Tyler Jo Smith | |
---|---|
Born | April 4, 1967 |
Occupation(s) | Archaeologist, academic and author |
Academic background | |
Education | A.B., Classical Languages and Literature M.Phil., Classical Archaeology D.Phil., Classical Archaeology |
Alma mater | Davidson College University of Oxford |
Academic advisors | John Boardman |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Virginia |
Tyler Jo Smith (born April 4,1967) is an archaeologist,academic,and author. She is a professor of classical art and archaeology in the Department of Art as well as the director of the Interdisciplinary Archaeology Program at the University of Virginia. [1]
Smith is most known for her contributions to classical archaeology and the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean,particularly in the realms of ancient Greek pottery and material culture. Her work extends to landscape and survey archaeology,as well as the history of alcohol. She is one of the founders of Kerameikos.org,an initiative focused on Athenian pottery and supported by funding from the NEH,utilizing linked open data. [2] Furthermore,she is the recipient of the Development Award from the Classical Association of the Middle West and South,as well as of multiple teaching awards. Among her authored works are her publications in academic journals,including American Journal of Archaeology as well as books such as Komast Dancers in Archaic Greek Art [3] and Religion in the Art of Archaic and Classical Greece. [4]
Smith is an elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London [5] as well as a senior associate fellow of Institute of Classical Studies. [6] In 2015,she served as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Trendall Centre at La Trobe University in Melbourne. Moreover,in 2017,she was a visiting scholar at L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris. [7] [8]
Smith earned her A.B. degree in Classical Languages and Literature from Davidson College in 1989,and subsequently pursued an M.Phil in Classical Archaeology at Merton College,Oxford,completing it in 1992. She later achieved a D.Phil. in Classical Archaeology from the same institution in 1997. [9]
Smith began her academic career in 1993 at Virginia Tech in 1997. In 2013,she lectured on ancient Mediterranean Art and Archaeology during a summer voyage of the Semester at Sea. From 2018 to 2019,she held the Elizabeth A. Whitehead Professorship at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Moreover,she holds the position of professor of classical art and archaeology in the Department of Art at the University of Virginia, [1] and is affiliated faculty in the Department of Classics. [10]
Smith served on the board of directors of the American Research Institute in Turkey. Additionally,she has been a member of the scientific committee for the annual World Congress on Dance Research (UNESCO) in Athens,Greece since 2019. In 2021,she joined the development committee of the British School at Athens,and in 2022,she became a member of the Anthony Fauci Award in STEM and Classics Subcommittee. [11] Moreoever,since 2011,she has held the position of director of UVA's Interdisciplinary Archaeology Program. [1]
Smith was a finds specialist at Kato Phano and Knossos,and a pottery and sculpture specialist at the Hacımusalar Höyük Excavations and at Morgantina. She has served as the lab director for the Caesarea Coastal Archaeological Project since 2022 and as the director of its academic programs. [12]
In 2010,Smith authored the book Komast Dancers in Archaic Greek Art. The book provided an analysis of the significance and regional variations of komast figures in ancient Greek art,particularly on black-figure vases,highlighting their association with the worship of Dionysos,the origins of Greek drama,and their role in spreading human figural representation during the sixth century BC. [3] John H. Oakley,in his review of the book said "Smith's monograph is an excellent and thorough study of a popular motif used in archaic Greek art throughout most of the Greek world,and every university library and scholar of Greek vase painting should own a copy of this book. Studies like this take years to complete and are the building blocks for advancing our understanding of Greek art. We need more like this one." [13] Her more recent book Religion in the Art of Archaic and Classical Greece explores the relationship between art and religion in ancient Greek society,focusing on how small-scale art objects depict religious practices and experiences during the Archaic and Classical periods. [4] Moreover,in 2012,she co-edited A Companion to Greek Art with Dimitris Plantzos,which was reissued in paperback in 2018. [14]
Smith,through her research,examined the iconography of Athenian black-figure vases from the Archaic period found at the Berezan archaeological site,discussing their significance in understanding ancient Greek visual culture and societal aspects depicted through themes such as mythology,religion,and everyday life. [15] In related research,she explored the use of Greek vase-painting,particularly early Athenian red-figure dance scenes found on drinking-cups,as a source for understanding ancient Greek dance and performance,emphasizing the benefits of modern online resources for studying dance iconography. [16]
Smith's 2014 publication with Ethan Gruber explored applying linked open data methodologies to create a discipline-specific thesaurus for Greek pottery,integrating existing vocabulary systems,and demonstrating its utility through web-based tools for data analysis and visualization. [17] In the same year,she also provided a multi-faceted approach to teaching death in the classroom within the context of Classical studies,focusing on ancient Greek culture,aiming to address discomfort through contextualization,visual and material evidence,and various teaching techniques. [18] Later,in 2018,she explored the importance of rock-cut votive reliefs in Pisidia,analyzing their modern recovery,permanency in landscape,devotional significance,and cross-regional relevance,highlighting their enduring significance beyond antiquity. [19] In 2020,she authored a book chapter in the book titled The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Athens,wherein she examined the diverse roles and significance of animals in ancient Athenian society,drawing from sources such as texts,inscriptions,archaeology,and visual arts,with a focus on their involvement in everyday life,mythology and religion,as well as performance and competition. [20] Her 2022 work in a volume in honor of Gocha R. Tsetskhladze examined an Athenian black-figure skyphos featuring three Gorgons,analyzing its iconography,audience,cultural context,connection to Perseus,figure poses,potential performance relevance,and its discovery on Berezan. [21] Her more recent work surveyed recent publications (2017–2023) on ancient Greek art,categorizing them by themes and materials,and concludes with observations on prevalent subjects like the body,aesthetics,religion,and intercultural connections. [22]
Gisela Marie Augusta Richter was a British-American classical archaeologist and art historian. She was a prominent figure and an authority in her field.
