The conference is a cooperation between The A. Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Poland and The University of Bergen, Norway.

The conference will run in a hybrid form. Members of the public who want to participate in it virtually, through Microsoft Teams, are kindly asked to contact Ms. Anna Lach: [email protected]

The conference will take place in Białystok at the: The A. Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok

September 16th (Thursday)
10.00 – 12.00 Registration
12.00 – 13.00 Opening session
Welcome speech from Head of The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok, Prof. Marta Rau
Welcome speech of Prof. Henning Laugerud – Department of Linguistic, Literary, and Aesthetic Studies University of Bergen, Norway

13.15 – 13.45 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Prof. Hans Henrik Lohfert Jørgensen – Aarhus University, Denmark
Four Fundamental Concepts Of Animation – Mechanical And Organic, Supernatural And Phenomenological
13.45 – 14.00 Discussion

SESSION 1: FRAMEWORKS OF MOVEMENT

  • 14.00 – 14.20 Dr. Kamil Kopania – The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok, Poland: What Does It Mean: Animation In The Middle Ages?
  • 14.20 – 14.40 Jordan Koel – University of Michigan, USA: The Reciprocity Of Medieval Images: Interaction And Exchange With Medieval “Things”

14.40 – 14.50 Q&A
14.50 – 16.00 Lunch break

  • 16.00 – 16.20 Dr. Michelle Oing – Stanford University, USA: Staging Signs of Life: Art, Theater, and the Animated Image
  • 16.20-16.40 Dr. Mads Vedel Heilskov – The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK: The Divine Interface: Surface Treatments of Medieval Movable Crucifixes

16.40 – 17.00 Q&A

SESSION 2: ANIMATION AND AGENCY

  • 17.00 – 17.20 Prof. Jørgen Bakke – University of Bergen, Norway: Technological Animation Of Images And Byzantine Iconoclasm
  • 17.20 – 17.40 Dr. Vladimir Ivanovici – University of Vienna / Universita’ della Svizzera Italiana, Mendrisio, Switzerland: Animating Disembodied Presence In Late Antique Martyria
  • 17.40 – 18.00 Dr. Ruth Sargent Noyes – National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark: Re-Animating The Middle Ages: Manufacturing Corpisanti Roman Catacomb Relic-Sculptures And Early Modern Revivals Of Agentive Matter

18.00 – 18.20 Q&A

  • 18.20 – 18.40 Dr. Alessia Zubani – University of Bologna, Italy: Technological Animation As Expression Of Caliphal Authority At The Abbasid Court
  • 18.40 – 19.00 Laurens Hwai-Gi Tan – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium: Animation Within The West Javanese Wayang Golek As Bearer Of Life

19.00 – 19.15 Q&A
19.30 “HOW I UNLEASHED THE END …”
“How I Unleash the End …” is a stop-motion animation with live music performed by third-year students of The National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok. A short story revealing one of the possible scenarios of the end of the world. An attempt to answer such questions as What (or who) is death? What would make the world cease to exist? The answer to these puzzling questions will be given in a light, humorous and poetic way.
Authors of animations and music: Aleksandra Muszyńska, Karina Maria Giemza, Dawid Mkrtchyan, Maciej Grzegorczyk
Artistic supervision: Dr. Agnieszka Makowska
Duration: 15 minutes
19:45 END OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE CONFERENCE

September 17th (Friday)
09.00 – 09.30 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Prof. Carla Bino – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Brescia, Italy
Screen, Window, Door. Three Devices To Understand Animation In The Middle Ages
09.30 – 09.45 Discussion
09.45 – 10.00 Coffee break

SESSION 3: MATERIALIZING THE MOVE

  • 10.00 – 10.20 Dr. Laura Katrine Skinnebach – Aarhus University, Denmark: An Animated Saint – The Case Of St George In Sweden
  • 10.20 – 10.40 Elisabeth Andersen – Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning, Oslo, Norway: Motion And Emotion – Animated Angels In The Rite Of Baptism
  • 10.40 – 11.00 Wojciech Sowała – Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland: Strategies Of Animation. The Case Of Saint John The Baptist’s Head On The Platter

