News Archive

Prof. Rommel comes to ECLA of Bard from Jacobs University, in Bremen, where he currently serves as Professor of Literature and Program Coordinator of the Humanities Graduate Program Intercultural Humanities. From 2001-09, he coordinated the Humanities Undergraduate Program in Intercultural Studies, which he successfully guided through the process of German accreditation. He received his Ph.D. and Habilitation in English Philology from Tübingen University; has taught at Northern Arizona University and Joensuu University, Finland; and has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University and Rice University in the United States. Prof. Rommel's research interests focus on 18th-century literature and history of ideas, Romanticism, literature and economics, and literary theory in the context of digital humanities. His publications are diverse; among his nine books are works on Adam Smith and economic thought in the 18th century; research techniques in literary studies; classics; plagiarism; space and place in theater; and an edited volume on computing in the humanities. He is a co-founder and editorial board member of Prolepsis. The Heidelberg Review of English Studies, and a member of ECOLAS European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His honors and awards include the Krupp College Teaching Award, International University Bremen (2002, re-nominated 2007), and the "Bremer Kooperationspreis" for innovative cooperative projects in the area of postcolonial and trans-cultural studies, with Bremen University (2003). Members of the ECLA community are familiar with Prof. Rommel from several visits, including a talk on "Sympathy and Self-Interest in 18th-Century British Culture", which he gave at ECLA on January 20, 2012. Prof. Rommel will take office on August 1. You can find full press release in German here

Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

Zac Barnett (1st Year BA, UK) Richard Bellamy's lecture dealt with the very real and relevant topic of compromise in coalition governments. Indeed, Professor Bellamy began by offering a reminder that, whilst coalition governments are the norm in Germany and other parts of Europe, the UK's current Conservative-Liberal Democrat government quite rightly forced academics like himself to re-examine the moral consequences of such coalitions. His talk, Mr. Bellamy announced, would concern questions such as whether, "compromises in politics are moral," and whether, in fact, they are, "even democratic." Many, he said, believe that the very need for compromise exposes a moral vacuum, for it shows a willingness to forgo principles in favour of securing popularity and power. Professor Bellamy then offered a topography of compromise. A "shallow compromise," he said, was the kind of agreement reached between a bartering customer and shop owner in which a hat that the former believes to be worth £10 and the latter believes to be worth £20 is finally sold at £15. This kind of shallow compromise in politics, it was suggested, alienates voters: if parties are just to agree on the easy middle road, the voters will feel as if their individual preferences have not been recognised. Professor Bellamy went on to argue, however, that compromise can be both moral and democratic—so long as that compromise is a "deep compromise". Democracy, he claimed, "involves the realisation that everyone has different views." The most ethical way to deal with this, he said, is not to polarise opinions in order to establish a strong majority—as both the presidential election system and the UK's 'first-past-the-post' election system do—but rather to make "deep compromises." For indeed fairness in a pluralistic society entails compromise. In practice, Bellamy said, this could best be achieved if political parties, rather than running election campaigns based on 'policy pledges' that often end up being shallowly-compromised, were to run elections with a pledge of "thinking as their voters do", even when compromises must later be made. This, of course, sounded very appealing. Guest commentator Christopher Gohl, however, thought it unrealistic. As head of the German Free Democrat Party's political planning unit, he was able to give a more practical insight into compromise in politics, pointing out that elections are games of competition in which parties have to sell themselves. For this reason, as in business, parties have no incentive to unite or associate in pledges to deeply compromise. Rather, they have to establish for themselves a position in the market based on concrete policy points. Smaller parties, then, are even keener to sell themselves on particular issues—hence the rise of 'single-issue parties' such as the Greens—for fear of otherwise getting lost in the political background. Mr. Bellamy replied that this approach to politics simply was not working. He claimed that current voting trends revealed that voters are, "turned-off" by the empty, "policy-package promises" of governments who are later seen to, "shallowly compromise" the preferences of their supporters. In the future, he argued, parties should sell themselves on their values, and the promise that—even when compromise is the only option—they will think as their supporters do, rather than succumbing to an easy mid-way compromise or surrendering policy promises. The most practical promise that parties can make, Bellamy believes, in a time in which compromise is not only practical but democratic, is that, "Liberal Democrats will reason like Liberal Democrats and Conservatives will reason like Conservatives." This is the only way, he claimed, that voters will still feel represented. Professor Bellamy's lecture was an interesting look at the moral implications of political compromise, and appeared to be in line with Hertie's aim of focusing on the "ethical and moral basis of leadership, public trust and social responsibility". With this lecture and the school's broader values in mind, it seems that Hertie's future events are worth looking out for.

Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

Paul Geerligs (AY '12, the Netherlands) Marcela, who received a PhD in Mediaeval Studies from the University of Notre Dame and recently published "Vernacular Songs as 'Oral Pamphlets': The Hussites and Their Propaganda Campaign" in Viator, has taught the core course Forms of Love: Eros, Agape and Philia, and is currently teaching Imperialism, Ancient and Modern and Christianity and the Church, the latter in which your correspondent is enrolled. The motivation to create Christianity arose because Marcela felt that, "there should be a course at ECLA that introduced Christianity due to its formative influence on the West … it's so woven in the Western identity: political and artistic." And naturally, the course readings, which include Genesis, the gospels of Matthew and Luke, the letters of St Paul, Tertullian, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Athanasius, represent this. Notably lacking though, is any reference to later Church development, such as Protestantism. Marcela explains this as, "Originally I thought it would cover the whole 2000 years, but in 10 weeks, it wasn't possible. I chose to do one thing well, rather than several things inadequately." It was good judgement. Thus far in-class discussions have contemplated discrepancies and shift of tone between Luke and the Letters of the Ephesians, and have drawn upon the readings from Genesis—something that would not have been possible if we had to gloss over such texts to accommodate the whole spectrum of Christianity. When asked if she has benefitted from the use of ECLA's seminar format, rather than the traditional lecture, Marcela states, "There is always something new. Reading the Gospels at ECLA is a totally different experience—we have Muslims, atheists—the background is diverse. Eye-opening basic questions such as inconsistencies are raised." I ask if Christianity differs from her previous courses at Notre Dame. "Much more focused upon Christian thought and theology—much less historical. This is new." I then enquire about her interest in propaganda, especially religious propaganda, wondering if this will manifest itself in the course. She responds, "I do have an interest in religious propaganda, but not necessarily as something sinister." By propaganda, she is referring to simply the dissemination of information. She mentions that we'll read An Exhortation to Martyrdom, which is according to her, "a kind of propaganda of Christianity. Mentioned are the nature of God and the destiny of those of faith and the virtue of the martyr. A sort of propaganda pamphlet." As term progresses, the class gradually comes to realise the extent of propaganda within the early Church and the influence thereafter and to critically analyse current streams of thought within the wider church (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Churches). For an institution dedicated to Value Studies, Marcela's course on Christianity showcases the, sometimes conflicting, values of an ancient religion that has and continues to influence Western society.

Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

Zac Barnett (1st Year BA, UK) But for a nominal fee I had the opportunity to adopt 'first position' in the learning process with fellow students - such are the benefits of ECLA. Oh, and one of our Ukrainian students was able to enlighten me as to the pronunciation ('on-aay-gin' was the best compromise between English and Russian we could manage). Again, such are the benefits of ECLA. In all honesty, it did take me a while to adjust. This isn't surprising, considering that my initial reaction to ballerinas on their tiptoes is to ask myself why they didn't just get taller dancers in the first place. A few technical difficulties (including the classically unfortunate mistimed gunshot sound) didn't help with the suspension of disbelief, either. However, the melodrama definitely helped me to engage. The ballet, based on Alexander Pushkin's poem Eugene Onegin, is a story of love, death, and regret. Onegin, our instigator, is admired by Tatyana, but instead decides to pursue her younger sister, Olga...who also just happens to be engaged to his best friend, Lensky. Driven to despair by the flirtation between his fiancée and best friend, Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel, and, in a particularly heart-wrenching scene, is shot dead. With a twist of fate that only a ballet or opera would be audacious enough to contrive, Onegin later decides to fall in love with Tatyana, who is now married and ultimately refuses Onegin. All very frustrating. In the midst of these convoluted twists and turns, though, a couple of scenes really stood out. During the third act, for example, we see Onegin, reintroduced to Tatyana three years after the duel, practically drifting through lines of happily united couples at a ball as he looks on at Tatyana and her husband taking centre stage. Onegin's entirely black attire creates a sharp contrast to the sea of graciously-moving white, and his sudden failure to articulate himself physically sets the emotional tone. And in fact, the movements did become easier to read, and towards the end I felt that I was beginning to get ballet a little more. I started to develop a sense of when the bodies seemed too close to each other or too far, or when the movements seemed too unnatural. Of course, I also began to appreciate the smoothness with which they moved and the lightness with which they landed (and even the standing on tiptoes seemed to make more sense by the end). Apparently the rest of the audience thought so too, as the show culminated with numerous bunches of flowers being thrown at the dancers as they took their bows; something I'd only seen before in films, but an act that certainly fit with the spectacle of such a melodramatic storyline and, for myself, a newly-discovered art-form.

