[MGSA-L] Princeton Hellenic Studies Lecture: March 23, 2011

[Dimitri H. Gondicas]

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

Program in Hellenic Studies

Lecture

Byzantine Light:
Dramatic Illumination as an Agent of Design and Religious Experience

Jelena Trkulja
trkulja at Princeton.EDU<mailto:trkulja at Princeton.EDU>
Department of Art and Archaeology

The use and symbolism of light significantly shaped the appearance and character of Byzantine religious architecture, the goal of which was the creation of a sacred space where the Divine presence could be sensed during the liturgy. Constructing an edifice with such a mystical function was aided by a plethora of sensory stimuli (visual, auditory, olfactory, kinesthetic, proxemic, etc.), intended to overwhelm the faithful, directing their attention heavenwards. One of the main visual stimuli used was light (both natural and artificial), since it alone possessed the power to transform the appearance and perception of every space and image. The textual and visual bases for metonymically equating light with the Divine were ample, making it an ideal tool for anagogically conveying numinous presence to the assembled believers. This talk will explore the ways in which calculated lighting conditions influenced architectural design, the hermeneutic concomitance of light streaming through the windows with the liturgical text, and the effects of light on the viewers. Dramatic light could considerably alter the appearance of the painted program, illuminating it emphatically or obliterating it completely by its excessive or insufficient presence, enhancing the perception of the icons and painted fresco programs, as well as the pronounced word and religious rites. During the ritual, manipulations of light produced a variety of optical impressions and emotional states in the viewer, the powerful effect of which could blur the boundaries between an individual's physiologically systemic and spiritual experience.

Jelena Trkulja is a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University. She received her Ph.D. from Princeton in 2004 in Byzantine art and architecture with a dissertation entitled "Aesthetics and Symbolism of Late Byzantine Church Façades, 1204-1453." She has since published articles on topics related to Byzantine architecture, as well as on the conservation of medieval monuments. She has taught at Tulane University and the universities in Novi Sad and Belgrade. While in Serbia she was the director of a research project in cooperation with the Ormylia Research Center in Greece, dedicated to scientifically diagnosing the state of preservation of medieval frescoes and proposing methods for their conservation. She is currently finishing her book Unexpected Hierophanies: Uncovering the Symbolic Language of Byzantine Architecture.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011
6:00 p.m.
Scheide Caldwell House, Room 103
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