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Newsletter Contents
Welcome
Department News
- Dr Natasha Eaton (1974-2024)
- Teaching 'Prints and Printmaking' with UCL Collections
- An Interview with Fergus O'Connor, Media Conservation Studio Coordinator
- Introducing the UCL History of Art Society Presidential Pairing 2025
- Professor Alison Wright lectures at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU)
- ‘What Is to Be Done?’ by Professor Pip Laurenson
- Professor Alison Wright on 'Cunk' BBC Mockumentary
- Celebrating Our 2024 Undergraduate Prize Winners
Events
Alumni Spotlights
Stay in Touch
A Winter Message from the Head of Department
Professor Richard Taws
Head of UCL History of Art (2024-27)
This year, we're delighted to welcome Dr Amanda (Xiao) Ju to the department as Lecturer in Contemporary Art. Amanda specialises in contemporary art from East Asia and its diasporas, particularly in its intersections with global socialism, post-socialism, and gender politics.
We are also excited to welcome Professor Gabriela Siracusano, who is joining the department until June as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor. Based at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, Professor Siracusano’s work focuses on the material dimension of colonial South American artworks, and she will be working across both our Bloomsbury and UCL East campuses. She will be leading a Research Seminar, Material Memories of a Miraculous Image from the Andes, on 13 March - do sign up and come along.
We have another talented cohort of undergraduate students, two of which, the History of Art Society co-presidents, have contributed to this newsletter edition. Some have experienced Dr Allie Stielau and Dr Nick Robbins' 'Print and Printmaking' module with UCL Special Collections, which you can also read about later in the edition.
Our graduate students continue to thrive, and last term, we were thrilled to launch the 25th issue of Object, the department’s postgraduate journal. When the first issue of Object appeared in 1998, I doubt the editors expected it to be running a quarter of a century later. The fact that it's reached this terrific milestone, still publishing cutting-edge art historical research, is a testament to the energy and insight of its editorial teams and the outstanding work of many contributors. This issue is no exception - I hope you'll take a look!
The past few months have also been marked by great sadness. In October, we received the news of the death of our dear colleague Natasha Eaton (1974-2024). Natasha was a remarkable scholar, a kind, caring friend, and an inspiring teacher; we have all deeply felt her loss.
It was lovely to see some of you at our most recent alum event in September, and I hope there will be other opportunities to catch up soon. Many of our research events are open to all to attend. Keep an eye on the events schedule; if you're in London, it would be great to see you. In 2025, History of Art will celebrate its 60th anniversary as a separate department at UCL. The following year, we will see another birthday, UCL200, the university-wide celebration commemorating the founding of UCL in 1826. Plans are afoot for both of those anniversaries.
In the meantime, I hope you'll stay in touch with the department. We would love to hear from you, so please send us your news!
Thanks for your continued support for the department.
Wishing you the very best for 2025,
Richard
Department News
Dr Natasha Eaton (1974-2024)
Natasha was the kindest and most generous of scholars, and she loved to share ideas. She brought the same energy, compassion, and openness to the classroom - she loved teaching and was fiercely proud of working at UCL. Natasha touched the lives of so many students, colleagues, and friends, and she changed how we saw the world. Our community mourns her loss and will miss her deeply.
Read her obituary and contribute your memories.
Teaching 'Prints and Printmaking' with UCL Collections
Dr Allie Stielau and Dr Nick Robbins
Prints - whether woodcuts, engravings, etchings, or lithographs - are a unique and profoundly indexical medium. Constantly referencing the matrix from which they are reproduced, prints have played a crucial role in shaping artistic practices, disseminating knowledge and influencing other art forms.
The class also took advantage of the department's proximity to the British Museum on two study visits. The first was to the Print Study Room to look at drawings and etchings by Wenceslaus Hollar and Rembrandt van Rijn, including the so-called 'Hundred Guilder Print', whose plate was reworked and used to make new impressions in the late eighteenth century. This visit prompted a fascinating discussion of the problem of copies, replicas, and forgeries specific to the print medium. On a second visit, we viewed the 'Picasso: Printmaker' exhibition, which highlighted the artist's long career as a printmaker, including his experimentation with new techniques and his deep familiarity with the work of printmakers like Rembrandt.
