When asked by his dealer to explain his most disquieting painting,听The Gulf Stream听of 1899, depicting a Black sailor adrift in shark-infested听seas, Winslow Homer responded, 鈥淭he subject of this picture is comprised in听its title听& I will refer鈥 inquisitive school ma鈥檃ms to Lieut. Maury.鈥 While scholars听have听generally听dismissed听Homer鈥檚 directive to consult a nineteenth-century oceanographer, I propose to take Homer for his word鈥攖o听follow the eponymous current听and听to attend to the storms, ships, and creatures that moved through it.听听
This lecture interrogates Homer鈥檚 marines anew by focusing on the unique epistemology and materiality of the ocean.听The听late听photographer and theorist Allan听Sekula听has called the oceans听a听鈥渇orgotten space.鈥 Indeed, art historians tend to look out to sea from the perspective of dry land, focusing on听terrestrial makers and markets听despite the many 鈥済lobal鈥 turns听of听our discipline. Attending to the sea not only brings us closer to听Homer鈥檚听own experience听(when ocean travel was the norm and shipwrecks featured in the daily papers),听but听also raises听awareness to the fact that we听still听live in a maritime world鈥攁 world where听90% of global commodities are moved by ships.听By connecting maritime spaces of the past and present, this talk will show that Homer鈥檚 marines are not just universal visions of nature鈥檚 power, as they are often understood, but are politically embedded in听nineteenth-century听understandings of听imperialism and globalization鈥攃onditions that still govern the oceans today.听听
Maggie Cao is the David G. Frey Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a historian of eighteenth and nineteenth-century American art in a global context. Her research focuses on the history of globalization with particular interest in intersections of art with histories of technology, natural science, and economics. She is the author of听The End of Landscape in Nineteenth-Century America听(2018)听and听has听also听published听on such topics as听media theory, material culture, and ecocriticism. She is currently writing a book on American painting and overseas empire building in the nineteenth century.听听
Organised by Professor David Peters Corbett (The 天美传媒) and Dr Tom Day (The 天美传媒).听
