The conference will take place in Białystok at the A. Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok, H. Sienkiewicza 14, 15–092 Białystok, Poland. The conference will run in a hybrid form. Members of the public who want to participate in it virtually, through Microsoft Teams, are kindly asked to contact Ms. Anna Lach: anna.lach@e-at.edu.pl

Conference Programme:

September 16th (Thursday)
10.00 – 12.00 Registration
12.00 – 13.00 Opening session
Welcome speech from Head of The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok, Prof. Marta Rau
Welcome speech of Prof. Henning Laugerud – Department of Linguistic, Literary, and Aesthetic Studies University of Bergen, Norway

13.15 – 13.45 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Prof. Hans Henrik Lohfert Jørgensen – Aarhus University, Denmark
Four Fundamental Concepts Of Animation – Mechanical And Organic, Supernatural And Phenomenological
13.45 – 14.00 Discussion

SESSION 1: FRAMEWORKS OF MOVEMENT
14.00 – 14.20 Dr. Kamil Kopania – The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok, Poland)
What Does It Mean: Animation In The Middle Ages?
14.20 – 14.40 Jordan Koel – University of Michigan, USA
The Reciprocity Of Medieval Images:Interaction And Exchange With Medieval “Things”
14.40 – 14.50 Q&A
14.50 – 16.00 Lunch break
16.00 – 16.20 Dr. Michelle Oing – Stanford University, USA
Staging Signs of Life: Art, Theater, and the Animated Image
16.20-16.40 Dr. Mads Vedel Heilskov – The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK
The Divine Interface: Surface Treatments of Medieval Movable Crucifixes
16.40 – 17.00 Q&A

SESSION 2: ANIMATION AND AGENCY
17.00 – 17.20 Prof. Jørgen Bakke – University of Bergen, Norway
Technological Animation Of Images And Byzantine Iconoclasm
17.20 – 17.40 Dr. Vladimir Ivanovici – University of Vienna / Universita’ della Svizzera Italiana, Mendrisio, Switzerland
Animating Disembodied Presence In Late Antique Martyria
17.40 – 18.00 Dr. Ruth Sargent Noyes – National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Re-Animating The Middle Ages: Manufacturing Corpisanti Roman Catacomb Relic-Sculptures And Early Modern Revivals Of Agentive Matter
18.00 – 18.20 Q&A
18.20 – 18.40 Dr. Alessia Zubani – University of Bologna, Italy
Technological Animation As Expression Of Caliphal Authority At The Abbasid Court
18.40 – 19.00 Laurens Hwai-Gi Tan – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Animation Within The West Javanese Wayang Golek As Bearer Of Life
19.00 – 19.15 Q&A
19.30 “HOW I UNLEASHED THE END …”
“How I Unleash the End …” is a stop-motion animation with live music performed by third-year students of The National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok. A short story revealing one of the possible scenarios of the end of the world. An attempt to answer such questions as What (or who) is death? What would make the world cease to exist? The answer to these puzzling questions will be given in a light, humorous and poetic way.
Authors of animations and music: Aleksandra Muszyńska, Karina Maria Giemza, Dawid Mkrtchyan, Maciej Grzegorczyk
Artistic supervision: Dr. Agnieszka Makowska
Duration: 15 minutes
19:45 END OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE CONFERENCE

September 17th (Friday)
09.00 – 09.30 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Prof. Carla Bino – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Brescia, Italy
Screen, Window, Door. Three Devices To Understand Animation In The Middle Ages
09.30 – 09.45 Discussion
09.45 – 10.00 Coffee break

SESSION 3: MATERIALIZING THE MOVE
10.00 – 10.20 Dr. Laura Katrine Skinnebach – Aarhus University, Denmark
An Animated Saint – The Case Of St George In Sweden
10.20 – 10.40 Elisabeth Andersen – Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning, Oslo, Norway
Motion And Emotion – Animated Angels In The Rite Of Baptism
10.40 – 11.00 Wojciech Sowała – Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland
Strategies Of Animation. The Case Of Saint John The Baptist’s Head On The Platter
11.00 – 11.20 Q&A
11.20 – 11.40 Dr. Zuzanna Sarnecka – University of Warsaw, Poland
Sculpture On The Move: Three-Dimensional Animation In Italian Late Medieval Home
11.40 – 12.00 Agnieszka Dziki – University of Warsaw, Poland
“I Carve My Figures Fine And Make Them Come To Life”. The Animation Of Late Medieval Kleinplastik
12.00 – 12.20 Diana Rafaela Pereira – CITCEM, University of Porto, Portugal
Enshrinement And Animation: Clothing Statues In Early Modern Portugal And Spain
12.20 – 12.40 Q&A
12.40 – 13.40 Lunch break

