Starr Hoffman: Portfolio

Experience

Lectures

"The How of Wikis"

This presentation is designed as a follow-up to a session that addresses the definition and uses of wikis. It builds on that introduction by taking a hands-on approach to the topic. Instead of displaying already-implemented wikis or static images and text, I will demonstrate how to start a simple remotely-hosted wiki, how to create and format a page, and how to edit. The presentation will concretely demonstrate how user-friendly and simple this technology can be by showing concepts instead of only describing them.

"Archiving the Web: Why is providing permanent public access to electronic information important?"

I provided a brief background on public access to government information, the FDLP, the GPO, and the increased push toward e-publication of government documents. I then covered points such as: government information is owned for the public, it is valuable for the public good, the public has a right to know, and access to these documents upholds our nation's founding ideals.

Handouts

" Venetian Painting in the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries"

I discussed specific paintings on loan from the Collection of the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation in this lecture. I provided the docents of the Old Jail Art Center with information on the paintings which they could mention as they guided visitors through the exhibit. During the lecture, I described the general characteristics of Venetian paintings, such as vivid color and sket07.06.2007n showed how those traits were exhibited.

“Passionate Transformation in the Cult of Saint Veronica”

This lecture led to my thesis topic. It contrasted images of Saint Veronica created prior to the year 1300, which bore images of the unmarred Holy Face of Christ, and those created afterward, on which Christ's face shown signs of the Passion such as blood, the crown of thorns, and a suffering expression. I conjectured that this iconographic shift occurred due to the conflation of the Sudarium relic in Rome and Saint Veronica's hagiographic tradition around this time.

“William Carlos Williams: Poetry, Painting, and Performance”

This lecture compared William Carlos Williams's poem "The Great Figure" to Charles Demuth's painting of the same era, "The Figure Five in Gold." Demuth and Williams were friends, and Demuth's painting was directly influenced by the poem. Each explored the same idea but in starkly constrating mediums, conveying movement and sound through either literary means, such as onomotapia, or visual means, such as repetition.

Other Lectures

Updated 07.06.2007 | ©2007 Starr Hoffman