Pottery,due to its relative durability,comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece,and since there is so much of it,it has exerted a disproportionately large influence on our understanding of Greek society. The shards of pots discarded or buried in the 1st millennium BC are still the best guide available to understand the customary life and mind of the ancient Greeks. There were several vessels produced locally for everyday and kitchen use,yet finer pottery from regions such as Attica was imported by other civilizations throughout the Mediterranean,such as the Etruscans in Italy. There were a multitude of specific regional varieties,such as the South Italian ancient Greek pottery.
Exekias was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter who was active in Athens between roughly 545 BC and 530 BC. Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique,which involved the painting of scenes using a clay slip that fired to black,with details created through incision. Exekias is regarded by art historians as an artistic visionary whose masterful use of incision and psychologically sensitive compositions mark him as one of the greatest of all Attic vase painters. The Andokides painter and the Lysippides Painter are thought to have been students of Exekias.
Red-figure pottery is a style of ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay.
The sculpture of ancient Greece is the main surviving type of fine ancient Greek art as,with the exception of painted ancient Greek pottery,almost no ancient Greek painting survives. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages in monumental sculpture in bronze and stone:the Archaic,Classical (480–323) and Hellenistic. At all periods there were great numbers of Greek terracotta figurines and small sculptures in metal and other materials.
Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from c. 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC,following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the archaic period,Greeks settled across the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea:by the end of the period,they were part of a trade network that spanned the entire Mediterranean.
Nikosthenes was a potter of Greek black- and red-figure pottery in the time window 550–510 BC. He signed as the potter on over 120 black-figure vases,but only nine red-figure. Most of his vases were painted by someone else,called Painter N. Beazley considers the painting "slovenly and dissolute;" that is,not of high quality. In addition,he is thought to have worked with the painters Anakles,Oltos,Lydos and Epiktetos. Six's technique is believed to have been invented in Nikosthenes' workshop,possibly by Nikosthenes himself,around 530 BC. He is considered transitional between black-figure and red-figure pottery.
White-ground technique is a style of white ancient Greek pottery and the painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica,dated to about 500 BC. It was especially associated with vases made for ritual and funerary use,if only because the painted surface was more fragile than in the other main techniques of black-figure and red-figure vase painting. Nevertheless,a wide range of subjects are depicted.
Geometric art is a phase of Greek art,characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting,that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages and a little later,c. 900–700 BC. Its center was in Athens,and from there the style spread among the trading cities of the Aegean. Though a not currently accepted concept by all scholars,the Greek Dark Ages were considered to last from c. 1100 to 800 BC and include the phases from the Protogeometric period to the Middle Geometric I period,which Knodell (2021) calls Prehistoric Iron Age. The vases had various uses or purposes within Greek society,including,but not limited to,funerary vases and symposium vases.
Robin Grimsey Osborne,is an English historian of classical antiquity,who is particularly interested in Ancient Greece.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient Greece:
The Athenian Treasury at Delphi was constructed by the Athenians to house dedications and votive offerings made by their city and citizens to the sanctuary of Apollo. The entire treasury including its sculptural decoration is built of Parian marble. The date of construction is disputed,and scholarly opinions range from 510 to 480 BCE. It is located directly below the Temple of Apollo along the Sacred Way for all visitors to view the Athenian treasury on the way up to the sanctuary.
The Xenokrateia Relief is a marble votive offering,dated to the end of the fifth-century BCE. It commemorates the foundation of a sanctuary to the river god Kephisos by a woman named Xenokrateia.
Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body,in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic development between about 750 and 300 BC was remarkable by ancient standards,and in surviving works is best seen in sculpture. There were important innovations in painting,which have to be essentially reconstructed due to the lack of original survivals of quality,other than the distinct field of painted pottery.
The Antenor Kore is a Late Archaic statue of a girl (Kore) made of Parian marble,which was created around 530/20 BC.
Beth Cohen is an American classical archaeologist. She studied under German-American art historian Dietrich von Bothmer at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University where she received her doctorate on bilingual vase painting of Ancient Greece. Her dissertation,Attic Bilingual Vases and their Painters is the main book used in the study of bilingual vase painting. Cohen became a specialist in the field of Greek vase painting,especially on rare forms of Attic vase painting. She organized the 2006 exhibition The colors of clay. Special techniques in Athenian vases at J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu.
Diana Buitron-Oliver was an American classical archaeologist and curator,specializing in Greek vase painting.
Lucy Talcott was an American archaeologist who worked on the excavations at the Ancient Agora of Athens for over twenty years. An expert on ancient Greek painted pottery,she coauthored the definitive study of Archaic and Classical household pottery.
Warfare was a common occurrence in Greece from the Neolithic Period through its conquest by Alexander the Great and until its conquest by the Roman Empire. Because of this,warfare was a typical theme in many pieces of ancient Greek art. Many works of art,like the Doryphoros or the chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos,used military objects in their composition,and many others,like the Chigi vase,had warfare as their main subject. Ancient Greek art is an important aspect of not just the history of art,but the history of warfare as well,due to its frequent spot on many works of ancient Greek art. As each different period in Greek history occurred,more and more types of art formed,as well as differing depictions of warfare.
The kothon black figure tripod is from Boetia and dates back to the sixth century B.C. It is made of ceramic and portrays three different figural scenes:one with athletes,one with ritual dancers (Komasts),and one with a drinking activity,on each of its legs. Its creation is attributed to the group of vessels known as the Boeotian Dancers Group and is currently held at the Dallas Museum of Art.
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