IAS 2014 CAA Business Meeting Minutes1
Italian Art Society: Annual Business Meeting
Friday, February 14, 2014, 7:30 AM
Chicago Hilton, Williford A&B, 3rd Floor
Meeting called to order at 7:43 AM by Cathleen Fleck
Officers/Executive Board: Cathleen Fleck, Sheryl Reiss, Alison Perchuk, Nicola Camerlenghi, Sean Roberts (newly elected Secretary substituting for Catherine McCurrach), Frances Gauge (for Brian Curran), Kay Arthur, Anne Leader, Gilbert Jones, Janis Elliot.
35 attendees at 8:45 AM, including the officers/executive board.
1. Announcements (Cathleen Fleck)
Thank you to our breakfast sponsor, Syracuse University
Laurinda Dixon spoke on behalf of Syracuse and its graduate and undergraduate programs in art history, including its Florence program.
2. IAS/Kress Foundation Lectures (Cathleen Fleck)
This valuable program enables interchange between North America and Italy by facilitating senior US scholars in the sharing of their work with Italian colleagues.
2014 IAS/Kress Foundation Pisa Lecture: Professor Jean Cadogan (Trinity College), “‘Maravigliose istorie:’ The Mural Decoration of the Camposanto in Pisa,” May 27, 2014 at 5pm in the Gispoteca of the Università di Pisa, with a reception to follow.
2015 IAS/Kress Foundation Lecture: Location will be in Naples at the Università deli Studi di Napoli. IAS will be seeking a scholar; deadline is January 4, 2015.
The work and topic should be connected to the region or city in which the lecture is being held.
3. Nominating Committee (Frances Gage, committee member):
Appreciation for departing committee chars and members for their service: Catherine McCurrach (Secretary), Gilbert Jones (Chair) & David Boffa (former Chair) Graduate Students and Emerging Scholars Committee, Niall Atkinson(nominating committee), Sarah Kozlowski (Program Committee), Catherine Hess and Ian Verstegen (Awards Committee)
New Elections: Alison Perchuk (Treasurer, re-elected 2016), Sean Roberts (Secretary, 2016), Kristin Streahle and Antje Gamble (GSES Committee 2017), Liliana Leopardi (Nominating Committee 2017), Karen Lloyd (Programming Committee 2017), Sally Cornelison and Judith Steinhoff (Awards Committee 2017), Kay Arthur (Newsletter Editor, re-elected 2016), Anne Leader (Webmaster, re-elected 2016)
4. Treasurer’s Report (Alison Perchuk)
•Alison delivered the full treasurer’s report; a copy is available on the IAS’s website.
Questions may be directed to her at
•Cathleen followed up with encouragement for the membership as a whole to think about how we can broaden the IAS’s membership to better encompass the fullness of Italian art from prehistory to the present.
5. Awards Committee (Janis Elliott, Chair)
•Thanked the full committee for all of their hard work.
•Announced Jean Cadogan as IAS/Kress speaker for 2014.
•Announced the recipients of the Kress Travel Grants:
Francesca dell’Acqua, “The Salerno School of Medicine, the Heritage of Archbishop Alphanus, and the Narrative Program of the Salerno Ivories,” 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, 8-11 May, 2014
Peter Dent, ”‘No empty work’: Giovanni Pisano and the Status of Sculpture,” 60th Annual Meeting, Renaissance Society of America, New York, 27-29 March, 2014
Reinhart Rupert Metzner, “Two Abbeys between Frontiers: Casamari and Fossanova and Their Key Function in Theology, Politics, and Architecture in the Times of Henry VI of Hohenstaufen,” 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, 8-11 May 2014
Elinor Myara Kelif, “Private Delectation: Jacopo Zucchi’s Cabinet Paintings for Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici,” 60th Annual Meeting, Renaissance Society of America, New York, 27-29 March, 2014
Nicoletta Pazzaglia, “Psychiatric Photography, Gender, and the Quest for National Identity in Fin-de-Siecle Italy,” American Association for Italian Studies Annual Conference, Zurick, 23-25 May, 2014
Rebecca Raynor, ”The Church of S. Lucia alle Malve: Cultural Mixing in a Kitchen Nightmare,” 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, 8-11 May, 2014
Itay Sapir, “The Repressed Watershed: 1600, the Early Modern, and the Moderne,” 102nd Annual Conference, College Art Association, Chicago, 12-15 February, 2014
Elisabetta Scirocco, “A Syncretic Model and Its Success: The Liturgical Installations at Salerno,” 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, 8-11 May, 2014
Carolina Zgraja, “Stillness as Devotional Function in Altarpieces by Giovanni Bellini,” 60th Annual Meeting, Renaissance Society of America, New York, 27-29 March, 2014
•Announced IAS Travel Grants:
Francesca Borgo, PhD Candidate, Harvard University, “The Beast Within, the Beast Without: Animality and Hybridity in Early Modern Armor Ornamentation” in Armor as Art, 60th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, New York, 27-29 March, 2014.
