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91�Թ� historian's “Five Ways of Being a Painting” wins prestigious Notting Hill prize

ullahnor — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 20:24:06 +0000

91�Թ� historian's “Five Ways of Being a Painting” wins prestigious Notting Hill prize

ullahnor Wed, 07/12/2017 - 16:24

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Assistant Professor William Nelson won the prestigious Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize (photo by Ken Jones)

Don Campbell

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Don Campbell

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He typed parts of the essay on his iPhone at night

A 91�Թ� historian's unique essay exploring the experience of estrangement through art has won the prestigious Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize.

Assistant Professor William Nelson, an expert on the Enlightenment and French Revolution, won the top prize of £20,000 ($33,000 CDN) for his essay Five Ways of Being a Painting.

Judges were impressed by the way he was able to combine text and images, weaving together how historical figures from Europe and China – and even his own memories from childhood – form the experience of estrangement.

“I started by recognizing a conceptual relationship between these things, but I didn’t want to write an argumentative piece,” he says. “I wanted to weave them together, to create a resonance and range of meaning that would engage readers and slowly draw them in.”

“The Vues des ports de France” (Scenes of the harbours of France) is a series of paintings by French painter Joseph Vernet, made between 1754 and 1765, that are featured in William Nelson's essay

Nelson says the experience of estrangement explored in the essay is a subtle one, a way in which people can step outside of themselves in order to reassess aspects of their life.

He originally drew inspiration for the essay from a few sources, including a photograph of German philosopher Walter Benjamin who had talked about being totally immersed by looking at objects as a child, and from Chinese artist Liu Bolin who is known for immersing himself in environments for his artwork.

Nelson also was inspired by a piece of art criticism for the Salon written by the French Enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot. In it, Diderot eloquently describes going on a picnic with a priest and some students before Diderot sets off on a walk around the French countryside. It’s only after the description that Diderot reveals he’s actually talking about a specific painting – not a personal experience.

“It’s an interesting example of being a painting by placing himself inside the art he’s describing. It’s a very creative way to tell readers about the painting, but it also allows them to believe that they took this imaginative leap,” Nelson says.

While Nelson started collecting his thoughts for the essay about three years ago, it wasn’t until he learned about the Notting Hill prize that he fully committed himself to finishing it.

What’s remarkable is he was able to complete the essay while teaching a full course load, writing an academic book and raising his young son. He was so busy that he committed to writing sections of it on his iPhone at night before going to sleep.

Five Ways of Being a Painting: 91�Թ� historian crafts essay on smartphone, longlisted for elite prize

ullahnor — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 18:11:04 +0000

Five Ways of Being a Painting: 91�Թ� historian crafts essay on smartphone, longlisted for elite prize

ullahnor Wed, 04/12/2017 - 14:11

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Assistant Professor William Nelson's essay is up for the $33,000 Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize (photo by Ken Jones)

Berton Woodward

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Berton Woodward

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William Nelson, an assistant professor of history at 91�Թ� Scarborough, has been longlisted for the prestigious Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize, worth £20,000 ($33,000 CDN).

Nelson’s innovative 4,700-word essay, “Five Ways of Being a Painting,” combined text and images to examine “the ways that people have used paintings to think about the experience of estrangement.”

Historically, other 91�Թ� essayists have done well in the competition. Michael Ignatieff, then a professor at 91�Թ�'s Munk School of Global Affairs, won in 2013, the first year of the biennial prize. In 2015, Philosophy Professor Mark Kingwell was longlisted and received special mention.

In Nelson's essay, he mentions anecdotes and musings about historical figures and images from the past 400 years in Europe and China, as well as memories from his own childhood.

“I wrote the essay in an experimental form that weaves together five storylines exploring the ways that people can ‘be’ paintings,” he said. “I am an academic historian of ideas. This is another type of exploration of ideas.”

He began writing the essay about three years ago, then put it aside to work on a book. Last year, seeing the deadline coming up, he completed the essay in fragments in bed at night, typing on his smartphone.

The Vues des ports de France (Scenes of the harbours of France) is a series of paintings by French painter Joseph Vernet, made between 1754 and 1765, that are featured in William Nelson's essay

Notting Hill Editions, a website and publisher aiming to “reinvigorate the art of the essay,” was founded by games inventor and entrepreneur Tom Kremer, who helped popularize Rubik’s Cube. The shortlist for the prize will be announced on May 3, and the winner and five runners-up will be selected June 28.

Nelson, whose piece is one of 76 on the longlist, said he has published a number of academic works but never a literary essay. Most of the other authors on the list, he noted, are professional writers.

“When I was doing my PhD, I realized I wanted to pay a lot more attention to writing,” he says. “So, I practiced writing in a number of different styles.”

Nelson, who grew up outside Washington, D.C., did his PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a post-doc researcher and a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge, the University of Miami and the University of Texas at Austin. A specialist in 18th-century intellectual history, he came to 91�Թ� Scarborough in 2011.

UC Writing Centre

sgupta — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:47:22 +0000

UC Writing Centre sgupta Thu, 01/07/2016 - 15:47

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91�Թ� historian's “Five Ways of Being a Painting” wins prestigious Notting Hill prize

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Five Ways of Being a Painting: 91�Թ� historian crafts essay on smartphone, longlisted for elite prize

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