An Interview with Fergus O'Connor, Media Conservation Studio Coordinator for the MSc Conservation of Contemporary Art and Media Programme, UCL East
Conducted by Izzie Harvey, Communications and Events Manager, UCL History of Art
Izzie Harvey (IH): Hi, Fergus. You've been with us for a little while now at UCL East. When did you start?
Fergus O'Connor (FOC): Hi, Izzie. I joined in August 2023, about a year and a half ago. That was right when the MSc Conservation of Contemporary Art and Media programme launched. It's been great to be here since the start, to help set up the programme and watch it grow.
IH: It couldn't run like it does without you. Please tell me a bit about your role - what does a typical day look like?
FOV: Well, as the part-time coordinator for the Media Conservation Studio, Marshgate, my job is all about supporting the students. I help them access the space and facilities, train them on the equipment and assist with conservation projects. I also maintain and procure equipment, ensuring everything runs smoothly.
As the programme grows, my role has been getting even busier with new projects and challenges. For example, we are preparing to host a workshop on the conservation of kinetic art with Tate and the Getty Conservation Institute in May which I am also working on. Still, I've been very fortunate to have worked with my counterpart in the seventh-floor Conservation Lab of Marshgate, Valentina Risdonne.
IH: Great, that's a busy and varied role. So, how did you end up in this field? What's your career journey been like?
FOC: Honestly, it's been quite a ride! Before UCL, I spent six years at UAL London College of Fashion, working with students on their final projects, graduate shows and exhibitions, particularly in a technical AV capacity.
Before that, I had a 15-year career at Tate, where I started when Tate Modern first opened in 2000. I installed paintings, sculptures and, primarily, video installations. That's actually where I first worked with the MSc Director, our own Pip Laurenson.
I then moved to Tate Britain as an AV Technician to support seminars, events, screenings and, notably, the 'Late at Tate' evening programme for five years. Over the five years following that, I specialised in media conservation, working with time-based media in acquisitions.
My educational background is actually in Fine Art Sculpture. I studied at the University of East London in the early '90s, where I was introduced to experimental film by the likes of Tony Sindon and John Smith. So, in a way, coming back to Stratford has been a full-circle moment for me.
IH: Fabulous experience. It's fascinating how the same people and places have often reappeared along your journey. We're now nearly two years into the MSc programme. How has it been so far?
FOC: It's been brilliant. The programme is unique - there's really nothing else like it. The range of skills that students develop here is incredible. The programme's teaching, visiting speakers, facilities and industry partners are unparalleled. The students are intelligent, enthusiastic and engaged, and it's a real privilege to work with them.
Having spent years working directly with artists, I love sharing real-world examples and my experiences with the students, the new generation of conservators. I hope it helps them shape their own perspectives on conservation. It might sound a bit over the top, but I genuinely love this job the most out of everything I've done.
IH: That's glowing praise. But there must be some challenges faced, too - what are they?
FOC: The technical challenges definitely keep me on my toes. Sometimes, I need to support a piece of technology I'm unfamiliar with, which can be a learning curve. But it can also be a great collaborative experience - I recently worked with students on digitising some 16mm film material. The film came from a collection owner who didn't even know what was on the reels. We had to work through issues like playback speed, sound formats and even the film being loaded upside down! We sat together watching the films and had to go on 'what looked right'. It was like detective work, which kept the challenge fun.
IH: Sounds like a great accomplishment, and it's fantastic that students on the programme can work on real-life collections of media and art. Is there a particular achievement of which you're incredibly proud?
FOC: One of my specialisms is slide-based artwork, 35mm slides artists used to create synchronised slide projections, sometimes with sound and multiple projectors. This technique was significant from the 70s to the 90s, but it's now a vulnerable medium that is difficult to preserve in a digital world. I've been running workshops on this, and I recently secured RCIF funding for a high-end virtual drum scanner to digitise these slides and develop our research on the conservation of 35mm slide-based artworks. It's incredibly gratifying to help students and researchers engage with this kind of outdated material, and it's been great to see my own teaching skills evolve.
IH: Congratulations! How is it working with the MSc team?
FOC: They're an incredible group. Pip Laurenson is truly a pioneer in the field. She basically coined the term 'time-based media' in conservation and is responsible for this programme and many of the practices adopted by conservators worldwide.
Brian Castriota is both an academic and a practising media conservator, bringing real-world insight to the programme. Through his connections, he helps bring collections on loan for our students to conserve. I also work with the Arts Council to secure collections. It's a brilliant concept; our students get to work on actual examples, and the lenders get free conservation treatment - it's a win-win situation.
