Materialities

 The materials used to create works of art, architecture, and visual culture reveal connections between these objects and the circumstances under which they are produced, displayed, and encountered by viewers.  Moving beyond what an object looks like and delving into what it is made of elicits questions about natural resource extraction, environmental impact, trade, and conquest across the globe.  Materials also inform how we perceive objects as visual and tactile presences, and impact how we display and attempt to preserve them.

• What distinguishes a medium from a material?
• How does focusing on the materiality of visual culture inform the way we understand historical networks of trade and distribution, locally and globally?
• Why have artists manipulated materials in particular ways in particular times and places, and how does their attention to their chosen medium inflect the meaning of works of art?