
Francisco State University, and Stanford University – and
graduate student respondents from the University of
California, Berkeley. Many thanks to all the participating
colleges and universities, including the student speakers,
faculty mentors, and graduate student respondents. We are
especially grateful to the de Young Museum for their
support of this event.
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Abstract
The 2014 Venice architecture biennale, “Fundamentals”, presented
viewers with an overwhelming amount of information and
perspectives on the basic tenets and components of the architectural
world. Rem Koolhaas, the famous Dutch architect and curator of
the year’s biennale effort, called on the visitor to resolve these
conflicting narratives, a process that Koolhaas began early with his
practice OMA, as seen in his noted early publication SMLXL. This
process reached its loudest expression at the Biennale where
hundreds collaborated to produce the vast quantities of information
exhibited and where Koolhaas served as a rallying voice, urging the
viewer to deconstruct the profession and formulate new questions
to join the author(s) as fellow interrogators. My paper will examine
this curatorial strategy, from SMLXL to the Biennale, to show that
the latter was, in a sense, not only the culmination of both Koolhaas’
exploration into the exhibition typology, but also of his career-long
skeptical dissection of architecture, and the removal of the architect
as its head.
Biography
Sebastian Mancera was born in Mexico City in 1992. He moved to
D.C. soon after and lived there for ten years before moving back to
Mexico City at the end of elementary school. He is a senior at
Stanford studying Architectural Design in the Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering and plans to work for two years
before heading to graduate school.
11
ORDER OF EVENTS
C HAN GIN G S PACES : P OLITICAL A CTIV ISM IN THE
F INE A RTS W ORK OF A LFREDO J AAR AND F ÉLIX
G ONZÁLEZ -T ORRES
EMILY VANAGS, SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
Introduction and Welcome, Dr. Meryl Bailey, Assistant Professor,
Mills College
FACULTY MENTOR: RICHARD MANN
The Mystery of the Olmec Colossal Heads, Annabelle Maginnis,
Dominican University
Abstract
Confrontation is an essential element for a viewer’s interaction and
understanding of a political artwork, as well as an effective means of
communication for awareness, protest, and ultimately change. I will
be exploring Alfredo Jaar and Félix González-Torres’s fine artwork
as it relates to political activism. These two artists are by no means
the most influential politically, nor are they the most influential
artists in recent history. However, their work is married in their
respective movements from the gallery to the streets whilst retaining
their fine arts quality and political messages. This method is
incredibly successful, but a more interesting question is “why?”
Biography
Emily Vanags is currently attending SFSU to achieve a BA in Art
History and Studio Art. She plans to attend graduate school in
England to fulfill her goals of becoming an art museum curator.
SESSION I
Ritual Accumulation: African and European Power Objects,
Anna Behrens, Santa Clara University
Divine Sight: Shared Visions and the Birth of the Medieval
Pietà, Julia Ballenger, University of San Francisco
Failed Exorcisms: Colonial Hauntings in Filipino SelfPortraits from the Paulino Que Collection, France Viana, Mills
College
Response and questions
SESSION II
Sweet Dreams and Grim Nightmares: An Examination of the
Increasing Moral Ambivalence of Sleeping Beauty Illustrations
During and After World War I, Tenae Stewart, Sonoma State
University
Remnants of War: The Role of Trauma in Contemporary Art,
Natalie de la Torre, St. Mary’s College of California
Changing Spaces: Political Activism in the Fine Arts Work of
Alfredo Jaar and Félix González-Torres, Emily Vanags, San
Francisco State University
Koolhaas Curator, Sebastian Mancera, Stanford University
Response and questions
Respondents:
William Ma, University of California, Berkeley
Grace Harpster, University of California, Berkeley
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3
T HE M YSTERY OF THE O LM EC C OLOSSAL H EADS
ANNABELLE MAGINNIS, DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY
FACULTY MENTOR: LESLIE ROSS
Abstract
This paper discusses the Olmec civilization’s mysterious colossal
heads. There is much speculation that the heads have a correlation
with the Olmec “were-jaguar” myth. “Were-jaguars” appear
throughout Olmec art including figurines, temple engravings, and
sculptures often associated with shamanism. The jaguar motif also
appears as a giant paw print upon the forehead of the colossal heads.
