Pieces of a Bigger Puzzle: Tracing the Evolution of Artworks and Conceptual Ideas in Artists’ Notebooks

Artist’s notes are a rich source for understanding the motivations behind an artwork, but have been largely neglected by both art history researchers and in scholarly editing. Using the digital edition of the notebooks of the Austrian artist Hartmut Skerbisch as a case study, this article discusses the various methodological approaches to versions in different disciplines—(digital) scholarly editing, musicology, and art history—and their transferability to artists’ notes. It explores where versions can be found in a single autograph, in contrast to multiple witnesses, and how they can be represented digitally. Special attention is given to the versioning of graphics—prominently used as form of expression in the relevant notebooks—proposing a model for their formal description which makes them more comparable and reveals different versions and, consequently, the artistic development process

Magnetic excursions recorded in the Middle to Upper Pleistocene loess/palaeosol sequence Wels-Aschet (Austria).

Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt die paläomagnetische Bearbeitung der Mittel- bis Oberpleistozänen Löss-/Paläoboden-Sequenz im Areal der ehemaligen Ziegelei Würzburger in Aschet bei Wels vor. Fünf intensiv entwickelte Paläoböden, bzw. Pedokomplexe wechseln mit dazwischen geschalteten Lößlehmlagen ab. Im Rahmen einer Aufbaggerung konnte ein Profil mit einer Mächtigkeit von über 12 m erschlossen werden. Für die magnetostratigraphischen Laboruntersuchungen im Paläomagnetiklabor der Montanuniversität Leoben wurden insgesamt 587 orientierte Proben entnommen, so dass eine beinahe lückenlose Beprobung vorliegt. Die Proben wurden mit magnetischen Wechselfeldern sowie thermisch abmagnetisiert. Zur Bestimmung der magnetischen Trägerminerale in den Sedimenten wurden Curiepunkt-Bestimmungen durchgeführt, die eine Hauptträgerphase mit einem Curie-Punkt bei ca. 580°C (Magnetit), sowie untergeordnete Anteile von Hämatit mit 670°C Curie-Punkt ergaben. Die magnetischen Parameter zeigen eine Folge von Bereichen mit intensiver Magnetitbildung in den Paläoböden, die dem relativ wärmeren Klima von Interglazialen zugeordnet werden können. Die Mehrzahl der Proben zeigen charakteristische Remanenzrichtungen im Bereich des normalen pleistozänen Erdmagnetfeldes. In einigen Profilabschnitten traten stark abweichende Remanenzrichtungen auf, die auf Exkursionen des Erdmagnetfeldes hinweisen. Die beobachteten Exkursionen im Profil Wels-Aschet werden aufgrund paläopedologischer-pedostratigraphischer Ergebnisse in das Zeitintervall von 570 ka (Emperor - Big Lost - Calabrian Ridge) bis 110 ka (Blake) gestellt. Die Brunhes/Matuyama-Grenze (776 ka) wurde nicht erreicht

NEW TECHNIQUES FOR SAMPLING AND CONSOLIDATION OF SEDIMENTS: APPLICATION TO BURNT SOILS FROM AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN AUSTRIA

An archaeomagnetic study requires samples to be oriented very precisely prior to the removal from the site and to be transported safely since most of the times the collected samples are very soft and fragile. In this study we present new techniques for sampling and consolidation of sediments and unconsolidated soils, which are useful tools for palaeomagnetic and archaeomagnetic investigations. An application of the above techniques has been performed in burnt soils (roastbeds) in an archaeological site near Eisenerz (Austria), which used to be a cooper-smelting place in Bronze Age (around 1450 b.c.) Several roast beds have been collected and consolidated in order to investigate the distribution and the stability of the magnetization of these materials. We obtained around 350 samples and the natural remanent magnetization and the magnetic susceptibility of all these samples have been measured with a 2G squid cryogenetic magnetometer and a GEOFYSIKA KLY-2 susceptibility meter, respectively. Plots of the natural remanent magnetization and magnetic susceptibility versus depth indicate different layers of heating and give some first evidences for the use of these soils during the smelting procedure. Higher values of the intensity of the magnetization as well as of the magnetic susceptibility represent the more intense heating layer. Magnetic cleaning (thermal and Af demagnetization) of pilot samples revealed the presence of a stable component of magnetization. It seems, therefore, that these types of materials are suitable for an archaeomagnetic investigation, since they are able to record and preserve all the necessary magnetic information and provide important knowledge concerning the recent history of the Earth's magnetic field

Taking Note: Challenges of Dealing with Graphical Content in TEI

This paper describes the ongoing development of a TEI-conformant model for the encoding of hybrid primary sources containing text and graphical components on a similar level of semantic meaning. The subsequent considerations are part of the digital scholarly edition project representing the notebooks of the Austrian conceptual artist Hartmut Skerbisch (1945–2009), a handwritten corpus created over a period of almost 40 years. Besides text, drawings were an important visual means of expression for the artist. In the context of digitally representing the numerous graphics embedded in the notes with equivalent depth to the text, a three-step model is proposed. This model takes into account the (1) graphical components characterizing the composition, (2) textual functions describing and directing the execution of artworks, and (3) interpretation of the graphics and their contextualization with connected material and information. The paper discusses the existing methods of representing graphics in TEI, presents the combination of these methods in the actual scholarly edition project, and introduces the semantic enrichment of the TEI sources through formal descriptions in RDF/XML taxonomies using linked open data. Thus, the genealogy of artistic concepts and artworks documented in the notebooks will become traceable

