Author: prestar

From Embroidery to Lived Space: Experience and Prosopographical Construction in Chiara Villani’s “Peasant Wunderkammer”

Between 1920 and 1925, Chiara Villani (1890–1958), a peasant woman and embroidery teacher active in the village of Cansano (Abruzzo, Italy), transformed her home into a fully immersive decorative environment, transposing onto wall surfaces the cross-stitch motifs traditionally used in domestic textile production. Executed within a sixteen-square-meter room inside the Castle of Cansano, this intervention represents a unique case of translating a decorative artistic language into an architectural and spatial device.

This paper proposes to reinterpret this experience not merely as an isolated instance of individual creativity, but as a form of expression deeply rooted in lived experience, capable of illuminating, through a prosopographical lens, the social, cultural, and symbolic structures of a rural community in the early twentieth century. The decoration, structured according to rigorous symmetrical schemes derived from embroidery practice and populated by stylized figures (angels, birds, floral and geometric motifs), configures the domestic space as a narrative device in which individual biography, technical knowledge, and collective tradition intersect.

From this perspective, the environment created by Villani emerges as a site of both self- representation and shared identity construction, in which female aesthetic practices –traditionally confined to the domestic sphere –acquire a function of social visibility and cultural transmission. The use of the room as both a living and teaching space further allows the intervention to be understood as a relational node, revealing informal networks of learning, hierarchies of skill, and dynamics of artisanal knowledge transmission.

The presence of symbols associated with the Fascist regime, such as the fasces and the figure of the soldier, introduces an additional layer of interpretation, suggesting that the decorated space also functioned as a site of negotiation between individual experience and dominant ideology. In this sense, Villani’s work offers insight into how everyday aesthetic practices contribute to shaping and reflecting political, social, and cultural affiliations.

Through this case study, the paper ultimately argues that vernacular and so-called “minor” forms of artistic expression can serve as privileged sources for a form of prosopography “from below”, capable of reconstructing not only individual lives but also collective configurations, relational networks, and identity models within marginal or under-documented contexts.

*

Sara Gumina is a PhD candidate in Historical Studies at the University of Teramo, where she also serves as a teaching assistant in Early Modern Art History (L-ART/02). She holds a degree in Art History from Sapienza University of Rome and a Master’s degree in Art Management from Luiss Business School. Her research focuses on the textile heritage of the Abruzzo region, with particular attention to the bobbin lace tradition of Pescocostanzo, examined from historical, technical, and museological perspectives. She also investigates the transmission of artisanal knowledge, the role of women’s labor, and the valorization of applied arts in relation to local cultural identities.

E-mail: sgumina@unite.it

AGRFT 80

This year, the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) celebrates its 80th anniversary. The jubilee is not only an opportunity to look back on the Academy’s past, but also to reflect on its present position and future directions. The online exhibition AGRFT 80 (https://razstava80.agrft.uni-lj.si/) complements this perspective with a selection of archival materials that reveal how the Academy has evolved over time. The Academy’s history has been shaped by numerous social transformations and, in particular, by the persistent issue of finding suitable premises. The documentary and audiovisual materials are organised around a map conceived as a playing field with multiple points of entry: the Academy’s four successive homes, where visitors encounter individuals – students, teaching staff, and other employees – as well as events associated with them. Confronting its own history, including its less comfortable aspects, allows the Academy to foreground questions about the institution’s very essence: How free is it in its thinking and creative practice? What is the dynamic of change along the fine line separating education from the marketplace?

As the designer of the AGRFT 80 exhibition website, Matej Tomažin conceived a digital space that presents its content in a clear, accessible, and visually coherent manner. As part of the exhibition’s overarching concept – a playful game that guides visitors through different spaces and periods in AGRFT’s history – he brought together curatorial logic, user experience, and technical implementation, paying particular attention to accessibility, responsiveness, and readability across different devices.

The website was designed as an exhibition medium in its own right, enabling visitors to intuitively explore the works, authors, and archival materials on display. Particular emphasis was placed on developing dynamic elements that help visitors navigate and discover the site’s wide-ranging content. These include “Obrekovalnica”, a distinctive online chat room; the “Črna skrinjica” (Black Box) archive; and various algorithms designed to identify the interests of visitors to the online exhibition.

*

Miha Grum has been employed at the University of Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (UL AGRFT) since 2006, where he heads the Film Archive and Documentation Unit within the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies. He graduated from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, with a degree in German Studies. His professional work encompasses the organisation, preservation, documentation, and study of archival film materials and other documentation, primarily relating to the history of the Academy. His work focuses on preserving, processing, and ensuring access to film heritage, as well as integrating it into research and teaching.

E-mail: miha.grum@agrft.uni-lj.si

*

Ana Jerman Obreza is a dramaturg whose professional practice spans a variety of media. Alongside her work in theatre, she writes for the stage, radio, film, and television, and is also a theatre and film critic. She has collaborated with the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies on several projects involving the digitisation of archival materials and, as a co-author of the AGRFT 80 online exhibition, contributed to the development of its concept.