Physical abnormalities of the “were-jaguar” people are quite
consistent. The phenomenon of Down Syndrome (DS) shares many
of the facial features of the “were-jaguar” people. This paper
suggests that DS may be an alternative explanation for the facial
characteristics of the colossal heads. From these limited records, it
may be suggested that the Olmec people, who went on to influence
the Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations, displayed not only a
tolerance for such deformities, but even a reverence.
Biography
Annabelle Maginnis is earning her Bachelor’s degree this Spring with
a double-major in both Art History and Psychology and a minor in
Fine Arts from Dominican University of California. The paper
represents a continuation of a class assignment for a Latin American
Art History course with Dr. Heidi Chretien that combines
Annabelle’s educational interests. She hopes to eventually earn a
Masters in Education.
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R EM N AN TS OF W AR : T HE R OLE OF T RAUMA IN
C ONTEMPORARY A RT
NATALIE DE LA TORRE, ST. MARY’S COLLEGE OF
CALIFORNIA
FACULTY MENTOR: ANNA NOVAKOV
Abstract
The works of Gerhard Richter (b. February 9, 1932, Dresden,
Germany), Anselm Kiefer (b. March 8, 1945, Donaueschingen,
Germany), and Gottfried Helnwein (b. October 8, 1948, Vienna,
Austria) are laden with indications that they have suffered traumatic
experiences although they are all stylistically different. All three men
were born on the periphery of World War II, and are thus tied
together by the experience of being born into a time of great distress
caused by a war that was heavily fought in, and ultimately was lost
by their countries. By analyzing their work, I aim to discover more
about the trauma felt by an entire generation of people which is
expressed by the art of these men. There are varying opinions about
the role of art in the lives of those touched by this war and the
Holocaust, opinions which can be explored by researching the art
created and emotions expressed by these brave artists’ sometimes
disturbing images.
Biography
Natalie De La Torre is from Sacramento. She is majoring in
Art History and Italian Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California.
She will be attending the University of California, Davis in Fall 2015
to earn her Masters in the History of Art.
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S W EET D REAMS AND G RIM N IGHTMARES : A N
E XAM INATION OF THE I NCREASING M ORAL
A MBIVALEN CE OF S LEEPIN G B EAUTY
I LLUSTRATION S D URIN G AN D A FTER W ORLD W AR
I
TENAE STEWART, SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY MENTOR: JENNIFER SHAW
Abstract
Artists Harry Clarke and Arthur Rackham individually produced
illustrations of Sleeping Beauty between 1916 and 1922, some of which
were even used as propaganda during World War I. This paper
examines the ways in which Sleeping Beauty illustrations during and
after the war interpreted the tale in increasingly gruesome and sexual
ways and showed a greater sense of loneliness, vulnerability, violence
and eroticism than earlier Victorian illustrations of the same story.
Forgoing the chivalry and heroism of the Victorians and their
predecessors, both Clarke and Rackham’s illustrations ofSleeping
Beauty stand as popular, artistic signposts of the cultural pessimism
that followed the war.
Biography
Growing up just north of California's Wine Country, Tenae Stewart
was exposed to art from a young age by her grandmother and
developed a specific interest in art history during high school.
Currently, she is attending Sonoma State University and will
graduate in May 2015 with a Bachelor’s of Art History. In addition
to classes, Tenae also works as the University Art Gallery assistant
and volunteers as an art teacher at a private elementary school.
