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Word Minus Image: pop-up exhibition

By Anne Welsh, on 6 August 2011

This Autumn’s exhibition at the UCL Art Museum is directly relevant to students opting to take Historical Bibliography.

Entitled Word and Image: Early Modern Treasures at UCL, it highlights objects from the period 1450-1800 in UCL Art Collections and UCL Library Services Special Collections, including Durer’s Apocalypse series, which we will be studying in INSTG012.

There are several pop-up exhibitions planned for lunchtimes, the first of which is on 4 October – Word Minus Image. I’m selecting examples of images that started out as illustrations for texts – from Durer to the present day. Often important as works of art in their own right, they exist at the intersection of Art History and Historical Bibliography, challenging both disciplines to consider the nature of illustration, the primacy (or otherwise) of text and the role of visual art within the book.  A phenomenon of the early modern period, the removal and resale of prints continues to be a thriving trade today, and this pop-up reflects this.

The exhibition and accompanying events are open to the public, and the Art Museum is easy to find – to the right of the portico in the main quad.
Image: UCL Museums & Art Collections’ listings page, where you can find lots of other events open to the public at UCL, including exhibitions, films and family activities. Most of them are free.

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