E-mail: ana.obreza@gmail.com

*

Simona Ješelnik has been employed at the University of Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (UL AGRFT) since 2003, where she heads the Theatre Archive and Documentation Unit within the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies. She graduated from AGRFT with a degree in dramaturgy. Her work encompasses the collection, documentation, study, and interpretation of archival and documentary materials relating to theatre, with a particular focus on the history of the Academy. She is dedicated to preserving theatrical heritage and ensuring its accessibility for teaching and research, while also making these materials available to the wider professional community. Since 2004, she has contributed to the development of the eKumba database (http://kumba.agrft.uni-lj.si) at the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies. She has also been involved in creating both physical exhibitions, including 70 Years of AGRFT at Trubarjeva 3, and online exhibitions (https://partizanskogledalisce.agrft.uni-lj.si/, https://razstava80.agrft.uni-lj.si/).

E-mail: simona.jeselnik@agrft.uni-lj.si

*

Matej Tomažin is committed to fostering an equitable, accessible, and interconnected visual arts landscape in Slovenia. As Director of the Artopolis Institute, he develops projects that bring together art and digital tools, helping emerging Slovenian artists gain greater visibility and access to the art market. His work spans curating, public relations, visual and web design, production, and the organisation of cultural events. Through his collaboration with the Cona Institute and his independent projects, he also supports the development of intermedia art, educational programmes, and digital platforms. His work contributes to building a more open and inclusive arts community that is accessible to a wider public.

E-mail: matej@artopolis.si

The Concept of the Clan: Between the Person and the Society

This paper argues that the prosopographic approach to reconstructing social networks and power relationships can be enhanced by incorporating the concept of the clan as an associative structure positioned between the individual and the broader social sphere. While introduced in 19th-century social anthropology by Lewis H. Morgan to analyze both the Roman gens and pre-modern societies (such as Native American tribes), the term is used here differently than its traditional anthropological definition. Rather than a “unilateral exogamous descent group” focused on primal kinship, protection, and basic juridical or economic functions, this paper views the historical reality of the clan as more amorphous and porous. Originally the concept of the clan has been employed to explain all that was believed not to belong to modernity. Indeed, it was conceived as a stage in history’s development and as a premodern form of power. Such developmental theory of historic time is rooted in a historiosophic conception of history, that is, in the idea that history is on the move in itself and by itself towards an end. Drawing on Christopher Smith’s work on Roman Clan (2006), this study proposes that while clans rest on blood ties, they expand by co-opting new members based on fidelity and trust, making friends and acquaintances highly influential figures within the structure. Finally, the paper explores the utility of this concept in medieval studies, analyzing the accounts of the clan provided by Otto Brunner and Jacques Heers.

*

Ivan Dimitrijevic teaches philosophy at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw. Since 2024 he is the vice-dean for international cooperation and faculty development. His research interests include political philosophy, philosophy of praxis, and conceptual history. His last monographs have been devoted to the conceptual history of political and practical aspects of concepts of madness, work and movement: Critique and Care: Madness Before and After Basaglia (2022, in Italian), Dispute on Work (2022, in Polish), To Go and to Arrive at the Same Time: Four Essays in the Critique of Therapeutic Politics (2023, in Polish), The Society without Government and the Recovery of Political Praxis: Alessandro Biral between Crisis and Politics, in The Resistible Crisis of Italian Thought, ed. F. Dal Bo and C. Salzani (SUNY Press 2026).

E-mail: i.dimitrijevic@uw.edu.pl

Erik Biering: From Entrepreneurship to Diplomacy

The drilling of the first oil well in 1872 and the reforms of the same year transformed Baku into one of the world’s leading centers of the oil industry. These changes stimulated rapid growth of the petroleum sector, attracted foreign investment, created new employment opportunities, and strengthened the city’s role in global business networks. In this context, Danish entrepreneur and diplomat Erik Andreas Mathias Biering began his activities in Baku. He arrived in 1901 at the invitation of his half-brother, Adam Gottlob Biering, who worked in the oil industry for companies associated with the Nobel family. At that time, Erik was employed in Hamburg’s commercial sector and came to Baku with a scholarship from the Danish Wholesale Merchants’ Association. After his arrival, Biering founded a commercial enterprise supplying equipment and technical materials to the oil industry. In his memoirs, he described Baku as a city where Eastern and Western cultures intersected. He noted the coexistence of the traditional old city and the rapidly developing European-style modern districts. Later, he established E. F. Biering & Co., an agency and commission-based company supplying oil industry equipment. The company’s success allowed him to expand his business activities significantly. In 1906, he founded a factory producing oilfield equipment, and in 1907 he obtained a concession for telephone communications in Baku and its surrounding areas. He also held senior positions in several financial and commercial institutions, including the Baku Commercial Bank. Due to his organizational skills and entrepreneurial activity, Biering was appointed Danish Vice-Consul in 1904, Consul for the Caucasus in 1908, and also served as Norwegian Vice-Consul from 1905 onward. Alongside his business and diplomatic work, he was active in philanthropy, contributing to organizations such as the Northern Society and the Children’s Hospital. Through his activities, Erik Biering became one of the most influential representatives of the Scandinavian community in Baku and played an important role in the city’s economic and social development in the early twentieth century.

*

Shalala Baghirova is an Associate Professor at the Department of Caucasus Studies and History of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan University of Languages. She holds a PhD in History. Her research interests include non-Muslim communities in Azerbaijan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, their social organizations, as well as the activities of foreign entrepreneurs and diplomats in Azerbaijan.

E-mail: shalalabagirova76@gmail.com