Kristen Streahle, PhD Candidate, Cornell University, “TABIMUROLLI MUIDEM REP: PseudoKufic, Retrograde Latin, and the Crusades Remembered on the Chiaramonte Steri Ceiling,” in the IAS-sponsored session “The multiethnic and multi religious environment,” 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, 8-11 May, 2014.
•Announced the IAS Research & Publication Grants:
Danielle Carrabino, Lecturer, Rhode Island School of Design, illustrations for her book, Caravaggio and the Caravaggesque in Sicily, under review.
Allie Terry-Fritsch, Associate Professor, Bowling Green State University, research in Florence for her book, Somaesthetics and the Renaissance: Viewing Bodies at Work in Early Modern Italy, under review.
•We received a total of 18 applicants for the 2 travel grant awards and 24 applicants for the 2 research grants.Cathleen noted that the second research grant was added when the demand was noted.
•She reiterated thank you to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation; Max Marmor received the gratitude on behalf of the Kress Foundation.
6. Program Committee (Nick Camerlenghi)
•His goals: to expand beyond our important core constituencies in Medieval and Renaissance art and to reach out to new members who are interested in meeting our mission of supporting the study of Italian art from prehistory to the present day.
The Program Committee’s strategy this year was to move forward from Medieval and Renaissance into the modern and Contemporary world.
We also sought to expand to additional conferences and locations.Increased programs are seen as a way to expand our membership in scope and numbers.
•Added a Programs area to the website with a database of past conferences and sessions; this is an excellent place for possible session organizers to scout their topics before proposing sessions.
•Presented this year’s sessions:
102nd CAA Annual Conference in Chicago .
American Association for Italian Studies Annual Conference, Zurich, May 23-25, 2014
The IAS will host three two-part sessions at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Association of Italian Studies.
2014 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 8-11
The IAS will sponsor three linked sessions at the 2014 meeting of the ICMS.
60th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, New York, March 27-29, 2014. The Italian Art Society will sponsor five sessions and host a reception at RSA 2014.
Sixteenth Century Society and Conference, Annual Conference, New Orleans, October 16-19, 2014.
The IAS will host two sessions at the 2014 SCSC annual conference.
•Introduced coming conferences and deadlines:
2015 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 14-17
The Programs Committee is accepting session ideas and proposals in any stage of development. Members interested in putting together a panel or linked panels should send a one-page CV, a brief abstract (250 words max), session title, a short list of potential or desired speakers (they need not be confirmed), the name the name of potential chair(s) with email addresses and affiliation, and a one-page CV to the IAS Program Committee Chair by 15 April 2014.
61st Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Berlin, March 26-28, 2015
The Italian Art Society will sponsor up to five sessions at RSA 2015. Sessions are typically comprised of three 20-minute papers. Members interested in putting together a panel or linked panels on any topic of Italian Art ca. 1300-1650 should send a brief abstract (150 words max) and session title(s) to the Program Committee chair. Session proposals should also include name of organizer(s)/chair(s) with email addresses, one page CV, and affiliation. Organizers may choose speakers or submit a call for papers, which will be posted on this page. Deadline 15 April 2014.
103rd College Art Association Annual Conference, New York, February 11-14, 2015
The IAS will host one session, as well as its annual business meeting, at the 103rd CAA conference in New York. A call for papers will be posted when it is available.
104th College Art Association Annual Conference, 2016
The IAS is accepting proposals for its sponsored long (2.5 hrs) and short (1.5 hrs) sessions at CAA 2016. Our affiliation with CAA grants the privilege of hosting a short session every year as well as submitting a long session for consideration by the CAA program committee. Members interested in putting together a panel or linked panels on any topic of Italian art (broadly conceived) should send a brief abstract (300 words max), session title, a short list of potential or desired speakers (they need not be confirmed), the name of the chair(s) with email addresses and affiliation, and a one-page CV to the IAS Program Committee Chair. Deadline 15 August 2014.
2015 American Association for Italian Studies Annual Conference, TBA
The IAS is accepting session proposals for the 2015 annual meeting of the American Association of Italian Studies. Questions and proposals should be sent to the Program Committee Chair no later than 15 October 2014.