Relating magnetic properties of municipal solid waste constituents to iron content : implications for enhanced landfill mining

Ferrous metals are a main recyclable waste fraction in Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM) projects. However, prior to mining, the metal content of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills is unknown. We investigate if the metal content of MSW landfills can be estimated by inverse modeling of geophysical measurements as the magnetic properties of the subsurface are particularly sensitive to ferromagnetic metal enrichments. We conducted magnetic total-field measurements on a MSW landfill in Austria and estimated the bulk magnetic susceptibility (MS) of the subsurface by inverse modelling. For validation of the subsurface MS values, 32 drill-core samples from multiple locations and depths within the landfill were obtained and manually sorted into 12 waste fractions including ferrous metals (2.3 +/- 1.4 wt.%, 1 sigma). To investigate if bulk MS could be accurately predicted from inverse modeling when the exact composition of the waste is known, the MS of iron and other expected waste fractions were investigated in laboratory analysis using reference samples from waste treatment plants and another ELFM project. Laboratory analyses partly yielded significantly larger MS values for waste materials than those given for virgin materials in literature. The bulk MS for each sample from the ELFM project was computed using a weighted mean with respect to the waste composition derived from manual sorting. The bulk MS derived from inverse modelling of the field data (0.06 to 0.11 SI) exceeded the bulk MS derived from the material composition of waste samples and the MS values of reference samples (0.01 to 0.05 SI)

Topic Modeling for the Identification of Gender-specific Discourse. Virtues and Vices in French and Spanish 18th Century Periodicals

Gender-specific knowledge – just like knowledge in general – is generated through discourses that are disseminated through (mass) media. Among the first mass media is the Spectator press (Moralische Wochenschriften) which spread all over Europe throughout the 18th century. With their gender-specific discourses, analyzed in Spectatoriale Geschlechterkonstruktionen (Völkl 2022), they decisively promote the development of a (bourgeois) gender model, shaping the social perception of gender until today. Against this background, the present article examines the gender-specific discourses in the French and Spanish Spectator periodicals by means of topic modeling which detects semantically related words. The study, which originates from the project Distant Spectators. Distant Reading for Periodicals of the Enlightenment (Scholger et al. 2019–2021), shows that topic modeling reinforces previous findings on gender-specific discourses in the Spectator periodicals. Moreover, it offers new perspectives concerning this research corpus

The early/middle Eocene transition at the Ésera valley (SouthCentral Pyrenees) : implications in Shallow Benthic Zones (SBZ)

Acknowledgement. AB fieldwork has been supported by the project PGC2018-093903-C1, additional support came from the projects DR3AM (CGL2014-54118-C2-2-R) MAGIBERII (CGL2017-90632-REDT) and UKRIA4D (PID2019-104693GB-I00/CTA) all of them from the Spanish Science National Plan. The study of calcareous nannofossils was supported by the Research Group of the Basque University System IT-1602-22. Pablo Calvín gave us a hand with the reversal test in Python. The accurate and constructive comments from Johannes Pignatti, Elisabet Beamud, the Journal Manager Laura Rincón, and the editors Carles Martín Closas, Eulàlia Gili and Miguel Garcés helped to improve the original manuscript.An integrated study including magnetostratigraphy, larger benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy is presented herein. This work was performed in shallow marine siliciclastics rich in larger foraminifera, around the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary in the Ésera valley (South-Central Pyrenees). Although the calcareous nannofossil content in the studied interval is low, not allowing a precise Y/L boundary to be recognised, the taxa found are enough to support the chronostratigraphic attribution. Data obtained in the Ésera valley section has improved the knowledge of larger benthic foraminifera (Nummulites and Assilina) distribution through chron C21. SBZ 11 to SBZ 12 transition took place at the lowermost C21r, as shown in previous works. SBZ 12 assemblages extend into C21n, where the SBZ 12 to SBZ 13 boundary occurs. These data, obtained in shallow marine siliciclastic facies, with in situ fauna, results in a shift of the SBZ 12/SBZ 13 boundary to the Lower Lutetian, younger than previously believed. Accordingly, the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary occurs in SBZ 12

The early/middle Eocene transition at the Ésera valley (South Central Pyrenees): Implications in Shallow Benthic Zones (SBZ)

An integrated study including magnetostratigraphy, larger benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy is presented herein. This work was performed in shallow marine siliciclastics rich in larger foraminifera, around the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary in the Ésera valley (South-Central Pyrenees). Although the calcareous nannofossil content in the studied interval is low, not allowing a precise Y/L boundary to be recognised, the taxa found are enough to support the chronostratigraphic attribution. Data obtained in the Ésera valley section has improved the knowledge of larger benthic foraminifera (Nummulitesand Assilina) distribution through chron C21. SBZ 11 to SBZ 12 transition took place at the lowermost C21r, as shown in previous works. SBZ 12 assemblages extend into C21n, where the SBZ 12 to SBZ 13 boundary occurs. These data, obtained in shallow marine siliciclastic facies, with in situ fauna, results in a shift of the SBZ 12/SBZ 13 boundary to the Lower Lutetian, younger than previously believed. Accordingly, the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary occurs in SBZ 12