Libby Ireland has a wealth of invaluable experience in sculpture and object conservation, which is invaluable. Like me, she also previously worked at Tate.
And, of course, Valentina, whose experience working as a conservation scientist at the V&A has been invaluable in managing our seventh-floor conservation lab.
Finally, Rosie Price-Cousins keeps everything running regarding administration, operations and finance - she's terrific!
FO: I really rate the canteen here! I don't usually go to Westfield for lunch, but if I'm heading out in the evening, I like Rosa's Thai or Tortilla for inexpensive but tasty options.
IH: And finally, do you have any secret talents or hobbies?
FOC: I'm into music, especially electronic and modular synthesisers. I build my own instruments, working within the Eurorack format. I also collect records and DJ privately - mainly 80s and 90s hip-hop and the soul music that influenced it.
Beyond music, I've been skateboarding since I was 16. There's actually a skate park at UCL East, but my local skate park is Stockwell. I go there on weekends and skate with a really creative bunch. Fun fact - I'm in a band with some of the guys from the skate park!
IH: Impressive! Thanks so much for chatting, Fergus.
FOC: My pleasure! See you soon.
Introducing the UCL History of Art Society Presidential Pairing 2025
Hi everyone, it's Kristy King and Ariel Yuan!
Heavy is the head that wears the crown... That's why we have decided to share the Society leadership as co-presidents this year! We are so excited to work together to bring you the much-loved Society activities.
We were recently appointed and look forward to getting things up and running. We have many great event ideas for socials, talks and exhibition visits. As usual, follow us on Instagram @uclhoas to keep up with what's happening. This year, we are incredibly dedicated to developing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the Society's smooth continuation.
We really want to make our department more connected across undergraduate and graduate degrees and bond over our shared interests in art. We are also on the lookout for interdepartmental events to get to know other departments within UCL and broaden our horizons to different disciplines.
We are especially eager to reconnect with our esteemed alumnus. We want to learn about your professional endeavours and journeys since graduating. We invite art professionals - encompassing disciplines such as research, curation, and roles within museums and gallery spaces - to return to UCL History of Art for panel talks and activities. We would love it if you reached out!
You can contact us at:
We look forward to updating you on our initiatives in the following alum newsletter.
Best wishes,
Kristy and Ariel
Ariel Yuan
Ariel is a second-year History of Art student with a speciality in philosophy. She focuses primarily on Early Modern Art and is particularly interested in the Pre-Raphaelite movement and the avant-garde, including artists like Marie Laurencin and Suzanne Duchamp.
Kristy King
Kristy is a third-year History of Art student specialising in modules on South Asian art and photography as a medium. Her research explores connections and comparisons to Chinese visual media and academic studies.
Professor Alison Wright Lectures at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU)
Alison Wright: “Among many wonderful visits, some highlights were those to the Ming tombs outside Beijing, the rock-cut statues of the Lingying Buddhist temple and the Silk Museum in the lovely lakeside city of Hangzhou. The hospitality and friendliness of my hosts was extraordinary, and I loved the chance to find out more about recent scholarship in Chinese archaeology and in studies of the image. I was also deeply touched by the kindness (and digital dexterity) of the delightful Chinese students who looked after me over the course of an unforgettable few weeks.”
Read the full article here.
‘What Is to Be Done?’ by Professor Pip Laurenson
In the feature article titled “What Is to Be Done?”, Pip discusses how her personal experiences and philosophical approach prepared her to take on and lead this degree dedicated to conserving contemporary art and media.
Read the full article here.
Professor Alison Wright on 'Cunk' BBC Mockumentary
BBC: ‘Pioneering documentary maker, Philomena Cunk, returns with her most ambitious quest to date: venturing right up the universe and everything to examine life and existence in an attempt to find out the point of it all. Along the way, she interrogates experts on subjects from the big bang to biology and art to artificial intelligence. Really get to the nub of it.’
Watch Alison’s scene here.
Celebrating Our 2024 Undergraduate Prize Winners!
Read the full article here.
Events
Past Imperfect Seminar 2024/25
Stuart Moss, PhD Candidate
Past Imperfect is a visual culture seminar within the Department, with membership drawn from staff and postgraduate students. It is dedicated to sharing research and fostering exchanges through discussions, events, and organised visits.
