It’s a new year and Nerd Nite is back with three fresh talks for you! We’ll have presentations with an art and design flavor for you this evening, from prehistoric rock art to renaissance reliquaries to design considerations for bowl makers. We will be ready to welcome you and take your dollar at 7 and presentations will start at 8. See you then!
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10 – Maceli’s 1031 New Hampshire
Doors open at 7, Presentations start at 8
Cost is one US dollar or coin.
Our presentations:
“Buxom Women, Men in Kilts and Dogs with Curly Tails – Arabian Rock Art Captures a Glimpse of Ancient Life,” by Sandra Olson
“Hallowed Bones and Holy Foreskin: Relics and Reliquaries in Early Modern Europe” by Ashley Offill
Relics – pieces of bone, remnants of blood, entire bodies, and other odd objects believed to hold the essence of the holy – possessed religious and cultural power beyond their often unsettling origins. Whether hidden away in glorious golden reliquary statues or proudly displayed behind rock crystal, relics inspired grandiose displays, dastardly deeds, and miraculous happenings. This talk will explore some of the wonderful weirdness of early modern relics and reliquaries.
“Simple as a Bowl: Why Some Bowls Aren’t Ice Cream Bowls,” by Larry Brow
A bowl’s form should reflect its function. Ceramicist Larry Brow will discuss the design challenges of making bowls with emphasis on handmade bowls such as those you (yes you!) could acquire if you attend the upcoming Souper Bowl fundraiser at the Lawrence Arts Center.
About the Presenters:
Dr. Sandra Olsen is a zooarchaeologist who has focused much of her career on the investigation of horse domestication, directing excavations of Copper Age sites and doing research in Kazakhstan. In recent years, she has turned to advanced imaging of petroglyphs in Saudi Arabia, with particular interest in the impact of climate change on the Arabian Peninsula.
Ashley Offill is a Ph.D. candidate in History of Art at KU who is writing her dissertation on the relic cult of St. Andrea Corsini in Florence. Her research interests include issues of early modern art and culture such as commemoration, celebration, viewership, reception, and theatricality, and getting way too excited about how people decorate dead bodies.
Larry Brow is a graduate of Lawrence High School, Grinnell College, the University of Iowa, and KU, with degrees in History, Ceramics, and Museum Studies. He is a lifelong member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and a former Lawrence Arts Center Ceramics Instructor. He currently works at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at KU and is a Certified Archivist.