SESSION 4: ANIMATED CRUCIFIXES
13.40 – 14.00 Dr. Christophe Chaguinian – University of North Texas, USA
Were There Articulated Christs Before The 14Th Century?
14.00 – 14.20 Dr. María José Martínez Martínez – Universidad de Valladolid, Spain
The Santo Cristo De Burgos, Spain. An Articulated, Gothic Crucified With Great Devotional, Artistic And Anthropological Impact
14.20 – 14.40 Agata Stasińska – National Museum in Wrocław, Poland
Animated Sculpture Of The Crucified Christ From Oleśnica – A Unique Trace Of Late Gothic Piety In Silesia
14.40 – 15.00 Q&A
15.00 – 15.20 Coffee break
15.20 – 15.40 Dr. Alexandra R. A. Lee – New York University London, UK
Blood, Sweat And Tears: Animated Crucifixes And The Bianchi Devotions Of 1399
15.40 – 16.00 Vincenzo Amato – Independent scholar, restorer, Molfetta, Italy
The Dramatic Peculiarities Of The “Speaking” Crucifix From The Church Of Our Lady Of Sorrows In Norcia (Umbria, Italy): Comparison And Grouping Hypothesis Of Mechanical Tongue Animations Of German-Made Crucifixes In Italy, During The XV Century
16.00 – 16.20 Dr. Sara Carreńo – University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Materiality, Naturalism And Animation In The 14Th-Century Santos Cristos Of Ourense And Fisterra (Galicia)
16.20 – 16.40 Q&A
16.40 – 17.00 Coffee break

17.00 – 17.30 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Dr. Peter Dent – University of Bristol, UK
“To Which The Crucifix Replied”: The Phenomenology Of The Animate Image
17.30 – 17.50 Discussion

SESSION 5: SHIFTING BETWEEN TEXTS AND IMAGES
17.50 – 18.10 Dr. Elena Paroli – ENS – École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France
From “Imago Loquens” To “Imago Eloquens”: The Animation Of Painting In Petrarch And Boccaccio, As A Form Of Mental Animation
18.10 – 18.30 Dr. Joanna Sikorska – National Museum in Warsaw, Poland
Animated Printmaking: Critical Approach
18.30 – 18.50 Dr. Martin Roland – Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Austria
Performance And Image Cycles – How The Middle Ages Use The “Popular Style”
18.50 – 19.10 Q&A
19.10 – 19.20 Coffee break
19.20 – 19.40 Hartley Roxanne Miller – Independent Scholar, Bucharest, Romania
“Ces Ymages Bien Avisé”: The Texture Of Animation And Interpretation In Guillaume De Lorris’s Roman De La Rose
19.40 – 20.00 Prof. Nicola Pasqualicchio – University of Verona, Italy
Tervagant And Saint Nicholas. A Duel Between Images In Jean Bodel’s Li Jus De Saint Nicholai
20.00 – 20.15 Q&A
20.15 END OF THE SECOND DAY OF THE CONFERENCE

September 18th (Saturday)
08.30 – 09.00 KEYNOTE LECTURE:
Dr. Amy R. Whitehead – Massey University, New Zealand
Marian Personhood And A Matter Of Power: Animism and The Dynamics Of Devotion In Andalusia, Spain
09.00 – 09.20 Discussion

SESSION 6: ENLIVENED BY THE LIGHT
09.20 – 09.40 Dr. Kaja Kollandsrud – Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway
The Holy Animated Through Light Embodied In Medieval Church Art
09.40 – 10.00 Prof. Barbara Schellewald, Dr. Peter Fornaro – University of Basel, Switzerland
Images And Their Animation/Vitalization Through Light In The Middle Ages
10.00 – 10.20 Dr. Vera Henkelmann – University of Erfurt, Germany
“And There Appeared A Great Wonder In Heaven” (Rev 12,1) – Staging The Maria Apocalyptica In The Late Medieval Church Interior By Means Of Chandeliers Of The Virgin Mary
10.20 – 10.35 Q&A
10.35 – 10.50 Coffee break

SESSION 7: MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL ANIMATION
10.50 – 11.10 Eleonora Tioli – Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy / University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Moving Images, Living Images. The Possibilities Of Miraculous Movement In The Middle Ages
11.10 – 11.30 Katharina Roßmy – Independent scholar, Munich, Germany
Mental Animation Of Early Pietàs
11.30 – 11.50 Kaja Merete Hagen – University of Oslo, Norway
“Protect Me And All Christian People From All That Can Harm Us”. Miraculous Crosses And Crucifixes In Late
Medieval Norway
11.50 – 12.10 Dr. Lieke Smiths – Ruusbroec Institute, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Scripted Embraces: The Song Of Songs, Spiritual Role-Play And The Animation Of The Crucified Christ
12.10 – 12.30 Q&A
12.30 – 13.30 Lunch break

