Panel 1
Methods for Turning Back the Clock
Panel Chair - Dr. Allison Morehead, Queen’s University
Friday, February 9, 2024
10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. EST
Beyond Du Hua (Reading Paintings): Revisiting Chinese Art Scholarship with Xu Longsen's Shanshui Paintings
Yujie “Tracey” Lan, East Asian Studies, University of Toronto
The contemporary Chinese artist Xu Longsen famous for his large-scale landscape paintings says in an interview that when he paints, he simultaneously respects and rejects the Chinese shanshui (山水landscape) painting tradition. This paper utilizes Xu's artworks, studio photos, and interviews to examine what aspects of his art are traditional and what are not. Drawing inspiration from art historian Wu Hung's spatial method, this project also highlights how Xu's shanshui creations transcend mere paintings, evolving into intentional and contemporary spatial installations.
Du hua 讀畫 (read painting) is a traditional approach employed in premodern Chinese art scholarship. Rather than focusing on directly observing paintings, du hua emphasizes the analysis of texts about the painting, such as seals on the painting and previous commentaries by famous scholars. While acknowledging the lasting impact of du hua on contemporary Chinese art engagement, the research challenges its monopoly as the definitive method. By showcasing Xu Longsen's shanshui installations, the project encourages a shift from “reading” to “feeling” and “experiencing” Chinese paintings. This paper hence connects to the “affect” discourses in art history scholarship while encouraging scholars and viewers of Chinese art to redefine their methods and concepts and facilitating a deeper appreciation of the multifaceted nature of shanshui art in the contemporary context.
This presentation contributes to the broader conference themes by exploring how contemporary artists engage with traditional forms, shaping narratives that bridge the temporal gap between past and present. The project prompts a re-evaluation of traditional Chinese art history methods, inviting scholars and enthusiasts to reconsider the ways in which they perceive and interact with traditional Chinese paintings in the modern era.
Yujie “Tracey” Lan is an MA candidate in East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto. Previously, she graduated summa cum laude with an honours BA in Global China Studies from New York University Shanghai. Trained in Chinese history, Tracey enjoys revealing how everyday objects can tell us about something big or untold of a certain historical period. Born to parents who were trained in art, Tracey also grew up practicing different art genres while keeping a casual sketchbook diary. In her art history research projects, Tracey has been fascinated about how artists utilize the tradition to innovate and advocate for something new. In her free time, Tracey is also a content creator with 60k followers.
How Many Conservators Does it Take to Treat a Watercolour?
Frances Opferman, Art Conservation, Queen’s University
Previous conservation and restoration efforts are informative about the history of an individual artwork. James Crowe Richmond was a 19th century watercolorist and member of the New Zealand Parliament. He painted large picturesque landscapes of New Zealand, and many of his watercolors are held at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa. Our watercolor, dated 1874, was accepted into the Queen’s Art Conservation Program several years ago and multiple conservators have examined its condition, performed treatments, and undertaken scientific analysis. The watercolor was restored prior to coming to Queen’s, as evidenced by overpaint and pastel masking scratches and water damage. It had also been adhered to a fabric, which was stretched on a strainer, and framed without protective glazing, leaving the watercolor exposed to the environment. The watercolor’s pre-treatment state was heavily discolored, brown, and dull, which contrasted significantly with the vibrancy of Richmond’s other works. The discoloration was likely due to oxidation from exposure to cigarette smoke. Treatment of the watercolor required understanding what damage past restorers and conservators had observed, and more importantly, what they did to hide or repair it. This entailed studying past documentation, closely examining the watercolor in its current state, and performing additional scientific analysis to corroborate previous assumptions and answer new questions. Once the condition and history of the piece was understood, treatment could begin (again). Conservators are often asked to treat artworks that may have been restored in the past by another conservator, an amateur, or by someone using methods that were at one point historically appropriate but are no longer used. Understanding an artwork’s past is key to evaluating its present state and how to best preserve it for the future.
Frances Opferman is in her second and final year of the Master of Art Conservation program at Queen’s University, specializing in paper conservation. For her master’s research project, she is studying the composition, solubility, and light sensitivity of artist-grade and student-grade colored pencils. Frances comes to Queen’s from Indianapolis, Indiana where she completed her undergraduate degree at Purdue University, with a major in art history and minors in anthropology and studio art. Frances has worked in custom framing, bookbinding, and collections management, and has completed paper conservation internships at the Indiana State Library and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Upon graduating from Queen’s, Frances aims to work in an exhibition-driven cultural institution where she can treat artworks, as well as continue research in artist media and novel conservation treatments.
Graffitiing the Ivory Tower: Graphic Representations of Canadian Military History
Rebecca Hartley, History, Queen’s University
How does the interpretation of history change when narratives are illustrated rather than written? Do these “graphic histories” appeal to certain audiences, or can the format be adapted for broad public consumption? Does this presentation of history change when a graphic format is used to represent a specific genre, such as military history?
This presentation examines how graphic history makes military history accessible to different audiences. The jargon of historical scholarship and the cost-barriers of academic journals mean that the traditional distribution of historical knowledge is often targeted towards a very small group of people confined within the boundaries of academia. I argue that the medium of graphic history makes the genre of military history accessible to a breadth of different audiences that would otherwise be excluded from scholarly narratives. Crucially, graphic history can be adapted to interest niche groups, including those outside of academia, as the characteristics of the graphic format allow for creative adaptation to effectively represent the narratives being told.
I address my topic by applying a critical lens to four recent examples of military history that have been represented in graphic format: He would be expected to crack: Battle Exhaustion, Desertion and the Court Martial of Lieutenant R. J. Woods, by Matthew Barrett, which is the first peer-reviewed comic to appear in an academic history journal; a narrative by David Robertson about the sniper Francis Pegahmagabow from the collection of Indigenous graphic histories, This Place: 150 Years Retold; and the 2016-2017 graphic exhibit Deadly Skies at the Canadian War Museum. These varied pieces of graphic history represent distinct audiences for the genre of military history and offer insights into how graphic formats can build empathy by emphasizing the subjective nature of historical interpretation.
Rebecca Hartley holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and Anthropology (Hons.) from the University of Victoria in British Columbia. In 2022, she used graphic representations in her own work for the first time to illustrate an oral history about two pen pals in Canada and East Germany. She is now pursuing her Master’s degree in History at Queen’s University. Rebecca’s current research focuses on the historicization of public history and how representations of historical knowledge have influenced cultural identities. She is particularly interested in the colonialist roles of museums and how different audiences have historically engaged with "the past" in exhibit spaces.
Rebecca has worked and volunteered in heritage for six years. Before coming to Queen’s, she was a Collections Technician at the Royal BC Museum where she catalogued and packed various collections in preparation for the museum’s move to a new Collections and Research Building.