What about an art history podcast?

This isn't a post of note, more a note of a post. An indulgent weekend led to a moment of brilliance, or perhaps it was because I'm still riding on the crest of a wave on my recent dissertation results. Whatever it was, I'm now confident enough in my abilities to believe and acknowledge that brainwaves actually occur to me.

My idea is this. I'm going to enter the world of the spoken word and present a podcast called Renaissance Utterances. My focus is going to be on precisely what I am good at; that is to say, the history of art from a interdisciplinary point of view, with emphasis on the early modern period.

This gives me scope to be as broad as I wish, just as I am with this blog, but I hope that the podcast will add a different dimension. One of my aims last year was to improve my writing but this year I would like to try a different medium of communication. One which is outside my comfort zone and totally untested.

Anyway this is not supposed to be a ramble, so much as a statement of intent to whet the appetite. The first series will look something like this;

'Renaissance World of Wood' 1540-1600

 

1. The ubiquitous and mutable world of wood - an introduction 

2. Technology and wood - the wire drawing bench

3. Science and the rooms of wonder - the cabinet

4. Dynastic objects - the Anne of Cleves headboard

5. Wood and religion - the boxwood prayer beads/carved cherry pips

6. Leisure and wood - chequer/drafts pieces/hunting equipment

 

For the second series, I am going to revisit renaissance gardens because I haven't done that for a while and there must be new scholarship. And frankly I love talking about gardens.

 

Renaissance Gardens of Europe

 

1. Revisiting Pratolino

2. A missing French garden at Ecouen 

3. The Elector of Saxony's Dresden garden

4. Missing Nonesuch

5. Noches en los jardines de España

6. Early Russian gardens

 

There is also a tentative idea about glass but I think I have enough to think about.