Dean’s Insider: Diving into latest issue of Aperture, new faculty books in the new year

As we launch into this new year, I’ve had a wonderful stack of reading on my nightstand that I wanted to share with you.

I was delighted to receive a copy of the winter issue of Aperture Magazine, which is the first issue ever devoted entirely to Latinx photography. This rich issue was guest edited by UT alumna Pilar Tompkins Rivas, who is also the chief curator and deputy director of curatorial and collections at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

I also have been enjoying enlightening new publications by our College of Fine Arts faculty members:

• Professors Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler recently published Flora Redux (Radius Books, 2022), a richly illustrated book that chronicles their process of creating their acclaimed work, Flora. The book includes the transcript of the film installation, a visual chronology of Flora Mayo’s life and conversations with the artists.
• Associate Professor Nassos Papalexandrou’s Bronze Monsters and the Cultures of Wonder: Griffin Cauldrons in the Preclassical Mediterraneanwas published by UT Press this fall. The book is an enlightening study of griffin cauldrons in the preclassical Mediterranean, uncovering the origins of illusionism in Greek art and exploring the social significance of a changing visual culture.
• Associate Professor Luisa Nardini’s book Chants, Hypertext, Prosulas: Re-Texting the Proper of the Mass in Beneventan Manuscripts was published by Oxford Press this fall. The book provides a model for future studies of liturgical music and illustrates the interconnectedness of modern and ancient modes of human learning, teaching, and communicating.

This is just a small sampling of the great work our alumni and faculty members have been producing recently on the publication front. We will be featuring a full slate of publications for this academic year in our forthcoming issue of Arts Next.

Sincerely,