Exhibition: The Digital Medieval
Movies, television, and video games—almost all forms of modern entertainment draw, in some sense, from the visual traditions of past cultures. Yet, the medieval past, in particular, holds a special place in the imaginary worlds that these media seek to create. From the silhouettes of great cathedrals to the domes of grand palaces, the legacy of the medieval world remains a strong influence on modern artists in the digital and cinematic space. This exhibition is designed to look closer and think deeper about the artistic choices made in modern media as it regards the medieval period.
This exhibition focuses on the impact of medieval Christian, Islamic, and Asian art on the imagined spaces of television, movies, and video games. Each "gallery" takes a thematic approach, focusing on key concepts such as art, architecture, experiences of empire, and identity and ethnicity that are intertwined with core art historical topics. Key questions include how is “exotic” portrayed and what role does neomedieivalism, and by extension orientalism, play in these visual media? How is the dichotomy between “other” and familiar depicted? How does escotericsm and magic enter our visual vocabulary of the medieval period? And how can we better understand the reception of pre-modern art in our daily lives?
