Papers by Laura Skinnebach
K & K/K&K, May 2, 2023
Cand.mag. i kunsthistorie og publikationsredaktør Overgaden Institut for Samtidskunst ProLog En f... more Cand.mag. i kunsthistorie og publikationsredaktør Overgaden Institut for Samtidskunst ProLog En flok mennesker cykler syngende gennem en eftermiddagstaet Nørrebrogade fra Folkets Park på Nørrebro til Statens Museum for Kunst i hjertet af København. Det er et kor, koret bevaeger sig gennem en menneskemaengde, og derfor er det et opsigtsvaekkende kor: Sange fra cykler hører som regel ikke hjemme i gaderne (allerhøjest som klart definerede gågade-optrin). Aktivistkoret er grundlagt i byrummet, bruger byrummet som sit øvelokale og sin scene. Blågårds Plads, Nørrebroparken, Roskilde, Esbjerg, Aarhus, Rotterdam, Beograd, det er et kor uden graenser for udfoldelse og uden graenser for deltagelse. I en strømlinet by som København er stort set hvilken som helst afvigelse fra målrettet, stilfaerdig og anonym bevaegelse gennem det offentlige rum en påfaldende handling, så når tilpas mange mennesker (og alligevel ikke flere end et par håndfulde) bryder monotonien og haelder kampsange ud over hverdagen og myldretiden, bliver det i hvert fald hørt. Utvivlsomt kun kortvarigt, utvivlsomt kun som brudstykker af tekst. Måske registreres sangen blot med en vis overraskelse over melodi på en cykelsti, men selv i sin flygtighed er sang en højlydt modstandshandling: Et åbenlyst alternativ til den lixtal-maettede systemkritik, der formuleres i 218 Kultur & Klasse * 134-135 * 2023 AEstetisKe protestKulturer pressen, blandt akademikerne, på kunstinstitutioner og-uddannelser og, kunne man indvende, i naervaerende artikel. Et åbenlyst råb ad magthaverne. En lille forstyrrelse af gadens og systemets hverdagslige ro. Cyklisternes sang lyder: Modstand, modstand Intet roligt bagland Modstand, modstand Intet roligt bagland Angrib volden i hegnet, anarkistiske sjael Bevaegelse og beskyttelse for alt der gror og ånder Elsk med hele dit vaesen Elsk med hele dit vaesen Faelles om aggressionen, der er nødvendig Del det som ingen kan eje: håb og handling Faelles om omsorgen, der er nødvendig Illegale ideer langt ude i skovene, hvor interarter fester Ydmyg hegnet Ydmyg kameraet Ydmyg våbnet Aktiv modstAnd Gennem de seneste år har en gruppe, bestående af musikere, billedkunstnere, forfattere, skoleelever, forskere, flygtninge og mennesker uden titler i øvrigt, ført en højlydt-og til tider også lavmaelt-kamp mod det, de betragter som ulighed, diskrimination og biopolitik både i Danmark og i Europa mere generelt. Gruppen er kritisk stemt over for den førte immigrationspolitik, men også i bredere forstand neo-kapitalisme, og de dertil knyttede systemer og institutioner. Under navne som GP&PLS, Bananskolen og ovenfor naevnte Aktivistkor, har gruppen arrangeret koncerter, happenings,
Periskop – Forum for kunsthistorisk debat, Nov 28, 2023
Material Cultures of Devotion in the Age of Reformations
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Northern Europe were characterized by enormous religio... more The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Northern Europe were characterized by enormous religious change. During this period new religious ideas and ideals gradually took shape and materialized in all aspect of religious life, both on a private level as well as in public and liturgical space. The fundamental question of how God could be experienced as present in the world, became – again – the center of lively debate. Lutheran, Calvinist, Roman Catholic and Anglican reformations – to mention just a selection of the different ideological movements in play during this period – challenged interpretations of the Bible, the sacraments, the communication of religious truth, the practice of devotion and the material expressions of faith. When looking at the European reformations from a transnational perspective, they stand forth as a bundle of fundamentally interwoven religious movements attempting to define their specific religious identity in terms of dissimilarity. Material Cultures of Devotion in the Age of Reformations explores how the visual and material cultures of Christian devotion were adapted, developed, transformed, and, in some cases, disappeared altogether, in the age of reformations, c. 1500-1650 in Northern Europe.
