Enfilade

Happiness or Its Absence in Art
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, 10 March 2011

Proposals due by 31 December 2010

For this symposium we invite papers relating to various aspects of the theme of happiness in art and visual culture, including concepts which generate or shape happiness (or its absence) such as: love, innocence, religious exaltation, spiritual uplift, physical pleasure and enjoyment, entertainment, food, life and death, along with misery, despair, unrequited love. We welcome papers dealing with a work of art or type of iconography, as well as studies from the field of art theory. We are interested in discourses about the perception of happiness by the artist or within the creative process itself; the status of the beholder and the artistic attempt to create a transcendental experience. New research methods and approaches within the discipline as well as papers which adopt an original perspective will receive special attention.

We cordially invite you to propose papers by sending a title and an abstract (up to 300 words) in English, in MS Word format to happiness.arts@gmail.com by December 31st, 2010. Please remember to attach your contact details. For further inquiries please contact Ms. Ronit Milano at ronitmilano@gmail.com.

Tenth Annual Workshop: The Eighteenth Century and the Unconscious
Center for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Indiana University Bloomington, 11-13 May 2011

Applications due by 7 January 2011

Eighteenth-century studies in many ways emerged from and remains beholden to “the Enlightenment”-a category often understood in terms of rationality, reason, and the exercise of conscious decision making. Reason may be celebrated (see Jonathan Israel) or it may be critiqued (see Horkheimer and Adorno): in either case, it remains central to most accounts of the period. Yet the eighteenth century was also the era of  empirical psychology, sentimentalism’s triumph, and the emergence of what we now call Romanticism. It may even be the era of the discovery or the invention of the unconscious (Sloterdijk). By focusing on “unconscious” eighteenth centuries, this workshop therefore asks participants to reconsider the relation of reason to un-reason and of theory to historically inclined analyses.

Any mention of the unconscious immediately invites psychoanalytic interpretation. Yet the framework and vocabulary of psychoanalysis were unknown to eighteenth-century protagonists. For the purposes of this workshop, we therefore propose a broad starting definition of the unconscious as that which is unavailable to consciousness: it may be simply invisible or it may be actively produced by some “invisibilizing” mechanism, such as repression, suppression, or forgetting. It may operate within an individual or text, or it may function throughout a culture; its effects may be social, political, legal, literary, pedagogical, or psychological. There may be structurally different forms of unavailability. While the unconscious and its effects may be analyzed in terms derived from Freud, they do not need to be-indeed, it is our hope that this workshop will provoke participants to rethink both their understandings of the eighteenth century and their accounts of conscious and unconscious processes.

We invite participants to be explicit about their methodological choices. Papers might address one or all of the following concerns:

1. Was there an unconscious according to eighteenth-century protagonists; if so, how did it emerge and what functions did it serve?
2. Can we historicize a concept or structure such as the unconscious? What would be gained from doing so? What would be lost?
3. If there is something “eighteenth-century” about current theories of the unconscious, need their origins be found in this period, broadly construed?
4. To what extent do eighteenth-century examples challenge or complicate common models of unconscious life? With its focus on oedipal dramas within the nuclear family has psychoanalysis itself blinded us to the effect of extended families, the importance of social modes of remembering and forgetting, and the emotional work of religious affiliation?

The workshop format will consist of focused discussion of four to six papers a day, amid socializing and refreshment. The workshop will draw both on the wide community of eighteenth-century scholars and on those working in this field at Indiana University-Bloomington. The workshop will cover most expenses of those scholars chosen to present their work: accommodations, travel (up to a certain limit), and most meals. We are asking for applications to be sent to us by Friday, January 7, 2011. The application consists of a two-page description of the proposed paper as well as a current brief CV (no longer than three pages). Please email or send your application to Dr. Barbara Truesdell, 400 North Sunrise Drive, Weatherly Hall North, Room 122, Bloomington, IN 47405, Telephone 812/855-2856, voltaire@indiana.edu. Papers will be selected by an interdisciplinary committee. All submissions will be acknowledged by e-mail within a fortnight: if you have not received an acknowledgment by the January 7th application deadline, please contact Barbara Truesdell or Mary Favret. We will make final decisions on participants in early February. Further information can be found on our website, or you can find us on Facebook. For additional details and queries, please contact the director of the Center, Mary Favret, Department of English, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN  47405, favretm@indiana.edu.

