On Friday, November 2nd, LIASE had its second Art History related event, which was a faculty seminar with a presentation by Julia Orell and discussion moderated by Bonnie Cheng. Professor Orell received her PhD from the University of Chicago, has taught at the University of Zurich, and is currently teaching at the University of British Columbia. She held postdoctoral fellowships at the Getty Research Institute as well as Academia Sinica. Oberlin was excited to have her on campus for the event.
The seminar, which included around 16 professors, staff, and students, began with a presentation by Professor Orell called Place, Region and Empire in Song Painting. Orell discussed multiple scrolls and how their paintings related to the ecology of empire. For example, Orell used topographical landscape paintings from Song China in order to explore pictorial representation, such as how painters translate experiences and knowledge into pictorial form, as well as how landscape paintings’ specific sites and regions impact how people interact with the topography.
The seminar then turned to a lively group discussion. Participants talked about how audience and intended audience of the paintings influenced interpretation, the interplay between poetry, politics, and paintings, how realism could play into interpretations of the paintings, and much more.
The event was sponsored by LIASE, the Art History, East Asian Studies, and Environmental Studies Departments. LIASE would also like to give special thanks to Bonnie Cheng, Professor of Art History and East Asian Studies, for her work in bringing both Professor Orell and Liu to Oberlin for these events.
