GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH GRANT: Art and architecture across borders in the medieval world APPLICATIONS DUE 15 SEPTEMBER 2023 This grant of $500 is intended to support an early-stage graduate student’s research on the theme of art that crosses the borders or peripheries of the medieval world. Funds should support research and/or dissemination of scholarship, which … Continue Reading
Call for papers/roundtable participation: American Gothic sessions, ICMS 2023
We are looking for participant proposals for our sessions at the 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies, to be held at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 11-May 13 2023. The “American Gothic” sessions (three sessions of papers and one roundtable) take a historiographical turn, and we are looking for participants interested in analyzing … Continue Reading
ICMS Kalamazoo Abstracts, 2022
Restoring Medieval Art and Architecture I: Technology in Documentation and Research “Visualizing Time: Analyzing and Documenting Layers of Polychromy on the Last Judgment Portal of Notre-Dame,” Jennifer M. Feltman, University of Alabama The sculptures of the west façade of Notre-Dame in Paris were originally richly painted or polychromed. Flesh tones and rouge enlivened the faces … Continue Reading
Opus Magnum – The Great Restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris
A webinar discussion of the progress of restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral three years after the fire of 15 April 2019, with French architectural historian and renovation consultant Dany Sandron, along with AVISTA architectural historians involved with the work, Jennifer Feltman and Lindsay Cook. This event was jointly sponsored by the Valencia College East Campus Humanities … Continue Reading
Call for Papers: 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 9th-14th 2022
AVISTA sponsored sessions: Restoring Medieval Art and Architecture I: Technology in Documentation and Research Restoring Medieval Art and Architecture II: Technology and Concepts of Authenticity Restoring Medieval Art and Architecture III: Technology and Access Critical discourse surrounding the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame of Paris following the disastrous 2019 fire indicates the continued existence of … Continue Reading
AVISTA at ICMS 2021
The International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo is going to be held virtually this year, but there are many AVISTA-related events to attend! The Congress is being held over Zoom; information and registration links may be found here: https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress Registrants should watch for the full 2021 Congress website to go live on May 7th. The … Continue Reading
Year in Review: 2020
The unprecedented difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic meant the regretful, but necessary, cancellation of many AVISTA activities. In May, we successfully held our 2020 business meeting in a virtual format. Due to the cancellation of the ICMS in 2020, AVISTA has chosen the option to present our planned sessions at the 2021 congress. The 2021 … Continue Reading
Launch of AVISTA Series with Brill
AVISTA is proud to announce our book series with Brill! AVISTA Studies in the History of Medieval Technology, Science and Art. Editor-in-Chief: Jennifer M. Feltman, University of Alabama Editorial Board: Robert Bork, University of Iowa; George Brooks, Valencia College; Ellen Shortell, Massachusetts College of Art & Design; Sarah Thompson, Rochester Institute of Technology AVISTA Studies … Continue Reading
Villard’s Hydraulic Saw
Reconstruction of the hydraulic saw drawn by Villard de Honnecourt created by Buzz Dawson and George Brooks, based on earlier work of Jean-Pierre Adam and François Bucher.
Villard’s Hammerwheel
A short video of a physical reconstruction of Villard de Honnecourt’s sketch of a “machine that moves itself”, that is, a supposed perpetual motion machine. To give you the long version short: it is NOT a perpetual motion machine. In fact, it works as a self-braking wheel because the center of gravity is always below … Continue Reading