Art History Studies of the Contemporary World: Image and Representation; Space and Memory; Visibility and Modernity.
The first axis investigates aspects related to individual, collective and serial human representation, as well as the importance of artistic literature.
In the second, artistic circumstances are dealt with from a spatio-temporal perspective, the democratisation of public space, the construction of the modern city, the birth and influence of spaces of artistic and cultural sociability, as well as the foreign gaze of foreign travellers.
And finally, the last axis explores the role of art institutions, official guidelines, the relevance of the female presence in the fine arts, the discovery of artistic manifestations by the public, art as collective memory (collections and museums) and the art-science relationship.
The group has its origins in the activity of the research groups led first by Joaquín Bérchez (retired UV professor) and then by Mercedes Gómez-Ferrer. Both Professor Gómez-Ferrer and Professor Gil Saura have participated in the projects, "The image of the city of Valencia (13th-18th centuries). De la representación icónica a la matemática" (GV01-345), "Iconografía de la ciudad de Valencia, de la representación icónica a la matemática", "Representación fotográfica y cultura arquitectónica del Barroco Hispánico" (HUM2004-05D262/ARTE) and "Representación fotográfica y cultura arquitectónica hispánica de la época Moderna" (HAR2009-13302B-25/05). Professor Gómez-Ferrer has been PI of the research projects of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness: ECOVAME Ecos culturales artísticos y arquitectónicos entre Valencia y el Mediterráneo en época moderna.(HAR2014-54751-P) and Geografías de la movilidad artística. Valencia en época Moderna (HAR2017-83070-P), with the participation of professors Yolanda Gil Saura and Sonia Jiménez Hortelano.
Gómez-Ferrer and Gil Saura have directed and are directing master's theses and doctoral dissertations in the "Master's Degree in History of Art and Visual Culture" of the UV with a mention of quality, the "Master's Degree in Cultural Heritage: Identification, Analysis and Management" of the UV and the Doctorate programme in Art History with a mention for excellence. The theses directed, read or about to be read by Professor Gómez-Ferrer are integrated in the lines included in this project, "La imagen grabada de la ciudad de Valencia entre 1499 y 1685", "L'architecture dans le comté de Perigord à la Renaissance (1480-1630) Le commandataire, l'architecture et l'oeuvre", "La catedral de Cuenca en la cultura arquitectura del barroco (1680-1750)" and "La Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos de Valencia (1844-1983): Genesis and evolution" and "Constructive History of the Royal Convent of Santiago de Uclés". All the members of the group share their dedication to the Art and Architecture of the Modern Age, with special dedication to Valencian architecture and its Spanish and Mediterranean connections, without neglecting the figurative arts and the extension to the Baroque period. His contributions in the field of construction history and architectural vocabulary stand out. His latest publications include "La Seo de Xàtiva. Historia, imágenes y realidades" with Joaquín Bérchez, "Pere Compte, arquitecto" with Arturo Zaragozá or "El Real de Valencia, (1238-1810). Architectural history of a palace that has disappeared". It is also worth highlighting its international projection with co-directions in France, publications in Italy and participation in congresses in Rome, Istanbul, Paris and Palermo.
Professor Yolanda Gil has devoted herself to the study of Baroque architecture in the Valencian sphere, especially studying its relations with the Catalan and Aragonese spheres, with special emphasis on the history of construction, the integration of architecture with the landscape, altarpieces and sgraffito work. In recent times these interests have extended to collecting among the Valencian nobility of the 17th and 18th centuries, the world of portraiture, the cultural aspect of the Austracist exiles in Vienna after the War of the Spanish Succession and the role of the Spanish viceroys in the Modern Age.
Professor Sonia Jiménez Hortelano has specialised in the architectural and historico-artistic study of the art produced by the Hispanic military orders in the modern period, as well as in aspects related to museography and museum didactics.
Gómez-Ferrer and Gil Saura have carried out activities in collaboration with companies or institutions that have contributed to the transfer of knowledge to society and the enhancement of heritage. This is the case of Professor Gómez-Ferrer in relation to the studies on La Lonja, the old General Hospital of Valencia and the San Pio V Museum, or Professor Gil, who curated the exhibition "Sacred Landscapes" for the La Luz de las Imágenes Foundation and has participated in the master plans for the Cathedral of Valencia and the Scala Dei Charterhouse.
