ROUNDABOUT BLOG

Art historian Kellie Jones believes that “objects are our greatest evidence of history.” She says, “In the presence of objects, I see the narration of people’s lives, and cultures, and histories. I think art, art history, and culture narrate who we are as people on this planet.” Credit: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

WHAT IS ART HISTORY?

Art historians articulate the relationship between an art object and the historical and cultural context in which it was created. In doing so, they can help shape how contemporary viewers experience an object. Often, the biographical details of an artist also become the subject of an art historian’s work. Debate continues as to whether a viewer should or even can separate the artist from the art.

Someone with an art history degree might be employed as a professor, museum curator, art buyer, antiques dealer, appraiser for an auction house, or consultant for an art collector. What unites all of these professions is the desire and ability to research and discuss works of art. Art historians are concerned with who made a work, when and where it was made, and why it is significant.

WOMEN IN ART HISTORY

In patriarchal societies, male voices are generally held up as expert opinions, while female voices are considered less than -- if they are even considered at all. Art history, like many subjects, has long been dominated by the male point of view. It is now clear, however, that art history, like all history, benefits from a variety of perspectives.

In Apologia, the character of Kristin is a revolutionary. Her work as an art historian, and the personal sacrifices made in service of her professional efforts, helped shift the gender balance in the field. Many real-life women, like Linda Nochlin, Hayden Hererra, Kellie Jones, and Julia Bryan-Wilson, have similarly shifted the public’s perception of the artistic landscape. Through their work they have asked us to reexamine the canon, recenter artists who had been overlooked, and reshape our contemporary understanding of art and artists.

THE MASK

The complex history of British colonization and outright theft of objects from Africa make the mask in Apologia much more complicated than a simple gift. That Trudi, an American, is naive or willfully ignorant to this history while Kristin, a renowned art historian, is most certainly not, makes the moment even more fraught. Whatever the reason, Kristin’s initial reaction to the mask invites the audience to consider how they might react when presented with an artifact of dubious provenance and from a culture other than their own.

With heads raised and furrowed brows, these apostles shield their eyes from the bright glow of the angels and the golden halo around Jesus as they watch him ascend. Giotto’s paintings show people behaving as real people would. This is why many associate him with Humanism. Credit: Web Gallery of Art

GIOTTO di BONDONE

In Apologia, Kristin is a scholar of Giotto di Bondone. Of him she says, “He was a revolutionary. He took religious iconography and completely transformed it.” Giotto lived in Italy in the 14th century. He has come to be known as one of the most important painters of his time. His nuanced style broke with the traditional art of the Byzantine-Gothic period. No longer were the people in paintings depicted as flat and expressionless. Giotto painted Jesus not as an icon, but as a man capable of feeling emotion. When Jesus offers to wash his disciples’ feet, they display a range of emotion -- confusion, trepidation, shame, enthusiasm. All of Giotto’s figures, even those at the bottom of the hierarchy, were painted with realistic details to show their full humanity. This shift helped usher in what is known as the Renaissance, a period in which artists moved away from religious dogma, rediscovered classical art, and focused their work on the dignity and worth of the individual.

WHAT IS HUMANISM?

Renaissance Humanism is the name given to the prevailing philosophy from the early 1400s through mid 1600s. At this point in history, Europeans were moving from a belief in medieval supernaturalism to the modern scientific process. Scholars were returning to ideas initiated in Ancient Greece and Rome. They valued public dialogue and critical thinking. In art and literature, more emphasis was placed on aesthetics. Artists revealed and celebrated human emotion and individual experience.

Humanism is still a popular philosophy today. According to the American Humanist Association, “Humanism is a progressive lifestance that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead meaningful, ethical lives capable of adding to the greater good of humanity.”

Apologia is playing at the Laura Pels Theatre through December 16, 2018. For tickets and information, please visit our website.