2006-2007 Speakers Bureau Catalog
GEOFFREY GYRISCO
Geoffrey Gyrisco has worked for over 25 years in historic preservation, including rural preservation. He is a passionate vernacular architecture and ethnic architecture scholar, and a photographer. Gryisco co-edited Buildings of Wisconsin, for which he also wrote the essay on the rural landscape and agricultural buildings. He earned his BA in history and archaeology from Cornell University and a PhD in American civilization from George Washington University.
Address: 6834 Tottenham Road, Madison, WI 53711-3999
Phone: 608-276-5531
The Development and Decline of the Wisconsin Dairy Barn: The Transformation of Wisconsin Agriculture
Looking behind the myth and romance of the family farm, Gyrisco will present a slice of the extraordinary story of the evolution of agriculture in Wisconsin over the past two centuries, focusing on the dairy barn. His slide presentation will address how promotion, progressive politics, and progressive science created modern commercial dairying in Wisconsin in the late nineteenth century, and transformed Wisconsin into the nation's leading producer in the twentieth century. Audiences will learn how barn roofs came to be gambrel-shaped and how silos came to be tall and round. These barns and silos are not only symbols of the dairy landscape. They also they illustrate the processes that created it, and that are now transforming this cherished landscape.
Orthodox and Eastern Churches of the Upper Midwest: Hidden Treasures, Enduring Traditions
The exotic, domed silhouettes and richly-painted interiors of Wisconsin's Orthodox and Eastern churches are among the state's hidden treasures. This slide-illustrated presentation will focus on the history of the sacred architecture and art of ethnic groups including Russians, Rusyns, Ukrainians, Greeks, Serbs, Romanians, and Syrians, as well as their immigrant histories. Beautiful photos of the unique architectural designs and rarely-seen interiors illustrate the maintainance of traditions and their transformation. These churches are striking examples of the many ethnic churches that not only served as spiritual centers, but also held communities together and served as bastians of ethnic identity and traditions.
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