Meta: Type(s): Berlin | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

Maria Androushko(1st year BA, Bulgaria) It might seem at first glance that it is simply one of those classes that ask you to take interest in something you are not interested in, bear and be done with it. ECLA, however strives to create an environment in which good higher education comes as close to a good general education, which does not limit one's perspective to a single area; in fact, this kind of education might provoke one to see that the idea of the 'single area' or the particular shade of green cannot be separated from the whole palette, or at least, that it just makes different sense when viewed from the interplay of the hues. The Core Course is primarily the medium that shows you why one needs to take interest in art and how this interest might illuminate one's general education and perceptions. The structure and idea of the core class at ECLA, as such, is intended to incite a 'reflective engagement' with the importance of the subject at hand. In the Core Values of Renaissance Florence students engage in deliberation on the significance of the values of the Renaissance and how they transform and inform the conception of values throughout history. Why Renaissance Florence? The Florentine values, according to Peter, present an essential phenomenon of note: Florence becomes the site where the determination of the concept of values lies in their interconnectedness: "The Core focuses on Florence because it is a particularly striking example of the interrelation of social, economic, and artistic values." Peter also suggested that the Florentine Renaissance is of great interest from a socio-historical perspective. Marxism for instance, sees Florentine culture as engendering a modern sense of individuality based on a dialogue of ancient and modern values in the context of a, "proto-capitalist society without the alienation," in which human 'labour' is the manifestation of the humanistic idea of the individual and his inspiration, creativity, and aspiration to knowledge. Further, Florence is an interesting object of study for a liberal curriculum in an, "obvious sense," Peter said, "[as] values are the things by which we orient ourselves in the world," an education focusing on the historicity of values, their development, so to speak, helps one figure out something about the direction of one's life. In a not so plain sense, the study of the Florentine Renaissance helps to illuminate the conflicts of values, which mark modernity. These conflicts first emerge in the Renaissance, as, for instance, the value of the sacred stands in tension with the value of art. The complex interplay of these values within an elaborate, self-reflexive framework of illusionary painting is evident in Giotto's cycle at the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, which the class visited for the first time this year. Later on Dante's Comedy and Boccaccio's Decameron pose the question of 'what if divine justice did not exist?' within an artistic medium that is densely constructed on the symbolism of the religious. Did the original idea of the course evolve? How? According to Peter the curriculum has evolved as Geoff Lehman, an ECLA faculty, brought new perspectives to the class. Originally, the course was more tied to the historical development of the dialogue of values. The 1st year BA and AY programme calls upon reflection of the conflicts and the interrelation of values via the study of the artistic works of three great historical periods: Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. But because of Geoff's conceptual interest in realism and naturalism, the spring term Core, "has become more about illusion and reality, which can always be tied back, however, to the fundamental questions about art and society." Another way, perhaps not so obvious, in which the core has changed this year in particular, was through the slight changes in the destinations of the "Italy Trip", which itself is a pivotal part of the core class. This year students visited the cities of Venice, Padua, and Milan in addition to Florence. In the words of Laura Scuriatti, faculty and one of this year's Core course leaders, the visit to Venice and Milan would provide students with an illuminating contrast and, "help them raise critical questions about Florence." She further noted that, we will see for ourselves the polarity set by the artist Vasari between Venice and Florence: he identified what later on would become a paradigm, viz. that Florentine art focuses on and is much more interested in lines and drawing, whereas Venetian art discloses itself through colour and volume. The idea of the course, as Laura explained, is also to think critically about the Renaissance as a concept, exploring the ways in which it came about in history, since the Florentine Renaissance seems in many ways to present itself as a foundational myth.

Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

April Matias (2nd year BA, Philippines) The architecture class has so far dealt with various museums located in Berlin's city center and their historical significance—how the architectural design as well as their respective reconstructions or restorations are loaded with socio-political meaning, and notably, how these institutions were major projects for monarchs who reigned at the time of their establishment and were aimed toward the patronage of the general public. In this sense, Sanssouci Park is of a different nature, where most constructions were to the varied tastes and envisaged utility of members of the royal family. The entrance to the park is a tree-filled long avenue which leads to the Neues Palais. The Palace was built under the rule of Frederick the Great, and the design was tailored to his preference for baroque architecture. The painted facade which mimics red brick is punctuated by pilasters that run parallel in position to the sculptures which stand around the Palace. In front of the Palace is a spacious lawn with pathways leading to other notable locations around the park. The view of the Palace from afar is marked by a dome at the center that has pargeted garland-like ornaments, which contributes to the Palace's imposing stance. Opposite the Palace itself are the Communs which currently house the faculty of Philosophy of the University of Potsdam. Sanssouci Park had previously been granted status as a United Nations World Heritage site, and it is quite interesting to find what was once solid ground exclusive to royalty now open to a general public eager to explore (whether consciously or not) architectural manifestations of political power. A bit farther from the Neues Palais are Schloss Charlottenhof and the Roman Baths, which in comparison to the New Palace's baroque style are rendered in classical style, primarily based on designs by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the same architect who handled the location planning, design and construction of Berlin's Altes Museum. One might be tempted to claim that the Charlottenhof manor is dwarfed by the Altes Museum's majestic colonnade, but Schinkel, being the genius architect, had succeeded in creating a rustic neoclassical structure which is both reminiscent of Italian villas and suited for an idyllic royal summer residence. The architectural design also achieves a subtle harmony with the greenery that surrounds it, quite unlike the garden in front of the Neues Palais. Though the manor itself was closed for restoration, the painted facade of the entrance offered much to interest visitors—allusive of Renaissance frescoes, the entrance is in fact a painted genealogy of the royal family. Similarly, the Roman Baths features a pastiche of classical elements, marked by Bachants, the companions of the wine god, Bacchus. Initially planned by Schinkel, a student of his, Ludwig Persius took over the project after his death. Leading up to the Sanssouci Palace, the group passed by the incredibly-golden Chinese house, which served as a garden pavilion at the time of Frederick the Great's residence in Sanssouci. The design itself is more rococo than 'Chinese', decorated by one figure with a parasol on top of the roof. Sanssouci Palace sits on top of a hill to which one must walk up a wide central staircase, past the Palace's multi-leveled vineyard. The vineyard is well-maintained with small trees and bushes trimmed each to a conic shape. The facade of the Palace facing the vineyard is clearly rococo, decorated with caryatids, sculptural female figures which also serve as pillars of structures. In the center of the facade is the name of the Palace "Sans Souci." Going around, one finds the segmented semi-circular colonnade of Corinthian columns which are quite reminiscent of pergolas from simpler Italian villas. The facade of the Palace that faces the colonnade is no longer decorated with sculpted figures and instead has pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Sanssouci is famously known as Frederick the Great's place of refuge owing to his intense dislike for the Berlin City Palace. Similarly, it is a nice escape for Berliners wearied by the urban landscape. Is it nostalgia for the days of kings or fascination for an inaccessible grandeur that makes a trip to Potsdam enticing? It is difficult to say that all those who walk through the gates of Sanssouci Park come with a critical approach to a symbolic preservation of Germany's monarchical past, particularly on the rare occasion of a worry-free Sunday blessed with good weather.

