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University of Essex homepage Departments Philosophical Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies Research Art produced beyond its historic institutions
research area

Art produced beyond its historic institutions

Birds eye view of Matt Lodder holding tattoo book

This research area interrogates objects of our shared visual and material culture that do not reside in museums or otherwise conform to our expectations about what constitutes an artwork.

We place strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to studying such objects, which stems from our conviction that interdisciplinary enquiry allows us to better understand complex issues that have transformed the world at different historical moments.

Some recent examples of this strand of our work include Dr. Lodder’s 2017–2021 exhibition British Tattoo Art Revealed and the publications of Dr. Ruíz-Gomez on the intersection of art and medicine in nineteenth-century France.

Visit our members staff profiles for more information on their publications and works. You can also contact members of staff for information on research supervision opportunities.

Our members

Dr Natasha Ruiz-Gomez
Senior Lecturer, School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Research interests: Art and science/medicine; Auguste Rodin's oeuvre; Nineteenth-century French sculpture; Architecture and urban planning in nineteenth-century Paris; Auguste Rodin and science; Jean-Martin Charcot and art; Objectivity and medical imagery; Medical portraiture; Nineteenth-century medical photography; Theories of degeneration and genius
Professor Diana Bullen Presciutti
Professor, School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Research interests: visual hagiography; charitable institutions (hospitals, confraternities); visual culture of social problems; late medieval and Renaissance Italian visual culture (1300-1600); reception theory; visual culture of the mendicant orders; gender and sexuality; medical humanities
Dr Matt Lodder
Senior Lecturer, School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Research interests: tattooing and body modification in their historical and theoretical contexts; lowbrow, outsider, countercultural, kitsch and erotic art & visual culture; the visual and cultural contexts of sex and sadomasochism, including pornography; internet and digital art; methodologies of art historical and visual culture study

Highlights of our research

Press

  •  An article in the Guardian features Matt Lodder’s research about tattooing.

Exhibitions

Related courses

Are you looking to study an art history degree at undergraduate, masters or PhD level? Explore some of the exciting courses below, or visit our subject areas to find out more about the degrees and modules that Essex has to offer. If you're not sure which subject is right for you, you can always search for a course. If you're looking for research opportunities, or to find a supervisor, you can use our research finder by searching for your research interests.

 

Explore our subject area
Space and Place
The politics of visual culture
Medical Humanities
Also see
Centre for Curatorial Studies
Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Research in the School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies research degrees
Art history courses
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