SESSION 8: ANIMATION AND SPACE
13.30 – 13.50 Anna Zakova – Charles University, Prague, The Czech Republic
Animation Of Holy Week From Saint-Georges Monastery In Prague. From Repertory To Architectural Elements
13.50 – 14.10 Dr. Ferenc Veress – Szeged University, Hungary
Staging The Eucharist. Sacred Space And Liturgical Practices During The Celebration Of The Epiphany (6Th–15Th C.)
14.10 – 14.30 Dr. Maeve O’Donnell-Morales – University of Bristol, UK
Altarpieces As Aids To Animation: Marian Retables And Tabernacle Retables In Medieval Spain
14.30 – 14.50 Q&A
14.50 – 15.10 Helene Seewald – Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, Germany
The Carved Altarpiece As A Projected Image: High Altar Retable In St. Nicolai Church In Kalkar
15.10 – 15.30 Prof. Cora Dietl – Universität Gießen, Germany
Animation As Means To Illustrate An Active Threat: Dragons In Fifteenth-, Sixteenth- And Twenty-First-Century Plays About St George
15.30 – 15.50 Dr. Letha Ch’ien – Sonoma State University, USA
Moving Pieces, Permanent Parts
15.50 – 16.10 Laura Stefanescu – University of Sheffield, UK
Animating Heaven In Fifteenth-Century Florence: From Theatrical Materiality To The Collective Imaginary
16.10 – 16.30 Q&A
16.30 – 17.00 Coffee break

SESSION 9: PAINTED ANIMATION
17.00 – 17.20 Dr. Heather A. Reid – Pacific Union College, California [retired Professor]
Animating Early Netherlandish Genre Painting With Strategically Placed Artists’ Signatures
17.20 – 17.40 Andrei Dumitrescu – New Europe College, Bucharest, Romania / Central European University in Vienna, Austria
The Virgin In The Whirling Star: Questions On The Performative Dimension Of Ecclesiastical Wall Paintings From Late 15Th – And Early 16Th-Century Moldavia
17.40 – 18.00 Dr. Yuko Katsutani – University of Strasbourg, France
The Function Of Images And The Memory Of A Place. Angel Musicians Vault Decorations At The End Of The Middle Ages
18.00 – 18.20 Maria D. Anghel – Central European University in Vienna, Austria
The Animated Man Of Sorrows: Staging The Bodily Presence Of Christ In 14Th- And 15Th-Century Wall Paintings From The Former Hungarian Kingdom
18.20 – 18.40 Q&A
C. 18.45: END OF THE THIRD DAY OF THE CONFERENCE
19.30 – 24.00 OFFICIAL DINNER

September 19th (Sunday)
SESSION 10: MOVEMENT REENACTED
10.00 – 10.20 Marta Soares – Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Medieval Modern Puppets: Animation And The Medieval Imaginary In El Misterio De Los Reyes Magos And El Retablo
De Maese Pedro
10.20 – 10.40 Francesca Cecconi – University of Verona, Italy
Playing (With) Puppets: Jigging Puppets From The Middle Ages To The 20Th Century
10.40 – 11.00 Dr. Daria Ivanova-Hololobova – Kyiv National Kaparenko-Karyi University of Theatre, Cinema and Television, Ukraine
Revival And Professionalization Of Vertep Puppet In The Activities Of The Agitation Puppet Theatre “Revolutionary
Vertep” (1923-1925)
11.00 – 11.20 Q&A
11.20 – 11.40 Coffee break
11.40 – 12.00 Dr. Karol Suszczyński – The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – Branch Campus in Białystok, Poland
Thinking With A Figure – Different Ways Of Animating Sculptures Of Saints In Polish Puppet Theatre Of The End
Of The 20Th Century
12.00 – 12.20 Dr. Małgorzata Dawidek – Slade School of Fine Art / University College London, UK
From Marginalia To The Democracy Of The Image. Mediaeval Manuscripts As An Interactive Tool For Contemporary Artistic Practice And Post-Research
12.20 – 12.40 Q&A
12.40 – 13.00 CLOSING REMARKS
13:00 END OF CONFERENCE

Full information about the conference can be found here: https://atb.edu.pl/blog/2021/08/24/what-does-animation-mean-in-the-middle-ages/