11.00 – 11.20 Q&A

  • 11.20 – 11.40 Dr. Zuzanna Sarnecka – University of Warsaw, Poland: Sculpture On The Move: Three-Dimensional Animation In Italian Late Medieval Home
  • 11.40 – 12.00 Agnieszka Dziki – University of Warsaw, Poland: “I Carve My Figures Fine And Make Them Come To Life”. The Animation Of Late Medieval Kleinplastik
  • 12.00 – 12.20 Diana Rafaela Pereira – CITCEM, University of Porto, Portugal: Enshrinement And Animation: Clothing Statues In Early Modern Portugal And Spain

12.20 – 12.40 Q&A
12.40 – 13.40 Lunch break

SESSION 4: ANIMATED CRUCIFIXES

  • 13.40 – 14.00 Dr. Christophe Chaguinian – University of North Texas, USA: Were There Articulated Christs Before The 14Th Century?
  • 14.00 – 14.20 Dr. María José Martínez Martínez – Universidad de Valladolid, Spain: The Santo Cristo De Burgos, Spain. An Articulated, Gothic Crucified With Great Devotional, Artistic And Anthropological Impact
  • 14.20 – 14.40 Agata Stasińska – National Museum in Wrocław, Poland: Animated Sculpture Of The Crucified Christ From Oleśnica – A Unique Trace Of Late Gothic Piety In Silesia

14.40 – 15.00 Q&A
15.00 – 15.20 Coffee break

  • 15.20 – 15.40 Dr. Alexandra R. A. Lee – New York University London, UK: Blood, Sweat And Tears: Animated Crucifixes And The Bianchi Devotions Of 1399
  • 15.40 – 16.00 Vincenzo Amato – Independent scholar, restorer, Molfetta, Italy: The Dramatic Peculiarities Of The “Speaking” Crucifix From The Church Of Our Lady Of Sorrows In Norcia (Umbria, Italy): Comparison And Grouping Hypothesis Of Mechanical Tongue Animations Of German-Made Crucifixes In Italy, During The XV Century
  • 16.00 – 16.20 Dr. Sara Carreńo – University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain: Materiality, Naturalism And Animation In The 14Th-Century Santos Cristos Of Ourense And Fisterra (Galicia)

16.20 – 16.40 Q&A
16.40 – 17.00 Coffee break

17.00 – 17.30 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Dr. Peter Dent – University of Bristol, UK
“To Which The Crucifix Replied”: The Phenomenology Of The Animate Image
17.30 – 17.50 Discussion

SESSION 5: SHIFTING BETWEEN TEXTS AND IMAGES

  • 17.50 – 18.10 Dr. Elena Paroli – ENS – École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France: From “Imago Loquens” To “Imago Eloquens”: The Animation Of Painting In Petrarch And Boccaccio, As A Form Of Mental Animation
  • 18.10 – 18.30 Dr. Joanna Sikorska – National Museum in Warsaw, Poland: Animated Printmaking: Critical Approach
  • 18.30 – 18.50 Dr. Martin Roland – Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Austria: Performance And Image Cycles – How The Middle Ages Use The “Popular Style”

18.50 – 19.10 Q&A
19.10 – 19.20 Coffee break

  • 19.20 – 19.40 Hartley Roxanne Miller – Independent Scholar, Bucharest, Romania: “Ces Ymages Bien Avisé”: The Texture Of Animation And Interpretation In Guillaume De Lorris’s Roman De La Rose
  • 19.40 – 20.00 Prof. Nicola Pasqualicchio – University of Verona, Italy: Tervagant And Saint Nicholas. A Duel Between Images In Jean Bodel’s Li Jus De Saint Nicholai

20.00 – 20.15 Q&A
20.15 END OF THE SECOND DAY OF THE CONFERENCE

September 18th (Saturday)
08.30 – 09.00 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Dr. Amy R. Whitehead – Massey University, New Zealand
Marian Personhood And A Matter Of Power: Animism and The Dynamics Of Devotion In Andalusia, Spain
09.00 – 09.20 Discussion