Aesthetics, Art, and Pornography
Institute of Philosophy, London, 16-18 June 2011

Proposals due by 1 February 2011

The aim of this conference is to investigate, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the artistic status and aesthetic dimension of pornographic pictures, films, and literature. Is there such a thing as pornographic art? Or are pornography and art mutually exclusive? Can a line be drawn between these two domains of representation? Or is there perhaps some interesting overlap, some common ground worth exploring? To answer these questions certain fundamental issues in the philosophy of art need to be addressed. One cannot hope to critically examine the middle ground between art and pornography without seriously engaging with current research on the definition of art, the nature of aesthetic value, aesthetic experience, aesthetic properties, the relation between art and morality, the psychology of picture perception, and the role of imagination in art. However, more is involved than just an abstract philosophical problem. In the history of art, and especially also in the contemporary world of art (construed in the broadest sense), there are many paintings, photographs, prints, films, poems, short stories, novels and graphic novels which have been labelled ‘pornographic art’. Any investigation of the artistic status and potential of pornographic representations would not be complete without a careful examination of such works that consciously explore the boundaries between art and pornography.

The conference will bring together philosophers and aestheticians, art historians and film theorists, to explore these topics. This interdisciplinary approach is intended to throw new light on these general questions, and to lead to a more accurate and subtle understanding of the range of representations that incorporate explicit sexual imagery and themes, in both high art and demotic culture, in Western and non-Western contexts.

Confirmed Speakers

MARTIN KEMP History of Art, Oxford University (Emeritus Research Professor)
PAMELA CHURCH-GIBSON Film & Cultural Studies, University of the Arts London
JERROLD LEVINSON Philosophy, University of Maryland
JESSE PRINZ Philosophy, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
ELISABETH SCHELLEKENS Philosophy, University of Durham

Call for Papers

We invite submissions on any issue related to this topic, ranging from abstract philosophical questions to detailed analyses of particular films, paintings, photographs, novels, etc. Papers from different disciplines and theoretical perspectives are encouraged. Speakers will have a presentation time of approximately 40 minutes. Papers should not exceed 5000 words and should be accompanied by a 100-word abstract and a short CV. Please send papers to conference organiser Hans Maes (H.Maes@kent.ac.uk) by February 1, 2011. Communication of acceptance: March 15, 2011. Submissions will be refereed by an international committee, and selected on the basis of general quality and relevance to the special topic of the conference. The organisers plan to publish (a selection of) the conference papers. We welcome volunteers to serve as session chairs and commentators. We regret that we cannot cover travel or other expenses.

Organising committee: Hans Maes, Michael Newall, Murray Smith, Barry C. Smith, Jerrold Levinson, Jonathan Friday.

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the The American Society for Aesthetics, The School of Arts and the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Kent.

Performing Research: Art History Not For Publication
Courtauld Institute, London, 6 May 2011

Proposals due by 10 January 2011

This conference seeks to explore the clarity, diversity, and freedom that can come from presenting art historical research directly to an audience, as opposed to through traditional publishing routes in books or academic journals. Shifting away from more static forms of analysis encouraged by the inevitable limitations of print-based media, the conference will investigate and exploit the evolving technologies at the disposal of researchers. It will give an opportunity for scholars at all stages of their careers to experiment with dynamic, alternative methods of communicating research, allowing and encouraging the format of papers to both reflect and directly comment upon the subject presented.

Building on seminar workshops on Art History and TV, Art History and Radio, and Art History and the Internet, the group invites abstracts for short 15 minute papers from all areas of the discipline. In each case the art historical research presented should be further elucidated through a novel and alternative presentation method, be it visual, aural, or action-based. Joint papers or collaborations between art historians, or between art historians and practitioners from other disciplines (especially the visual arts) are welcome and encouraged. In keeping with this ethos conference recordings will be archived in an open online forum. Possible papers: (more…)

Urban History Group Annual Conference: Leisure, Pleasure, and the Urban Spectacle
Robinson College, University of Cambridge, 31 March — 1 April 2011

Proposals for Sessions and Papers due by 29 October 2010

This conference theme broadly explores the pursuit of pleasure in the context of the history of towns and cities. The conference organisers are interested in investigating the significance of specifically urban forms of pleasure and leisure for understanding the historical dynamics of social, economic and cultural relationships. Towns and cities have historically offered an array of pleasures to cater for ever larger concentrations of people. The types of leisure activities available to urban populations have never remained static; indeed, changing social and economic conditions have transformed popular leisure patterns over time as well as across urban space. The pursuit of pleasure, both licit and illicit, has adapted with the changing relationship between work and leisure. As working hours became increasingly rigid during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, so too did leisure time. The lack of free time was further exacerbated by growing pressures on land use. Thus, the pursuit of pleasure was increasingly set aside for specific buildings (inns, brothels, theatres, music halls and, more recently, fitness centres) or clearly delineated spaces (botanical gardens, public parks, public walks, gated communities and even the internet) where access could, in theory, be carefully managed. Cities, seaside towns and holiday resorts were also developed to specifically cater for a variety of tastes and pleasures. Once it was recognised that there was money to be made out of the pursuit of pleasure, cities became intertwined with the business of leisure and began to market themselves as centres of tourism, heritage and culture. Some issues that the conference seeks to consider include: (more…)

