06 05 2007 - The Tiny Churches of Armenia:

NAASR Scrive:
The Tiny Churches of Armenia:
Medieval Architectural Models An Illustrated Lecture by Dr. Christina Maranci
Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee While most scholars of Armenian architecture focus on life-size churches, few have paid attention to a tiny, but related tradition: the stone architectural models of the Caucasus. Produced in great number and in a variety of contexts, these diminutive churches form a unique tradition within the art of the Middle Ages, East or West.
Held by donors in sculptural relief, mounted on church gables, and fixed to the interior portals of monasteries, the models assume the form of miniature domed churches. Considering medieval Armenian
architectural and textual traditions, this talk will ask why they emerged and what they might have meant to the contemporary viewer.
Did the models hold a ritual function? Increasing
epigraphic, sculptural, and architectural evidence
suggests that ceremonial movement occurred outside, as well as inside the church. This hypothesis may thus shed light on models such as that held by King Gagik at Agh'tamar. The models might also reflect a broader, self-referential trend in Armenian architecture of the tenth century and later.
> In considering the performative, iconographic, and
> practical roles of stone models in the Transcaucasus, Dr. Maranci will provide a new framework for understanding an understudied yet striking tradition of medieval art.
> This lecture is being given in memory of Arshag
> Merguerian (1926-2005), architect and an active
> member and friend of NAASR for nearly fifty years. The expenses for the lecture will be covered by funds contributed to NAASR following his passing in 2005.
> Thursday
> June 7, 2007
> TIME:
> 8:00 p.m.
> LOCATION:
> NAASR Center
> 395 Concord Ave.
> Belmont,
> MA

> The NAASR Bookstore will open at 7:30 p.m.
> Dr. Maranci's book Medieval Armenian Architecture:
> Constructions of Race and Nation will be available
> for purchase and signing by the author.
> * Parking is available around the NAASR building
> and in adjacent areas on Concord Avenue.
> email: hq@naasr.org
> phone: 617-489-1610
> web: http://www.naasr.org
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