Art History and Visual Art Collaboration in Italy
The twenty-two Penn State students in the Todi,
Italy Study Abroad program last summer witnessed an unusual
teaching collaboration between Kristi Wormhoudt, assistant
director of International Education Programs and Studies and
affiliate assistant professor of art history, and Paul Chidester,
assistant professor of art. The collaboration centered on
the tempera technique, a painting process popular in the late
middle ages and early Renaissance.
The long process involves the preparation of wood panels with gesso and then the application of a clay base to those areas where gold leaf is later applied. A pigment mixture of egg yolk, water, and pigment is then applied to the other areas. It is a demanding medium for the artist because it dries very quickly and requires a unique kind of paint application. Such a process also requires detailed plans and organization of the subject matter before the creation of the piece begins.
When Wormhoudt and Chidester discovered their common interest in tempera in 1998--Wormhoudt from an art historical perspective and Chidester from a contemporary artist's point of view--they decided to incorporate it into the two classes they taught in Italy.
When Wormhoudt and Chidester discovered their common interest in tempera in 1998--Wormhoudt from an art historical perspective and Chidester from a contemporary artist's point of view--they decided to incorporate it into the two classes they taught in Italy. In Wormhoudt's art history class, the students learned about the historical context surrounding the process and its traditional uses. They visited museums in the area, studying original examples and writing about them.
Wormhoudt says, "When I teach history, I like to describe the process behind it. We learn how workshops were organized, how the medium behaves, and what it was like to be an artist then."
In Chidester's art class, the students created their own works of art using the same technique. Chidester says about his class, " It is a good example of how a study abroad trip can immerse the students in a particular cultural context. I wanted to help these students, many of whom are not art students, to characterize their experiences in ways that were relevant to them through a language that is very old."
Wormhoudt explains the effect of the collaboration, "Our Todi students have to understand a historical piece from a different standpoint than that of a regular art history student because they are creating their own panel while studying historical examples."
Chidester adds, "Though the students were able to gain an appreciation for the ancient craft, the most astonishing thing was the diverse range of their styles and ideas. They really came up with some striking pieces."
The Todi, Italy program began in 1986 and is one of the oldest continuous study abroad programs at Penn State. It is a joint program between the College of Arts and Architecture and the College of the Liberal Arts.