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R ITUAL A CCUMULATION : A FRICAN AND
E UROPEAN P OW ER O BJECTS
ANNA BEHRENS, SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY
FACULTY MENTOR: BLAKE DE MARIA
Abstract
Common themes such as spiritual embodiment and material
accumulation characterize the ritualized ornamentation expressed by
both African and European power objects. The traditional Western
perception of ornamentation grew out of a separate dialogue that
shaped their aesthetic opinions differently from that of the African
tradition. Therefore, when comparing the application of ornament,
their origins and significance must be examined through deep
historical context and visual analysis. Different manifestations occur
in African and European ornamentation of power objects, revealing
the innate social relationship between the intercessor and the
objects, which enforce the function and efficacy of the object.
Biography
Anna Behrens is a senior Art History and Communications double
major at Santa Clara University. She has a great passion for art from
varying cultural and aesthetic traditions, which inspired her to
compare art from European and African traditions. Post graduation
she hopes to pursue a career in the art world and eventually
continue her education.
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D IVINE S IGHT : S HARED V ISIONS AND THE B IRTH
OF THE M EDIEV AL P IETÀ
JULIA BALLENGER, UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
FACULTY MENTOR: CATHERINE LUSHECK
Abstract
The iconographic image of Mary holding the crucified Christ is
commonly known by its Italian name Pietà, made famous by
Michelangelo’s marble version in St. Peter’s Basilica (1498-99). Well
before Michelangelo, the first pietàs (called vesperbilds) emerged in
Dominican convents along the Upper Rhine in Germany in the early
13th century as small devotional objects. Scholars attribute their
creation in part to the content of devotional sermons delivered by
Dominican preachers in northern convents of Beguine nuns. These
sermons focused on encouraging the nuns to identify personally
with Mary and her son, and on helping them to enter into a more
personal relationship with the holy by expanding their imagination.
Focusing on the so-called Röttgen Pietà, c. 1300-25 (Rheinisches
Landesmuseum, Bonn), I will argue that the origins of the pietà are
very much indebted to a changing, northern convent culture at the
turn of the 13th century. As the focus of group spiritual visions, early
vesperbilds functioned as essential visual instruments in supporting
collective spiritual visions within the convent.
Biography
Julia Ballenger is a currently a senior at the University of San
Francisco and will graduate with a double major in Art History/Arts
Management and Fine Arts in May. After graduation she plans to
continue her study of early modern European art history, with an
emphasis on German art.
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F AILED E XORCISMS : C OLONIAL H AUNTINGS IN F ILIPINO
S ELF -P ORTRAITS FROM THE P AULINO Q UE C OLLECTION
FRANCE VIANA, MILLS COLLEGE
FACULTY MENTOR: MERYL BAILEY
Abstract
In 2012, Paulino Que, the foremost private contemporary Philippine
art collector, exhibited one hundred self-portraits by Filipino artists
from his collection at the Finale Art File gallery in Makati,
Philippines. This exhibition remains the most thorough survey of
Philippine portraiture ever assembled, spanning two hundred years
and including works by nine Philippine National Artists. The
exhibition reveals how successive eras of Spanish, Japanese and
American colonization left deep cultural marks on Filipinos,
resulting in many of these artists depicting themselves in relationship
to the Other of their colonizers. They employ relational strategies
ranging from mimicry to mockery, stopping to recover indigenous
historical narratives, before arriving at integration. This talk
investigates colonial hauntings in Philippine self-portraits, tracing
artists’ valiant attempts at evocation and exorcism of their
conquerors, in search of their own contemporary identities.
Biography
France Viana, a visual artist, founded the Diviana gallery, the first
fine art photography gallery in Manila. She studied in Switzerland
and Spain and recently returned to school for a B.A. in Art History
at Mills College to inform her work in visual culture, advertising and
arts management. At Mills, she received the Dhaemers Art History
Award and served as research assistant to Dr. Moira Roth. She is a
board member of Philippine International Aid, former board
member of the Center for Asian American Media, and was named a
Filipina Women’s Network 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in
the U.S. in 2011.
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