| Abstract | Paper -a:
The early 7th-century Armenian-Georgian Schism had important political and cultural consequences for both countries. The two small nations, which had previously been closely linked, chose different powerful allies. Georgia's adhesion to the Council of Chalcedon meant alliance with Byzantium while Armenia rejected the Chalcedonian doctrine thus remaining at peace with Persia. This event was reflected in all spheres of spiritual and cultural life including art. The paper will discuss sculptures carved on church facades, stelae, and stone crosses created before and after the Schism in order to show similarities and differences and to identify Armenian-Georgian cultural border.
Paper -b:
Scholars often conceive of the Seljuk Era (1071-1307) architecture of Asia Minor (Anatolia) - recognised for its numerous masterpieces- as either a variation of Persian (Seljuk) art or as the foundation of Turkish (Ottoman) art. However, the Seljuk Era architecture of Anatolia actually challenges the boundaries of art historical and cultural categories, particularly because it unites and further develops aesthetic elements of Persian, Byzantine, Armenian, Syrian, and even Hellenistic art, creating new aesthetic concepts in the process. By considering the diverse cultural sensibilities of thirteenth-century Anatolian society, this paper examines how Seljuk Era architecture assembled a wide range of forms and materials from multiple cultural 'backgrounds'. It ultimately shows that architectural ornament served as an effective means of communication for the multilingual and multi-confessional audience of thirteenth-century Anatolian society.
Paper -c:
A universe of tangible materials was created ex nihilo. The 'project' of the Creation can be seen as a series of separations creating boundaries between oppositions; e.g., the separation between Heaven and Earth, Sea and Land, Light and Darkness, Life and Death, Sin and Redemption. Understanding oppositions seems to reflect the very essence of human existence, physical and spiritual, the very essence of culture. The west portal of Ulm Minster, in the Upper Rhine (1377-1450), depicts an outstandingly elaborate sculpted Creation cycle. The Creation - as the ultimate change effected by separation - receives corporeal manifestation in these reliefs. This 'treatise in stone' will be examined in connection with the philosophical and spiritual ideas depicted, and the political and social conditions that enabled its appearance.
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