EMOTIA · Emotional Markers Of Text and Iconography in Art (EMOTIA)

EMOTIA aims at understanding how the different emotional ""markers"" associated with the history of an art object impact how audiences perceive art and develop emotional literacy. The project is at the intersection of art history, history of emotions, archaeology, museology and psychology. It will investigate the emotional history of two ancient Egyptian anthropoid coffins in the Museum of Cultural History (MCH) at the University of Oslo, alongside eight other related coffins at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (assessed during a secondment) and ten funerary papyri from online sources. All these objects come from one collective tomb named ""Bab el Gasus"", translated as ""The Gate of the Priests"" constructed around 1000 BCE in Thebes, Egypt. The project will first trace the emotional “markers” left by patrons, artists, tomb robbers, archaeologists, and 19th century politicians, thereby revealing the multifaceted ways in which objects carry and transmit affect across time. During a secondment at the Dublin City University School of Psychology, Dr. Ungureanu will develop her understanding of the psychology of emotions in relation to creativity and the arts. She will translate the gained knowledge into designing the online content for the MCH Mummy Exhibition which includes the two Oslo coffins, and questionnaires aimed at ascertaining how children aged 9-13 develop an understanding of emotions before and after seeing the exhibition. During a six-month placement at The Cultural Schoolbag, an institution unique in the world which ensures that all Norwegian children have access to art, Dr. Ungureanu will work with three artists and one museum in developing art programmes and an exhibition aimed at further enhancing children's emotional literacy through art. Through three academic articles, materials for museums, and a general audience book aimed at parents and children, the project will address gaps in the fields of Egyptology, History of Emotions, and the Psychology of Art.""