The University of Illinois is home to two extraordinary collections of modern reproductions of medieval Irish art, including jewelry, reliquaries, and manuscripts dating back to before the twelfth century. Many of these copies were acquired by the University around 1916, the year of the Irish “Easter Rising” against British rule. The centenary will be marked by an exhibit and symposium celebrating these works and their significance for Irish cultural heritage.
Hosted by the Spurlock Museum of World Culture and cosponsored by the iSchool and other campus units, the symposium, “Medieval Irish Masterpieces in Modern Reproduction,” features leading scholars from Ireland and the United States. Talks will explore the original works and their reproductions, and engage broader questions of collection, curation, provenance, and cultural heritage. iSchool Associate Professor Bonnie Mak will be the respondent for the session, “Copying Irish Culture: From Medieval Manuscripts to Modern Facsimiles.”
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss the ways in which technologies of reproduction—whether manuscript, print, or digital—shape how we see the past, for this has important implications for how we understand our present and imagine our future,” said Mak.
The symposium will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on October 1 in the Knight Auditorium of the Spurlock Museum. It is free and open to the public. It is hosted by the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures and sponsored by the Program in Medieval Studies; the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the School of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics; the University Library; the School of Information Sciences; the European Union Center; the Department of English; the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory; the School of Art and Design; and the Departments of Comparative World Literatures, Art History, and History.
The exhibit, “Medieval Irish Masterpieces in Modern Reproduction,” is ongoing at the museum through April 2, 2017.