SESSION 6: ENLIVENED BY THE LIGHT

  • 09.20 – 09.40 Dr. Kaja Kollandsrud – Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway: The Holy Animated Through Light Embodied In Medieval Church Art
  • 09.40 – 10.00 Prof. Barbara Schellewald, Dr. Peter Fornaro – University of Basel, Switzerland: Images And Their Animation/Vitalization Through Light In The Middle Ages
  • 10.00 – 10.20 Dr. Vera Henkelmann – University of Erfurt, Germany: “And There Appeared A Great Wonder In Heaven” (Rev 12,1) – Staging The Maria Apocalyptica In The Late Medieval Church Interior By Means Of Chandeliers Of The Virgin Mary

10.20 – 10.35 Q&A
10.35 – 10.50 Coffee break

SESSION 7: MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL ANIMATION

  • 10.50 – 11.10 Eleonora Tioli – Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy / University of Fribourg, Switzerland: Moving Images, Living Images. The Possibilities Of Miraculous Movement In The Middle Ages
  • 11.10 – 11.30 Katharina Roßmy – Independent scholar, Munich, Germany: Mental Animation Of Early Pietàs
  • 11.30 – 11.50 Kaja Merete Hagen – University of Oslo, Norway: “Protect Me And All Christian People From All That Can Harm Us”. Miraculous Crosses And Crucifixes In Late Medieval Norway
  • 11.50 – 12.10 Dr. Lieke Smiths – Ruusbroec Institute, University of Antwerp, Belgium: Scripted Embraces: The Song Of Songs, Spiritual Role-Play And The Animation Of The Crucified Christ

12.10 – 12.30 Q&A
12.30 – 13.30 Lunch break

SESSION 8: ANIMATION AND SPACE

  • 13.30 – 13.50 Anna Zakova – Charles University, Prague, The Czech Republic: Animation Of Holy Week From Saint-Georges Monastery In Prague. From Repertory To Architectural Elements
  • 13.50 – 14.10 Dr. Ferenc Veress – Szeged University, Hungary: Staging The Eucharist. Sacred Space And Liturgical Practices During The Celebration Of The Epiphany (6Th–15Th C.)
  • 14.10 – 14.30 Dr. Maeve O’Donnell-Morales – University of Bristol, UK: Altarpieces As Aids To Animation: Marian Retables And Tabernacle Retables In Medieval Spain

14.30 – 14.50 Q&A

  • 14.50 – 15.10 Helene Seewald – Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, Germany: The Carved Altarpiece As A Projected Image: High Altar Retable In St. Nicolai Church In Kalkar
  • 15.10 – 15.30 Prof. Cora Dietl – Universität Gießen, Germany: Animation As Means To Illustrate An Active Threat: Dragons In Fifteenth-, Sixteenth- And Twenty-First-Century Plays About St George
  • 15.30 – 15.50 Dr. Letha Ch’ien – Sonoma State University, USA: Moving Pieces, Permanent Parts
  • 15.50 – 16.10 Laura Stefanescu – University of Sheffield, UK: Animating Heaven In Fifteenth-Century Florence: From Theatrical Materiality To The Collective Imaginary

16.10 – 16.30 Q&A
16.30 – 17.00 Coffee break

SESSION 9: PAINTED ANIMATION

  • 17.00 – 17.20 Dr. Heather A. Reid – Pacific Union College, California [retired Professor]: Animating Early Netherlandish Genre Painting With Strategically Placed Artists’ Signatures
  • 17.20 – 17.40 Andrei Dumitrescu – New Europe College, Bucharest, Romania / Central European University in Vienna, Austria: The Virgin In The Whirling Star: Questions On The Performative Dimension Of Ecclesiastical Wall Paintings From Late 15Th – And Early 16Th-Century Moldavia
  • 17.40 – 18.00 Dr. Yuko Katsutani – University of Strasbourg, France: The Function Of Images And The Memory Of A Place. Angel Musicians Vault Decorations At The End Of The Middle Ages
  • 18.00 – 18.20 Maria D. Anghel – Central European University in Vienna, Austria: The Animated Man Of Sorrows: Staging The Bodily Presence Of Christ In 14Th- And 15Th-Century Wall Paintings From The Former Hungarian Kingdom

