Tianna Uchacz Hosts Discussion With Textile Specialist Sophie Pitman
“History in the Making: Reconstructing Early Modern Textiles and Clothing” featured hands-on activities including experimenting with fabric dyes and stamp patterns.
Tianna Uchacz, Ph.D., assistant professor in Visualization, hosted a discussion and presentation on April 15 by Sophie Pitman, Ph.D., a textile specialist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a short-term visiting fellow at the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research.
Focusing on Renaissance clothing and fashion from the 15th to 17th centuries, Pitman led interactive activities following her presentation titled “History in the Making: Reconstructing Early Modern Textiles and Clothing” at the Melbern G. Glasscock Building.
“There are a lot of different ways you can incorporate this kind of hands-on, experimental reconstruction methodology into your work,” Pitman said. “If you’re a historian, you can do it in a sort of very experimental basic level just to gain more appreciation for your historic sources.”
Pitman invited guests to experiment with fabric dyes and stamp patterns and to cut and slash textiles using tools from the Renaissance era.
“Historical reconstruction is one of those methodologies that allows us to be playful and imaginative and rigorous at the same time,” Uchacz said. “It brings joy and new directions and collaborations to the practice of history.”