Animation between Magic, Miracles and Mechanics
Devotion
Aarhus University Press eBooks, Jun 30, 2015
Periskop – Forum for kunsthistorisk debat, Jun 15, 2022
The Saturated Sensorium: Principles of Perception and Mediation in the Middle Ages
Material Religion, 2017
engagement with recent evidence from arguably the most famous Roman sacred grove, that of Diana a... more engagement with recent evidence from arguably the most famous Roman sacred grove, that of Diana at Nemi where pilgrims hung offerings from branches and from where the now infamous myth of the rex Nemorensis and the so-called “golden bough” originates. This is perhaps a consequence of Hunt’s emphasis on the power of trees in the imagination, rather than in lived experience. There is also a tendency at times to over-emphasize the significance of observations derived from one tree or one case study, and to extend these uncritically to “the Roman imagination,” “Roman thinking,” “Roman thinkers,” and “the Roman world” when it is not always clear that this wider application is sustainable. Despite this, however, the book demands to be read by anyone serious about “reviving Roman religion.”
Martina Bagnoli, ed., A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe. Baltimore, MD: The Walters Art Museum, 2016. Pp. 279; many color figures. $65. ISBN: 978-0-300-22295-1
Speculum, 2020
Religions
The body and blood of Christ are essential to Christian liturgy and passion devotion. In medieval... more The body and blood of Christ are essential to Christian liturgy and passion devotion. In medieval devotional books, this came to the fore in an overtly material way. The skin of the pages, the red ink, the words, and the images constituted more than a symbolic representation of the body of Christ. The corpus of the book was experienced as the Corpus Christi, the living Savior. This is particularly evident in one specific manuscript from the British Library, BL MS Egerton 1821, in which the skin of several folios was covered with red ink almost as if the pages have seeped in the blood from Christ’s wounds. The article investigates the material, fluid, hyperreal, and mechanical strategies that animated the body of Christ in the hands of the owner, focusing in particular on blood and milk as the substances of life.
‘Dhette er oret.’ - Materielle forandringer som praksis og instrument
Kunst og kultur, 2016
Instruments of devotion: the practices and objects of religious piety from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century
The so-called ‘return of religion’ in world-affairs has by now become rather obvious. The secular... more The so-called ‘return of religion’ in world-affairs has by now become rather obvious. The secularisation process in Western culture has proven, if not a myth, at least grossly overrated, and the weberian claim of ‘die Entzauberung der Welt’ is perhaps nothing more than a wishful myth. Belief and religion are certainly returning as focal concerns in modern philosophical debate. Interestingly, this ‘religious turn’ is most clearly seen in so-called post-modern or post-structuralist thinking. Today we are witnessing the dissolution of philosophical theories such as positivist scientism and marxism that thought they had definitively liquidated religion. After modernity, there are no more strong philosophical reasons either to be an atheist refusing religion or to be a theist refuting science. This, or similar, attitudes form a common point of departure for all the contributors to this anthology, being the reason why we all feel that the studies of matters concerning religion in all aspects of life are of importance. Today’s situation in Europe illustrates the need for historical knowledge and perspective on culture and religion, particularly Christianity and all its denominational varieties. Christianity’s influence on and in European culture cannot be overestimated, particularly understood as a dynamic and multifaceted force. The purpose of this anthology is to present a variety of studies on devotion and its instruments and to give a presentation of the work of ENID and its individual members. The aim of our work is to shed light on what we believe to be central aspects of Christianity and its influence on and in European cultures, and it is our hope that this anthology can present some new insights into the histories and cultures of Europe. The European Network on the Instruments of Devotion or ENID, is an international research network coordinated from the University of Bergen, Norway. It focuses on the instrumentality of Christian piety and devotional practices, from 14th century devotio moderna to Vatican II in the 20th century. Scholars from aesthetics, history, art history, literature, musicology, philosophy and theology form a cross disciplinary group.
From Medium to Mirror?
Material Cultures of Devotion in the Age of Reformations
Family Matters. The Formation of the Early Lutheran Devotional Household
Krop, Sjæl Og Rum I Senmiddelalderlig Fromhedspraksis – Fromhedspraksis I Holmedal Kirke, Norge 1520
Devotion in Transition: The Practice of Appropriation of Danish and British Medieval Prayer Books
During the reformations in England and Denmark the circulation of books was an important issue. T... more During the reformations in England and Denmark the circulation of books was an important issue. The leaders of the two realms, and the church authorities appointed to conceptualise and disseminate reforms, were concerned about the content of religious books, not only liturgical books, but also private devotional books. Both countries issued warnings against books with erroneous teachings. In both countries there are several extant medieval prayer books that show signs of reuse after the reformation. The owners made attempts to appropriate them according to the new practices of devotion. In her chapter, Laura Katrine Skinnebach examines the practice of appropriation, that is, what changes were made, and in particular how, in order to shed further light on how people internalised the reformation ideals of their respective homelands.
Haptic Prayer, Devotional Books and Practices of Perception
Touching, Devotional Practices, and Visionary Experience in the Late Middle Ages, 2019
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Papers by Laura Skinnebach