Julia Snape
PhD Research
My research topic is the display of medieval objects, including painting and decorative arts, in the museum from the late eighteenth century to the present day. The term ‘museum’ in this context has been used loosely to describe collections that may have been intended for either public or private consumption and which were assembled either as permanent or temporary displays. My work commences with a study of the formative collections that were displayed in medievalised interiors (which may not have contained much in the way of genuine medieval objects) such as those put together by Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill, William Beckford at Fonthill Abbey and Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford. Here I am particularly interested in the way in which backdrops and settings were created which laid a foundation for the way in which the medieval was presented to the viewer and I question how and why these approaches influenced the way in which medieval objects were presented, perceived and interpreted by successive generations of audiences and museum practitioners.
I then go on to explore how medieval art was presented in the 19th century museum in displays that were specifically intended to have a didactic remit that sought to educate and inform the artist, craftsman and designer. Here I examine how medieval objects fared when displayed as educational objects and explore the strategies employed by curators to attempt to achieve these ends. The thesis then goes on to consider important exhibitions of medieval art mounted in the twentieth century in Britain and concentrates on how changing intellectual and academic approaches to the study of medieval art have affected how these objects are presented to the public in such exhibitions formats as the ‘blockbuster’ and in permanent museum displays.
My research is particularly concerned with the exploration of the affective properties of light in the context of museological experience. I concentrate particularly on the influence of lighting effects on the perception and interpretation of art objects in the museum, home and art gallery. This thesis is not concerned with tracing the evolution of lighting technologies, rather, my focus is on the uses of natural light such as sunlight, moonlight and artificial light and the mediation of these light sources through such devices as stained or clear glass and other media. Of primary interest is the effect of luminosity as the means by which understanding of the viewed object is created and of light as the principle agent of aesthetic encounter.
Biography
Having trained initially in graphic design I went on to complete a degree in art history at UEA in 1995. After beginning my working life in the world of antiques and collectibles, I went on to work for four years at a Bond Street auction house that specialized in the sale of coins and medals, an experience that seems to have sparked a lasting curiosity in the peculiar motivations and habits of 'the collector'.
After a change of career and a challenging but intellectually unrewarding experience in the corporate sector, I decided upon a return to academia and embarked upon an M.A. in Museum Studies at the University of Manchester. Upon completing the M.A., I was employed as a heritage assistant at Kingston museum but it wasn't long before I succumbed to the lure of academia once again.
In September 2006 I secured AHRC funding for PhD research at the University of Manchester and I am now back where I feel happiest and most fulfilled.