SCSC Annual Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, October 22-25, 2015
The IAS is now accepting proposals for Sixteenth Century Society annual conference that address any issue relevant to Italian art and architecture in the long sixteenth century. Questions and proposals should be sent to the Program Committee Chair no later than 1 February 2015.
SAH 68th Annual Conference, Chicago, April 15-19, 2015
The IAS will sponsor a session at the 2015 conference where SAH will celebrate its 75th anniversary. The call for papers will be posted here when it becomes available.
•Encouraged submission of conference panel ideas for future events.
•Discussed our mini-conference at CIMA—Center for Modern Italian Art in New York—and they will be hosting a full day on the topic from our rejected CAA session on Postwar Italian Art.
•Cathleen’s follow up:
Reiterated interest in social and networking events; please let us know your comments and thoughts.Also, would welcome ideas about ways to reach out to a wider constituency.
7. GSESC (Gilbert Jones)
•Brought to members attention the Google Group—not just for graduate students, for all members.
•Mentor/Mentee program will finally take off after 3 years of hard work. Form on IAS website where can apply to be a mentor or a mentee; send to Sarah Wilkins and she will make the match.
8. Ad Hoc Committee on Membership, Outreach, and Development (Sheryl Reiss)
Reported on ideas for expanding the society, including membership modes, reaching out to lapsed members, building a robust publications resource.
Building Italian ties, by reaching out to colleagues in Italy and institutions in Italy.
Expand website to include a book reviews section; possible publications in the future.
Development: seeking ways to expand fundraising capacity.
30th Anniversary in 2017; developing idea for a fundraising campaign.
How to continue to reach members across multiple digital platforms, including those who do not engage with social media?
How to negotiate growth in constituencies—can we maintain focus on the core Med/Ren constituency even as we expand to other time periods and interests.
Announced constitution of a new standing committee on Membership, Outreach and Development.
•The Ad Hoc Committee report is available on the IAS website.
9. Webmaster’s Report (Anne Leader)
•Thanked Areli Marina for the Amazon concept; Jacqueline Musacchio and Alison Perchuk for establishing the website.
•Introduced the IASblog on tumblr; this puts us in good academic and institutional company. As of this AM, 1,609 followers of our blog. Younger demographic, but also general public: promoting study of art and architecture to a wide public. 3,728 unique visitors; more than 10,000 page views. Encouraged membership to look at it, share it, and write a blog post and send it to Anne—short, basic, with images.
•Website is growing and changing. 9,645 unique visitors in 2013; more than 34,000 page views. Largest constituency is from the US, but popular in Italy, UK, Canada Changes include a programs database (suggestion of John Paoletti). Google translate button. Twitter feed. Can “follow” the website; this will send you any new post to the homepage (can also unsubscribe!). Please contact Anne, , for feedback and comments, including design ideas. Send her publications, write blog entries.
•Delivered Heather Graham’s social media report: Facebook, 654 followers. A lot of this traffic, and on Twitter, is through the blog. FB is a forum for sharing information and ideas. 140+ followers on Twitter. 160 followers on Academia.edu; more than 1,000 profile and document views. For any questions: contact Heather,
10. Newsletter (Kay Arthur)
•Winter newsletter is on the website; new secretary will be sending out link to newsletter shortly. Archive of past newsletters on website.
•Seeking specific items for next newsletters, but we’re also open to your ideas—what you’re doing, unusual locations, exhibition reviews, book reviews.
•Needs a correspondent in Venice to balance those in Rome & Florence.
•Looking for an “Art History Mystery” editor/columnist. Answering queries sent to the website; attribution questions—whatever the individual would like to focus on.
11. Announcements
•Mary Edwards has established a travel grant in memory of her parents. For women who are ABD to travel to Kalamazoo to present papers on medieval art.
•Reminder that submissions for the Spring Newsletter are due by April 15 at
•Reminder to attend our IAS sessions at CAA, February 14 at 12:30-2:00pm: Futuro Anteriore: Cultural Self-Appropriation as Catalyst in the Art of Italy
Friday, February 14, 2014, 12:30–2:00 PM
Hilton Chicago, 3rd Floor, Williford A&B
Co-Chairs: Irina D. Costache and Alison L. Perchuk, California State University, Channel Islands.
•Sheryl Reiss—Alexander Marr, Cambridge, seeking 4 5-year postdocs at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH) for a project on genius in the early modern era. Please reach out to him if interested at
Adjourned 8:59 AM