Author: Brianna Facciani

Unlocking the Past

In my Medieval Art class last semester, we looked in-depth at several types of Gothic cathedrals in France (yes, there’s more than just one type of Gothic). But the cathedral that really captivated me and eventually became the subject of my term paper was Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. This chapel is other-worldly; the highly ornamented interior, matched with the fact that the stained glass windows account for nearly all of the wall surface in the building, truly gives onlookers a sense of how powerful and wealthy the French monarchy was at one point.

A view of the upper chapel, which was reserved for Royal Family’s private use. Relics, such as The Crown of Thorns, The Spear of Wisdom, and a piece of the True Cross, were once placed under the apse.

Now, I’m sure all of you are thinking, “Okay, but what does this 13th century church have to do with, well, the modern times?” And the answer is simple: because of modern times, we now know more about the windows than anyone ever before, making this church a huge tourist site in Paris.

Specifically, this church uses a location-based narrative app that, once downloaded, helps tourists receive a better understanding of the scenes and people depicted in the windows. By pointing your phone’s camera towards a specific section of the rose window or towards the main windows surrounding the church, the app tells you the story behind the biblical or historical French scenes that encompass this beautiful space. Windows that are fifty feet high can now be understood for all that is pictured within them.

Think about it–this is a remarkable feat. For centuries, the only thing that people could see when coming into this space included the intense colors and some window scenes–never could anyone really see all of the art that was above and beyond them. By using the technologies of today, our generations now have the chance to unlock the past. We have ways to keep the past relevant and interesting by incorporating modern aspects to museums, buildings, and literature–making the people and stories of the past just as exciting as those of today.

For more scenes from Sainte-Chapelle, check out this video:

Modern Age

I remember the days before technology really hit my life at full speed. The vacations my family took always included a mandatory stop to Wal-Mart to either buy disposable (not digital) cameras or to develop the film from said cameras. At home, I had a handwritten contacts page with all of my friends’ phone numbers on it, and I would even–imagine this–call them on my landline in my house.

When I think back to these times, I remember them fondly and very vividly. My parents and many, many others argue that it was a simpler time before social media; nobody cared about selfies, #hashtags, or filters. And perhaps I see things differently because social media has been more present in my life than in theirs, and I know how it really brings people together from all over the world.

Even more important than just connecting with others, social media has really changed the literary and art worlds as we know it today. Print magazines might be dwindling, but that doesn’t mean that the writers, photographers, or models are going anywhere; thanks to social media and the Internet, many publications (like Vogue, Teen Vogue, Glamour, etc.) post articles daily, and their audience has now grown to encompass the many millions instead of the few thousand.

A visitor using The Met’s audio guide. Simply snap a pic of the art, and voilà! There’s now a story in your hands and art before your eyes.

In the art world, location-based narratives have transformed the way that people look at art, especially in museums. The millions of people that visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Musée du Louvre each day might never have taken an art history class, yet, thanks to the technology of the modern age, by simply downloading an app or signing up for an audio tour, people can now learn so much about what art stands before them and the amazing stories they all tell.

In short, just like the rest of us, the Humanities world is still growing up. The things of the past, while still useful and beloved, are now making way for the digital future–but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. In fact, because of social media and location-based narratives, the literary and art worlds are now embedded in places nobody would have ever expected. With the past as a reference and the present as an indicator, I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

Welcome

If you’ve found your way here, that means you’re ready to take the plunge into a world of the best and most brilliant colors, clothes, canvases, and characters.

But before we unlock all of that, let me first introduce myself. I’m Brianna Facciani (pronounced fa-shawn-ee), a student at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. I currently study English Literature with minors in Writing and Art History, but my plans after graduation include the pursuit of a master’s degree in Publishing with the hopes of landing an editor position at a book publishing firm.

Reading has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mother has always commented on how she read to me while she was pregnant and even when I was a tiny, tiny baby. I was too young to understand what the making of a story was, but she could tell that I loved listening to and trying to understand words. Some of my earliest memories go back to when she would read Charlotte’s Web for bedtime, always stopping at the most dramatic scenes, thus making me want more.

This love for literature really changed the way I viewed my world. I couldn’t stop reading–I became wholly invested into the pages, the language, and the people. As I grew up, I consumed the glossy pages of Vogue and discovered the art of making a statement without saying any words. Art, particularly Art History, became a newer passion of mine when blindly signing up for a class in college and stumbling upon an entirely different world that would encapsulate me for the better.

Me at The Met for the Costume Institute’s 2018 installation of “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”

What I’m trying to say is this: I am the lucky one. I’ve known for a long time what I’ve wanted to do (for the most part) and I haven’t changed my mind, even when told that I can’t do it or that I’ll never measure up to the rest. And in the process, I’m discovering the hidden parts of me that exist and thrive in these many different realms of the world.

The Publishing field has lived and breathed an “analog” lifestyle since its beginning, and many fear that the novel itself will become lost in the process of the world switching to digital. Yet I disagree–the digital world, while swinging a punch or two at the almighty paperback, can now make literature, art, and fashion so readily available to everyone. That has never happened before, and it’s so exciting to think about all of the new possibilities that will arise because of it.

This blog’s inspiration comes from Vogue’s website, “Chronicles of Her,” and “The Bookseller”–all sites dedicated to the things that I love. And hey, if all goes right, maybe this blog will be one that, at the very least, will present you with topics or ideas that you might never have otherwise heard about.

And they say that the digital world is a bad thing.