This two hour seminar introduces the fundamental characteristics of ancient Egyptian art, including the intersection of art and writing, drawing and painting techniques, and the magical and ritual properties of visual representation. Highlighting key works of art from three thousand years, this seminar goes beyond the traditional narrative of ancient Egyptian art as stiff, formal, and conservative to a greater appreciation of the collaborative nature of artistic production in the ancient Nile Valley.
Dr. Colleen Darnell has taught Egyptology and art history at institutions as diverse as Yale University, the art school at the University of Hartford, and Naugatuck Valley Community College. She has published widely on ancient Egyptian history, religion, and literature, and presents Egyptology to a wide audience through her Instagram accounts @vintage_egyptologist and @howtoreadhieroglyphs.
For many of us, there will be a learning curve using ZOOM. As far as these interfaces go, it is very user-friendly. As with anything new, it takes a little time to get the hang of it. So here are a few tips:
If you can, use a desktop or laptop. They are the easiest to control, and of course, provide you with the largest image for you to draw from. If those are not available, a tablet works well. A phone works well but can be so tiny that the group aspect can get a little lost.
Try to get the best WiFi connection you can. For many us, that means being in a certain area of our home or office. It will elevate your experience, though almost everyone we worked with has had a good connection.
Upon entering: When you enter a meeting, your video and audio are off. You may turn them on as we cannot control your camera and audio, but this is not mandatory. Look for the Video and Audio buttons on your screen. (See below for paragraph on Audio.)
The whole joy of connecting with others in these circumstances is seeing each other. There will be a button on your screen (in different places, depending on your device) that says either Gallery View or Speaker View. WE RECOMMEND GALLERY VIEW. That’s the view with all the faces.
One of the best parts of these sessions is sharing work. During our breaks we share our work (you don’t have to). It is truly a joy to see each other’s work.
