An Editor’s Thoughts on the Contribution of the Issue as a Whole
by Sarah Horowitz The term “spectacle” encompasses an array of meanings across disciplines. As early as the seventeenth century, “spectacle” was associated with the theatrical displays of early English drama. Furthermore, the rise of a new middle class particularly in France during the nineteenth century gave way to new interpretations of the expression.1 “Spectacle” in […]
by Althea Ruoppo There is a certain comfort that is brought only by the stillness of the hours between dusk and dawn. Nightfall has long held a fascination for artists and, especially since the nineteenth century, has had rich treatment in the United States and Europe as our contributors to the Spring 2022 issue of […]
by Julián Serna1 In 1892, the Colombian political cartoonist Alfredo Greñas (1852–1949) published the back of an engraving plate as a sign of protest for the government censorship of his work (fig. 1).2 Un penitente (A penitent), a monochrome print with Catholic undertones in its title, is a testimony of how images not only represent […]
by Phillippa Pitts I have always been fascinated by our species’ inclination to find patterns in randomness. There appears to be an indefatigable human capacity to create order from the chaos of lived experience. Across science, religion, civics, and society, we create rules: rules for living, rules for doing, rules for nature, even rules for […]
by İkbal Dursunoğlu This issue of SEQUITUR reflects upon the “Interiors” of our architectural and psychological boundaries, and witnesses how the overlap of these physical and mental spaces creates both shelters of intimacy and sites of estrangement. Despite writing on one of the most durable, and yet most flexible, features of human existence, and around diverse […]
by Rebecca Arnheim and Bailey Benson When the theme of “Environment” was selected for the 36th Annual Boston University Graduate Symposium in the History of Art & Architecture, we could not imagine how profoundly relevant it would be for the year 2020. The year began with bushfires in Australia that burned more than 46 million […]
by Colleen Foran When the editorial staff of SEQUITUR agreed on the theme “UnNatural” for this issue over five months ago, we considered it a thought experiment. It was an exciting and productive thought experiment, certainly, but nonetheless abstract. But the first half of 2020 has been a cultural turning point, alongside devastating health, political, […]
Our newest issue of SEQUITUR explores ideas around historiography, representation, and canonization through the theme “re/vision.” The essays and exhibition reviews in this issue reflect on varying tactics that expand the thematic and temporal variety in art and architectural history. Moving from gender politics to mass-housing policies, environmental crisis to archeological reproduction, the range of […]
This issue of SEQUITUR looks to boundaries, both physical and conceptual, to explore what it means to “[cross] the line.” Borders, as lines of containment or exclusion, intrinsically bring dichotomies to the forefront; their “crossing” is often viewed as an act of transgression. The contributors for this issue explore the places where boundaries exist, the dualistic […]
This issue of SEQUITUR brings to readers work on multiple, multifaceted, and overlapping concepts of “text/ure.” Through a focus on the element of texture itself as a material quality of surface, we hope to deliberately emphasize haptic experience in the contents of this issue, rather than limiting exploration to the optic realm, so frequently privileged […]