One would be hard-pressed to talk about art history with first-year Madeleine Onstwedder and walk away without absorbing some of her boundless enthusiasm for the subject. A dual degree student with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University, the native Londoner positively beams when talking about the subject she loves. Now, working on a variety of projects, she wants to share that enthusiasm with others.
Art has always played an important role in Onstwedder's life, whether through painting, drawing or visiting museums with her grandfather. As a museum security guard over the summer, Onstwedder observed that most patrons read the title and description of the displayed art, yet only briefly glanced at the actual pieces. She wants to change this attitude toward art, as she sees art as "a form of communication, and to not actually spend any time looking at works of art ... is something that can be improved upon."
Currently, Onstwedder is involved in a variety of projects that exemplify her belief that "while art history can be seen as elitist … it's really not, it really doesn't need to be." One such project in development is an art symposium. The focus of the symposium would mirror the ARTiculation competition Onstwedder herself won in 2014, where she delivered a presentation on Kazimir Malevich's oil painting "Painterly Realism of a Boy with a Knapsack -- Color Masses in the Fourth Dimension" (1915). She envisions the symposium as an event in which students would be given the opportunity to present on artistic pieces of their choosing, while also emphasizing discussion. She hopes it will be held at the end of the semester.
Onstwedder also serves as Travel Editor for "Medium," the inaugural undergraduate art history journal at Tufts. Onstwedder and her Tufts undergraduate colleagues who created the journal are looking for submissions from students with all levels of experience in studying art. The topic for submissions is student artistic observations both in and outside of Boston.
At the very least, Onstwedder urges everyone to take Introduction to World Art. She points out, “If you take history, you learn history … if you take art history … you learn about everything.” Her conclusion: "Art history isn't just a stuffy subject ... it's also much fun."
