Session 12: Applications - Predicting the Origins of Artwork Found in Rural Churches
Presentation Type
Event
Abstract
A few years ago, I was contacted by Rodney Oppegard, a church historian. He had spent many years collecting information on ecclesiastical furnishings and artwork found in the Lutheran churches of rural North Dakota, and while his data set was extensive it was by no means complete. Some artwork was unsigned or the signature obscured, other pieces had been transferred to different churches, and in some cases the church itself had been destroyed by fire years before, leaving only incomplete records and fading memories as clues to the original church’s configuration. Mr. Oppegard wanted to know whether there was a mathematical way to use existing data to “fill in the holes” of his data set. In this talk, I will outline how geospatial and rudimentary archival data were used to construct and evaluate models for determining which of several popular artists was responsible for a particular church’s altar painting.
Start Date
2-12-2018 3:30 PM
End Date
2-12-2018 5:00 PM
Session 12: Applications - Predicting the Origins of Artwork Found in Rural Churches
University Student Union: Pasque Room 255
A few years ago, I was contacted by Rodney Oppegard, a church historian. He had spent many years collecting information on ecclesiastical furnishings and artwork found in the Lutheran churches of rural North Dakota, and while his data set was extensive it was by no means complete. Some artwork was unsigned or the signature obscured, other pieces had been transferred to different churches, and in some cases the church itself had been destroyed by fire years before, leaving only incomplete records and fading memories as clues to the original church’s configuration. Mr. Oppegard wanted to know whether there was a mathematical way to use existing data to “fill in the holes” of his data set. In this talk, I will outline how geospatial and rudimentary archival data were used to construct and evaluate models for determining which of several popular artists was responsible for a particular church’s altar painting.