Meta: Type(s): Berlin | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

Zac Barnett (1st Year BA, UK) With 57 venues putting on over 150 performances within a single five-hour window, the event seemed to scream "Look at me, I'm cultural" so loudly that no self-respecting Berliner-hipster (or Liberal Arts student) could resist. And the cultural mix was indeed liberal, ranging from Händel to cabaret with improv-theatre, ballet and tap-dance in between. And of course, no festival is complete without its fair share of oriental jazz or an 'octopus-variety' show. For ten euros, we students were able to fit into this one night as many of these short preview performances as possible, being shuttled around the city in dedicated buses from venues as esteemed as the Konzerthaus to Berlin's more obscure Neukölln and Prenzlauerberg stages. Thinking we'd start the night off with a bang, we headed to Kreuzberg's Hebbel Am Ufer theatre to see Monteverdi's L'Orfeo. Not much of a bang, you might think, apart from the fact that it starred electro-singer Peaches (more well-known for her saucy lyrics than her soprano) alongside an androgynous leather and stocking-clad cast. Apparently edgy good-looks were a requirement even for the orchestra. We next entered into the kitsch ostentatiousness that is the Komische Oper to see another modern adaptation, this time of Bizet's Carmen. Featuring Polizei and Flamenco dancers, and performed against the backdrop of a Sparkasse bank in a mixture of German, French, Spanish and Italian, the Dance of the Vampires performance that followed seemed really quite pedestrian. Tanz der Vampire, based on Roman Polanski's film The Fearless Vampire Killers was a family-friendly, cheesy guilty-pleasure of a performance, and, already at 11pm, we just had time to rush from the Theater des Westens to the Schiller Theater for some late-night snippets of opera. Then, feeling all cultured-out for the evening, the night culminated in a huge party at the Volksbühne, where the old and young, tourists and Berliners danced on the extended stage looking out into the auditorium. A very dramatic way to end the long night.

Meta: Type(s): Berlin | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

Michael David Harris (AY'12, USA) In the course's history, where students spend several days in Florence at the beginning of the spring term, brief visits to other cities, including Rome, Milan and Siena, have been part of the curriculum. A visit to Milan allowed students to see a number of works by Leonardo da Vinci, most prominently The Last Supper at Santa Maria delle Grazie. Viewing the work in person permitted us to note details that are difficult to perceive from a copied image, such as the feet of the disciples. The painting has gone through many restorations due to Leonardo's use of gesso and mastic on a stone wall rather than tempura because the latter dries too quickly and restricts alterations. The difference between painting techniques is immediately noticeable when one looks at the well preserved fresco of a crucifixion by Giovanni Donato on the wall opposite The Last Supper. Another artistic work students visited and studied was the Milan Cathedral in the historic center of the city. The immense structure has a highly gothic inside and an eclectic façade that reminded us of the several different centuries dedicated to the building's construction. Our visit to this Cathedral was a return to the gothic after concentrating on the renaissance churches of Brunelleschi in Florence such as San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito. Another church of Milan visited was Santa Maria presso San Satiro, a small cathedral that most interestingly features a mural from Bramante that stands in as a choir through the device of trompe-l'oeil. Bramante plays with the concept of perspective initiated by artists like Brunelleschi to give the illusion that the wall of the cathedral goes further into space than it actually does. The peak of our experiences in Milan may have been a visit to the Sforza Castle. The castle that served as the residence for the Sforza dynasty, now houses a major museum. Part of the original internal decoration of the castle is a ceiling painted by da Vinci. We carefully discussed his abstract design in the room given the name Sala delle asse, or 'chamber of wooden boards', depicting the innumerable entangling of vegetation alongside ropes and knots. Some form of beauty is offered through this piece's immeasurable complication of a simple subject matter. Also in the museum is the last pietà, and purportedly the last sculpture, of Michelangelo. The unfinished piece (referred to as Rondanini Pietà) was intermittently worked on by the artist for about a decade. It shows the Virgin Mary supporting the corpse of Christ from behind. The faces of both figures are wholly indistinct. As opposed to Michelangelo's traditional monumental style, this sculpture depicts the human body as long and thin, with a high head to body ratio. One of the greatest pleasures of students encountering this sculpture was the comparative analysis we were able to make through another late pietà by Michelangelo when we visited, The Deposition in Museo dell'Opera del Duomo of Florence. Students were amazed by this more complete, but arguably still unfinished, sculpture. It displays four figures, the Virgin Mary, Christ, Mary Magdalene, and an ambiguous male that overlooks and possibly supports the other three characters. The face of this figure is widely considered to be a self-portrait of Michelangelo. Most noteworthy is how the artist potently portrays the collapsed muscles of Christ. One's conception of the sculpture's development is heightened when comparing this feature to the Rondanini Pietà, where the body of Christ has no definition. There are a couple of similarities, however, between these two sculptures. The first is that in both the heads of Christ and his mother Mary are merged. In the Florentine pièta Jesus' head is adjoined to the right side of Mary's face, and with the Milan pietà he joins the right side of her chin. Both pieces also suggest an internal conflict and artistic misgivings on the part of Michelangelo. Both sculptures depict a space where part of the sculpture was literally chopped off. The Deposition portrays Jesus with only one leg; the other, draping over the lap of the Virgin, was removed. Rondanini contains the bottom half of a well defined arm that is attached to no body. This arm is supposed to have belong to Christ but due to the chest of Christ being overworked, the arm could no longer be proportionate to the body. Michelangelo therefore chose to chop off the arm and shoulder of Christ. Therefore these two pieces that were expected to decorate the burial place of Michelangelo display both the artist's ability to depict the beautiful and his own struggles with his artistic endeavour.

Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |

Jaime Groetsema (AY '12, USA) Commissioned in 1523, Michelangelo designed and began working on the building in 1525. In 1535, Michelangelo left Florence and his work was finished, based on his designs, by Ammannati, Basari and Tribolo. The Library remains an important attraction for the city, but tucked inside of the cloister of the Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze, the site is easy to miss. However, this important architectural site of the Laurentian Library is worth a visit, as it employs High Renaissance styles in a site-specific, and in some ways challenging, space. The entrance to the cloister, which is also the entrance to the Library, opens into a disorienting space. The overpowering and magnificent staircase (actually three, joined together) leading to the Library is centered on one wall but does not face those entering the building. Instead there is another human-sized door, mirror-opposite and off-center, that implies a clear and humble path to the cloister. The architecture of the small, but tall, vestibule can be described as oversized: Doric pilasters are large and frame fake windows and empty statuary boxes, composed of either Gothic or Renaissance arches, all surrounding the second tier of the room, while underneath the almost-empty walls are highlighted by enlarged scrolls that curiously intend to visually support the weight of the pilasters. The staircase, which is larger than necessary, asks those who enter to turn 90 degrees to face the high entrance to the Library. Two small side staircases buttress a large center staircase whose steps, the edges of which are rounded and almost scrolled on the ends, appear exaggerated next to those typical, squared and rectangular steps adjacent to them. This space may leave viewers perplexed not only about how the space functions, but how one should function in it, but it is possible to read Michelangelo's plan as a depiction of classical forms in extreme as a way of emphasizing their own artificiality, where the human being is largely trumped and made miniscule in its presence, as to force a sense of humility and remind those of their finite duration of life. The interior space, the reading room, is another challenge, as well. When ascending the grand staircase of the enclosed vestibule, into another enclosed space, viewers are confronted with an elongated and seemingly infinite hallway, instead of a place of rest or reading. On each side of the hallway, mimicking a central vanishing point, are compact and interconnected wooden rows that function as tables, chairs and shelving (though books and bodies are no longer present). On the ground there is orange and white stone patterning that depicts grotesque and natural decoration, these are then reflected in an almost-mirror opposite on a wooden, carved ceiling. Where the architecture of the vestibule seemed to reflect on and perhaps surmount the human as almost trivial, the architecture of the reading room reminds viewers of the possible Bacchantic revelry of passion and human experience. Aside from these two spaces there were a few adjoining rooms: one small circular room, centered but adjacent to the hallway, with shelving for oversized books, where few (if any from the actual collection) remain today; at the end of the hallway, more small rooms renovated for a gift shop and exhibition space displaying rare books and illuminated manuscripts from the Medici collection. The Laurentian Library is a curious space where readers are most-assuredly asked to confront their own human being when experiencing juxtaposed extremes of neo-classical architecture magnified and subverted, alongside ornamental detailing that carries natural symbols of rejuvenation and the grotesque. And though Michelangelo's designs may feel like an affront, they definitely, and importantly so, intend to bring these tenets of the Renaissance up close and personal.

Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Bard College Berlin | Institutes(s): Bard College Berlin |