Congratulations to CCS alum Sophie Church (Art History emphasis with minors in Museum Studies, Studio Art, and Chemistry, 2017)! She joined both the Arizona State Library and the Center for Creative Photography as a conservation assistant and conservation technician in 2021. Sophie completed a M.A. in Art History in May 2019 at the University of Arizona. Her thesis research focused on the investigation of a sixteenth-century print by Ugo da Carpi from the University of Arizona Museum of Art’s collection. With the assistance of Conservators Dana Hemmenway, Dana Tepper, and Dr. Nancy Odegaard, Sophie provided scientific data to support her art historical research using techniques such as x-ray fluorescence and x-radiography. Additionally, she learned intaglio printmaking and mimicked the methods of early modern printmakers to gain insight into the materials used. This collaborative research lead Sophie to conclude that the UAMA’s print was not printed by Ugo da Carpi but by another workshop of this period after the artist’s death. In the image below, Sophie works in the conservation lab at the Arizona State Library in December 2021.