The group's research activity focuses on the analysis of creative industries and cultural markets from a multidisciplinary and transversal perspective that combines theories, principles and tools from economics, sociology, management, marketing and finance. This approach addresses the main effects of technological change, both on supply and demand, in a scenario that has allowed the emergence of new cultural markets. Thus, digitalisation has meant a reduction in the fixed costs of production, distribution and promotion for industry, leading to innovations in processes or products and services. In reference to consumers, we find, among other things, a change in consumer habits, with the reduction of costs in the search for and discovery of new products and services, and the breaking down of barriers to participation.
Specifically, the aim is to analyse both qualitatively and quantitatively the impact that social changes (diversity and democratisation) and technological changes (acceleration of the digitalisation of content) have had on the different agents that intervene in the different cultural markets. In this sense, the scope of the study contemplates analysis both on a sectoral level (music, audiovisual, video games, performing and plastic arts) and from a more aggregated perspective.
The members of the group have extensive research experience in the field of economics and management of culture, creative industries and the arts. In this context, they have developed research focused on analysing the use of ICTs and cultural participation, the extension of audiences and the new business models that have emerged as a result of technological change. In addition, some members of the team are linked to different academic associations as members of their scientific committees: International Association of Arts and Cultural Management, AIMAC, Montreal; International Music Business Research Association, IMBRA, Vienna; Workshop on Cultural Economics and Management, WCEM, Seville. At the same time, they have actively participated in the transfer of research results through the signing of numerous agreements and contracts with entities linked to the creative, cultural and social sector. Finally, some of the members of this team belonged to a group already registered in the Office for the Transfer of Research Results (OTRI) of the Universitat de València.
CREARI Research group on cultural pedagogies is dedicated to the study of cultural synergies and educational actions, incorporating advances in digital technologies and visual culture. We are interested in analysing and improving the conditions of the different audiences both in artistic manifestations and in the rest of heritage realities. We are involved in arts education in both formal and non-formal education settings, with a special focus on museums and heritage environments. We consider it essential to get involved in the training of educators, taking into account the new digital settings, prioritising the criteria of cooperation and making room for new educational models. We incorporate members of different backgrounds into the group, considering that interdisciplinarity is a fundamental aspect of our research idea. We have specialised in teacher training at all educational levels, favouring the integration of the teaching staff as a cultural element of prime importance. Our group is composed of a number of people linked to educational and research institutions, people interested in the promotion, development and innovation of educational projects in the field of museums, visual arts, music and contemporary culture. We want to generate international projects, particularly cooperation projects, both in Latin America and in Europe.
The group's research focuses on various aspects of insect biology and can address any general topic in Entomology. In the field of morphology, basic questions concerning the form and function of these organisms are addressed. This includes questions such as the morphology of venom glands in parasitic wasps and the structure and function of sexual organs in butterflies and moths, including aspects of sexual selection. In the field of taxonomy, work is carried out on groups such as Homoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera, addressing the problem of identification, taxonomy and phylogeny from both morphological and molecular points of view. In the field of ecology, aspects such as host-parasitoid relationships in wasps (braconids and chalcidids) or the population dynamics of butterflies are dealt with. Applied Entomology deals with aspects such as the detection and identification of pests, the study of their biological cycles, the use of useful insects in biological control (bioassays of compatibility with the use of insecticides) or biorational insecticides and the use of pheromones in biological control.
Particularly noteworthy are the aspects related to the populations of culicidae and cockroaches. We also work on aspects related to the conservation of fauna such as the generation of red lists, studies of endangered fauna and micro-reserves and the conservation of protected butterflies.
The group's multidisciplinary research ranges from quantitative and radiological anatomy, together with medical imaging techniques applied to the identification of the anatomical bases of the pathology, to geometric morphometry. In terms of the anatomical bases of pathology, we specialise in the study of vertebral anatomical variants and their association with clinical symptoms (pain, neuropathies, dizziness, etc.) in both modern sapiens and extinct human species (Homo Neanderthalensis). Geometric morphometry has been used to investigate hominin craniofacial biology (morphological integration), with a special interest in the cranial base as an interface between the brain and the facial skeleton. A "systems model" of human evolutionary anatomy has been developed, which conceptually employs an organism-based perspective on craniofacial and postcranial variation in hominins.
The group has also focused in recent years on the form, function and integration of the respiratory apparatus, which is an anatomical system connecting the skull and postcranium, of the human organism, as well as on the relationship between thoracic form in osteogenesis imperfecta and respiratory function, and on variations in form and their association with pain at both the cervical and lumbar levels.
The group is also investigating the development of the trunk at the evolutionary level in both extinct hominins and modern sapiens. Members of the group are also specialising in the study of geometric shape and anatomical variants in fossil records of Homo Neanderthalensis, Homo Naledi and Australopithecus Sediba.
