Joshua Teasdale

Research Topic

Mathematics, Marble, and Martial Arts: Art in Motion from 1880 to 1930

My doctoral research looks at the Animal Locomotion (1884-1887) albums by Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904), an Anglo-American photographer. In doing so, it situates the artwork in relation to contemporary debates both within and outside photography, making visible resonances with, among other things, mathematics, sculpture, and experimental performing arts, which are critically relevant. Through identifying Muybridge as a point within a cluster of intellectual propositions at a particular moment in history, the dissertation explores a cultural preoccupation with thinking through new ways of understanding and embedding movement and being.

Broadly, my research interests include photography, performing arts, painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain and France from the 19th century onwards.

I started studying towards the DPhil in History of Art in 2022, as a member of Wadham College. Prior to this, at the same college, I received an MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture (2018). At Worcester College in 2017, I earned a BA (Honours) in History.

Supervisor: Professor Jane Garnett