Each year the Past Imperfect membership chooses a key topic that guides our thinking and discussions throughout the academic year. In recognition of the ever faster pace of life and work, both in- and outside academia, for 2024/25 we have decided to adopt the theme of slowness. Just like other movements fostering deceleration (Slow Food etc), our exploration of slowness is designed to emphasize the local, to grow community, to nurture sustainability, and to prioritize communal enjoyment and mutual benefit. Reflecting the breadth of research interests from across our membership, the variety of events of the first term have already shown the potential of slowness as a lens for research. In November, we were delighted to host Professor Elina Gertsman (Case Western Reserve University) and our own Professor Bob Mills, speaking about the challenges and rewards of slow learning and slow looking in their own research.
The ‘decelerated’ approach advocated by the idea of slow looking, now a familiar concept in art history and museum interpretation, has continued to form a key concern for our monthly meetings: Discussions have ranged from the difficulties of finding space for focus in busy museum galleries to the potential and hazards of digital close-reads, and how slow, detailed observation of works from the Renaissance to Turner can bring into focus the long impact of climate change and the ongoing ecological crisis. But perhaps most importantly, as we look forward to another term of events and discussions, we hope that the Past Imperfect meetings in themselves already give our members the opportunity to pause their busy schedules and take the time to be and think together about the past and its place in the present.
Save the Date: Tomás Harris Lecture 2025
This year’s Tomás Harris Lecture and PhD Seminar will be presented by Sylvia Houghteling, Associate Professor in the Department of History of Art at Bryn Mawr College. Sylvia specializes in early modern visual and material culture with a focus on the history of textiles, South Asian art and architecture, and the material legacies and ruptures of European colonialism.
Find the full events programme 2024/25 here.
Alumni Spotlights
Spotlight on Suzi Battersby
BA History of Art, 2008
Prosthetics Designer and Founder of Red Girl
After graduating, I enrolled on a course at an art college and studied how to create props, puppets, animatronics, creature effects and some prosthetics. Prosthetics are so important for a story, creatively and narratively. They’re a tool for an actor to transform into somebody else and it’s so rewarding to see an actor bring your prosthetic to life on set.
The most rewarding film I’ve worked on probably has to be Golda, for which me and my team were nominated for an Oscar. This was brilliant exposure for my company, Red Girl, the first prosthetics studio solely founded by a woman. In the last ten years, the industry has definitely improved, but we still need better representation of women, people from the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
Read Suzi’s article in the Portico magazine.
Spotlight on Ariella Wolens
BA History of Art, 2011
Bryant-Taylor Curator of NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale
After completing my studies in 2014, I meandered through some internships, a stint at a gallery, some freelance writing and independently organized a few exhibitions. A year or so later, I had the good fortune to connect with independent curator and art historian, Alison M. Gingeras, with whom I worked for as a curatorial assistant on projects including the publication, The Avant Garde Won’t Give Up: Cobra and It’s Legacy (Prestel, 2017) and McDermott & McGough’s The Oscar Wilde Temple, a public installation which traveled to Studio Voltaire in London.
In 2019 I secured my first institutional role at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, where I organized exhibitions of contemporary artists including Christina Forrer, Paulina Ołowska, Wong Ping, and the thematic exhibition, Frederick Douglass: Embers of Freedom.
Four years ago, I moved to Florida, where I now work as Bryant-Taylor Curator of NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. The museum is distinguished for its holdings of the largest collection of art related to Cobra outside Europe, along with a robust representation of Latin American, Caribbean, the Ashcan artist William J. Glackens’ collection, as well as modern and contemporary art.
This autumn has seen the culmination of three projects I have been working on since joining the museum: the first US museum survey dedicated to Dutch artist Jacqueline de Jong (who sadly passed away just this June), an exhibition of pioneer color photographer Joel Meyerowitz, and a two-person presentation of artists Vanessa German and Rose B. Simpson.
I still refer to my UCL coursework in my writing and research. I remain grateful to my professors, particularly my advisor, Briony Fer, along with TJ Demos, Tamar Garb, Andrew Hemingway and Stephanie Schwartz, for their edifying guidance. I thank the art history department for setting me on my path and giving me the confidence to dedicate my career to this rich discipline.
Get Involved
We always want to hear about your exciting journeys as UCL History of Art alumni. If you would like to become more involved with the Department, including news features or events, please contact Izzie Harvey, Communications and Events Manager.
