Alumni
Art History Alumna Combines Professional, Personal Lives in Fulfilling Way
By Amy Milgrub Marshall
Baylor University art history professor Heidi J. Hornik (’87 M.A., ’90 Ph.D. Art History) never imagined her career would revolve around Italian Renaissance art. When she enrolled at Cornell as an undergraduate, she planned on becoming an engineer. She was interested in art history, but wasn’t familiar with job options in the field. So she took some art history electives, which led to working in the university’s art museum. Three art history degrees and several books later, she’s the recipient of a College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Award for her achievements as an art history scholar and museum director.
“Very few people are ‘natural born’ art historians. Even growing up 30 miles north of New York City, I went to museums but did not know what art history was as a child. I hadn’t considered it as a career option,” Hornik explains. “But once you get to college, you have the opportunity to learn more about various subjects and career options available, and I found myself drawn to the field.”
While completing her bachelor’s degree at Cornell, she became interested in Penn State’s art history graduate program. She came to the University because of its reputation for studies in Renaissance and Baroque art. “There were lots of 
opportunities at Penn State, thanks in large part to Dr. [Hellmut] Hager. He put the University on the art history graduate school ‘map’ as a Renaissance and Baroque center.”
Today Hornik’s research focuses on Italian Renaissance art, specifically Michele Tosini (1503–1577), and on the intersection between art history and theology. Her catalogue raisonné on Tosini is currently under review. She has co-authored many publications on Tosini and others with her husband, theologian Mikeal Parsons, who also teaches at Baylor. Their third book, Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance Painting, was published last spring. “There’s always discussion of religious iconography or symbolism in Renaissance and Baroque art,” she notes. “But few others are doing this type of interdisciplinary research. We are interested in the way the interpretation of the Bible has both influenced and been influenced by visual art.”
Hornik credits Mary Jane Harris, a longtime supporter of the Palmer Museum of Art and former member of the museum’s advisory board, with sparking her interest in Tosini. Harris (’46 B.A. Arts & Letters, ’47 M.A. Sociology) was working in a New York gallery in the mid-1980s and wanted to share the work of Tosini through an exhibition at Penn State’s Museum of Art (renamed the Palmer Museum of Art in 1988). The 1986 exhibition was Hornik’s first exposure to Tosini, when he was the subject for her study in a seminar based on the paintings in the exhibit.
Harris became a mentor to Hornik, and the two cultivated a relationship Heidi continues to value today. “My continuing relationship with Mary Jane has been one of the most influential in my career. It’s a testament to the benefits of alumni networking.”
Hornik currently focuses most of her time on her research of Tosini while teaching two courses per semester. Until last year, she also served as director of Baylor’s art museum, the Martin Museum of Art. The split position was challenging but allowed her to be involved with the contemporary art community and the care, handling and exhibition of art objects. However, Hornik says devoting herself to her research is what she was meant to do. “It just comes naturally. I love to travel and to work in the archives in Europe. Recently, people from around the world have been contacting me to evaluate the attribution of a painting in a museum or private collection that is believed by someone to be a Tosini. When I get back into the classroom, the stories I tell related to my archival findings of documents and discoveries of Tosini paintings are always what the students enjoy most. Teaching and research go hand in hand and the students’ responses and enthusiasm for my work, literally in the field, are proof.”
Focusing on an Italian artist allows her to combine her professional and personal lives in a fulfilling way. She and her husband take their sons, ages 7 and 8, to Italy every summer and involve them with the cultural and sports activities for children in Florence. In addition, they took their fall 2004 sabbatical in Cambridge, England, and their sons attended school there. “It is our intention that both sons realize that the world is bigger than the United States and that there is much for them to learn and to share while living in another country. They are growing up with a knowledge of other cultures and enjoy themselves when they are at home or abroad,” says Hornik.
With 15 years of professional experience under her belt, Hornik stills looks at the professors she had at Penn State as role models. “I found the faculty at Penn State knowledgeable and approachable. They remain models for research, teaching, and collegiality.”
She says she is particularly grateful that she was given the opportunity to participate in faculty searches and other departmental activities that are frequently restricted to professors. “I really appreciated that the department sought graduate student input. It helped me to look at things from something other than a student perspective.”
Arts and Architecture Tour of Italy
The College of Arts and Architecture will host a 14-day excursion to Italy from May 14 to 27, 2006, including stops in Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Umbria and other picturesque and historic sites—some off the beaten path, others recognized as must-see locales. You’ll enjoy visits to galleries, wineries and gardens, all planned by a professional tour company with alumni of our college in mind. Highlights include a heritage tour of Rome, with stops at the Museo Praz and the recently reopened Galleria Borghese; a special visit to our college’s Sede di Roma facility; a winery visit in the Tuscany region; and a walking tour of Florence, during which you will visit the Ufizzi Gallery, the leading gallery in the world for Italian renaissance paintings. We are currently working with our College of Arts and Architecture representative in Rome on an optional special event during our stay in that city.
Price of $4,199 includes round-trip air from New York; 12 nights in moderate first-class hotels (all rooms with private facilities); breakfast daily, plus five lunches and two dinners; and the services of a professional tour director. If you would like to make your own air arrangements, you may contact Far Horizons Travel about a land-only price for the tour (888.879.7092 or farhorizons@strattontravel.com).
For more information or if you would like a brochure, please contact Joyce Hoffman at 814.863.0621 or jhoffman@psu.edu.
Wagons Ho!
We’re rounding up the “Wagon Train” for a 30th anniversary reunion/performance to take place July 1–4, 2006, at Fort Roberdeau near Altoona, Pa., where the production will be the centerpiece of the 4th of July celebrations.
The Bicentennial Wagon Train Show, composed by Bruce Trinkley, Penn State professor emeritus of music, Roger Cornish and Don Tucker, played more than 2,000 performances throughout the United States in 1975–76. Trinkley is planning the reunion with Manuel Duque, professor emeritus of theatre, who directed the show; Douglas Cook, former head of the Penn State theatre department, who produced the show; Montez King, retired faculty member in the School of Theatre, who designed the costumes; Del Boarts, retired staff member in the School of Theatre, who was responsible for the technical operations of the show; and Jerry James, alumnus of the School of Theatre, one of the stage managers of the production.
If you’re interested in being a part of the July 2006 production, or want to reconnect with alumni who were involved in the original production, contact Bruce Trinkley at wbt1@psu.edu.
