The Center for Virtual/Material Studies (CVMS) continued its mission this year to foster collaboration and inquiry at the intersections of the material and the digital. Through grant-funded convenings, lectures, collection development, graduate assistantships, internships, workshops, and open office hours, the center encouraged curiosity and facilitated research into the materials of cultural objects.
Thanks to generous support from Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos, the center installed new lighting in the Borland Building’s second-floor display cases. This upgrade significantly improved the visibility and presentation of objects, enhancing the experience for students, faculty, and visitors.
In spring, Sarah Rich and graduate assistant Kate McCowan participated in the Community Nature Journaling program at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, demonstrating dyeing with native lichen and discussing its ecological and historical significance.
Graduate students contributed substantially to the center’s research, teaching, and public engagement. Kate McCowan, collaborating with Maggie Borowitz (Assistant Teaching Professor of Latin American Art History), led a workshop on oral history methods, and she also researched Bloodroot’s historical and medicinal uses among Native communities in Eastern North America; her article “Digging for Dye” is under review. Adrienne Krueger, working with Jean Sanders (Associate Professor of Art), explored early photographic processes and recreated Niépce’s Point de vue using heliographic techniques. Marie Huard co-authored an important article on the Barclay manuscript, part of the center’s ongoing research into early modern dye practices, and published a solo piece on contemporary textile artist Diedrick Brackens. She also led hands-on workshops for several art history courses. Clio Rom contributed to the Colonial Transatlantic Pigment Study Group by researching and mapping Philadelphia’s colonial pigment trade, informing the group’s second Kress-funded convening.
Undergraduates played key roles as well. Zara Zhang translated a 14th-century dye recipe for “Date Brown” from the Duoneng bishi and recreated the color on various fibers. Emma Knisely researched and created a display on wood engraving in mid-19th-century illustrated newspapers. Lisa Wang examined potential links between textile dye ingredients and women’s health remedies in 17th- and 18th-century Europe, complementing research on the Barclay manuscript. These projects exemplify the center’s emphasis on student-driven inquiry combining archival study with practical experimentation.
The center continued integrating interdisciplinary perspectives into Penn State’s curriculum. Collaborating with Professor Stephen Chmely (Agricultural and Biological Engineering), Sarah Rich developed a new undergraduate course, “Art and Agriculture,” introducing students to farming and cultivated materials essential to global art making.
Throughout the year, the center supported demonstrations and lectures in Art History, Architecture, and African Studies courses. Students engaged with historical and contemporary techniques, including indigo dyeing, woad pigment production, wood in medieval architecture, historical print and photographic processes, and metadata and digital collections. These sessions fostered cross-disciplinary learning that deepened understanding of art materials and connected students to ongoing center research.
In April, the center reconvened the Colonial Transatlantic Pigment Study Group, supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and Penn State University Libraries. The meeting featured hands-on sessions and scholarly presentations. Highlights included Cindy Connelly Ryan (Library of Congress) on colorants used by Maria Sibylla Merian; Sarah Rich on Prussian blue’s chemical and cultural ties to animal blood; and John Russell and Clio Rom demonstrating how pigment sellers’ datasets can inform historical and material research. The program also included workshops on making Prussian blue, led by Stephen Chmely, and natural dyeing sessions. Essays related to this research will appear in the December 2025 issue of Panorama, extending the impact of this collaborative work.
This year’s publications highlight the center’s ongoing research into historical dye practices. A major focus of the center’s research continued to be the Barclay manuscript in the Penn State University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library, explored in the collaborative article “Wine and Copper Color: Dyes by a Quaker Woman in Scotland, 1697–1723” (Sarah Rich, Marie Huard, Catherine Adams, and Carolyn Lucarelli). Other publications include Marie Huard’s study of contemporary textile artist Diedrick Brackens; Sarah Rich’s essay, "The Ground and the Center: Inside the Painting of Donald Judd," in Donald Judd 1957–1963: Paintings and Objects (New York: Gagosian/Rizzoli, 2025); and John Russell’s co-edited special issue “Crafting Encounters with Humanities Data” (dh+lib, June 2025) with Claudia Berger, Pamella R. Lach, and Nancy Smith. Together with conference presentations on historical dyes, color, and material culture, these works reflect the center’s interdisciplinary approach blending archival research, material experimentation, and digital scholarship.
The center continues to expand its collection of publications, materials, and equipment to support teaching and research. While primarily focused on dyes and pigments, the collection now includes fiber and wood samples and historical photographic media. Faculty and students are encouraged to explore these resources, available both online and in person, as the center broadens its offerings for creative and scholarly inquiry.
For more information about CVMS projects, events, and publications, including the 2025 annual report, please visit the Center for Virtual/Material Studies website.