18.20 – 18.40 Q&A
C. 18.45: END OF THE THIRD DAY OF THE CONFERENCE
19.30 – 24.00 OFFICIAL DINNER

September 19th (Sunday)
SESSION 10: MOVEMENT REENACTED

  • 10.00 – 10.20 Marta Soares – Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal: Medieval Modern Puppets: Animation And The Medieval Imaginary In El Misterio De Los Reyes Magos And El Retablo De Maese Pedro
  • 10.20 – 10.40 Francesca Cecconi – University of Verona, Italy: Playing (With) Puppets: Jigging Puppets From The Middle Ages To The 20Th Century
  • 10.40 – 11.00 Dr. Daria Ivanova-Hololobova – Kyiv National Kaparenko-Karyi University of Theatre, Cinema and Television, Ukraine: Revival And Professionalization Of Vertep Puppet In The Activities Of The Agitation Puppet Theatre “Revolutionary Vertep” (1923-1925)

11.00 – 11.20 Q&A
11.20 – 11.40 Coffee break

  • 11.40 – 12.00 Dr. Karol Suszczyński – The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok, Poland: Thinking With A Figure – Different Ways Of Animating Sculptures Of Saints In Polish Puppet Theatre Of The End Of The 20Th Century
  • 12.00 – 12.20 Dr. Małgorzata Dawidek – Slade School of Fine Art / University College London, UK: From Marginalia To The Democracy Of The Image. Mediaeval Manuscripts As An Interactive Tool For Contemporary Artistic Practice And Post-Research

12.20 – 12.40 Q&A
12.40 – 13.00 CLOSING REMARKS
13:00 END OF CONFERENCE

Conference organised by:

The conference will run in a hybrid form. Members of the public who want to participate in it virtually, through Microsoft Teams, are kindly asked to contact Ms. Anna Lach: [email protected]

Scientific committee:

  • Henrik von Achen, Professor, Dr. Art., Director of the University Museum, University of Bergen, Norway
  • Kristin Bliksrud Aavitsland, Professor, Ph.D., Director of The Norwegian Institute in Rome, Italy
  • Barbara Baert, Professor, Ph.D., Art History, Faculty of Arts, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
  • Jørgen Bakke, Associate Professor, Dr. Art., Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies, University of Bergen, Norway
  • Carla Maria Bino, Professor, Ph.D., Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Brescia, Italy
  • Christophe Chaguinian, Associate Professor, Ph.D., College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of North Texas, USA
  • Peter Dent, Senior Lecturer, Ph.D., Department of History of Art, University of Bristol, Great Britain
  • Rob Faesen, Professor, Ph.D., Department of History of Church and Theology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
  • Cynthia Hahn, Professor, Ph.D., Medieval Art History, Hunter College, The City University of New York, USA
  • Hans Henrik Lohfert Jørgensen, Associate Professor, School of Communication and Culture – Art History, University of Aarhus, Denmark
  • Jon P. Mitchell, Professor, Ph.D., Social Anthropology, University of Sussex, Great Britain
  • David Morgan, Professor, Ph.D., Religious Studies & Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Duke University, USA
  • Salvador Ryan, Professor, Ph.D., Ecclesiastical History, Pontifical University St Patricks College, Maynooth, Ireland
  • Zuzanna Sarnecka, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Institute of Art History, University of Warsaw, Poland
  • Laura Katrine Skinnebach, Associate Professor, Ph.D., School of Communication and Culture – Art History, University of Aarhus, Denmark
  • Allie Terry-Fritsch, Associate Professor, Ph.D., School of Art – Art History, Bowling Green State University, USA