The conference ends where HECAA begins, but this early phase of Orientalism may still be relevant for dixhuitièmistes thinking about the topic. This is, incidentally, the first time I’ve ever seen the following in a CFP: send “a brief cv or a reference to your personal website.” For more information, see the conference website:

The Dialectics of Orientalism in Early Modern Europe, 1492-1700
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 7-8 October 2011

Proposals due by 15 November 2010

In early modern Europe, discourses on and images of the Orient and Islam are inextricably tied to the rise of national consciousness and the formation of a European identity as several Western states were striving for imperial supremacy. The goal of this international and interdisciplinary conference is to explore the dialectical function of early modern Orientalism for the creation of different notions of a collective self: national, European, and/or imperial.

We invite proposals for contributions that analyze the multiple uses of an imaginary Islam and Orient and compare at least two national orientalist discourses and/or the intersection of nation-building and the invention of Europeanness catalyzed through these discourses. Beyond being simplifications, what role do stereotypes play in the complex and often contradictory rhetorical dynamics that served to articulate, implement and promote both internal policies and supranational endeavors of imperial supremacy? To whom are these stereotypical representations addressed and through what media? In what instances does the creation of a fictive homogeneous nation lead to the conceptual “islamization” of minority groups? Is there a competition among European nation-states for the hegemony in the representation of the Oriental, and in which ways does it feed into a transnational rivalry for imperial power? What does the comparison of different national accounts of Orientalism reveal about the supposed homogeneity of the stereotypical Muslim? (more…)

Association of Art Historians (AAH) Annual Conference
University of Warwick, 31 March — 2 April 2011

Proposals due by 8 November 2010

The AAH 2011 Annual Conference showcases the diversity and richness of art history in the UK and elsewhere over an extensive chronological range from ancient to contemporary (with a healthy dose in the middle). Sessions are geographically inclusive of Western Europe and the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia. A full range of methodologies is on offer, ranging from object-based studies, socio-historical analyses, theoretical discourses, visual culture of the moving image, exhibition cultures and display. The sessions reflect the composition of our wide constituency – independent or academic researchers (including students), museum curators and teachers.

Plenary Speakers
Horst Bredekamp, Humboldt University and Permanent Fellow of the Institute of Advances Studies, Berlin
Patricia Rubin, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University

If you would like to offer a paper, please email the session convenor(s) directly, providing an abstract of your proposed paper in no more than 250 words, your name and institutional affiliation (if any). You should receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your submission within two weeks. In the absence of this, please post a paper copy, including your full contact details to the convenor. Please do not send proposals to the conference convenor.

Details, including descriptions of all sessions, are available here»

Midwest Art History Society 2011 Conference
Grand Rapids, MI, 14-16 April 2011

Proposals due by 15 October 2010

Grand Rapids Art Museum

The 2011 MAHS conference will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 14-16. The scheduled plenary speakers are Jim Dine and Rebecca Zorach. Sessions will take place at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Art Museum, and the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art. Panels on the eighteenth century are included below. Proposals of no more than 250 words and a recent CV should be submitted electronically by October 15 to the respective chairs noted at the end of each description. A full list of sessions is available here»

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European Art and Architecture, 1600-1800

This session will consider topics concerning European visual art or material culture from 1600 to 1800. Work in all media (painting, sculpture, architecture, prints, or decorative arts) is welcomed as the focal point of the topic.

Valerie Hedquist, University of Montana, Valerie.hedquist@umontana.edu

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Prints and Drawings

Papers are invited dealing with any topic addressing prints and drawings as distinct genres within art history and art criticism. A variety of methodological approaches is welcomed. This session will be hosted in the Jansma Prints and Drawings Center in the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Cindy Buckner, Grand Rapids Art Museum, cbuckner@artmuseumgr.org

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The Body in Art

From Paleolithic sculpture to 21^st C performance and film, the human form has been central to art. This session seeks papers that examine the use of the body in both historical and contemporary art production and practice. Topics may include portraiture, the body as the site of political, social or psychological identity, the glorified or abject body, the nude, the clothed body, and the role of fashion in art.

Suzanne Eberle, Kendall College of Art & Design, eberles@ferris.edu

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Conservation and Appearances of Art Objects and Art Historical Interpretations

The visual appearance of a work of art object results not only from the techniques and materials used during its creation, but also the cumulative, sometimes complex physical history which results in its present condition. How does our knowledge about the technique, materials, and state of conservation inform our particular art historical interpretation of an object? How are we challenged to reconstruct the former appearance, meaning, and even the function of an artwork based on our understanding of its current state? Topics touching on these issues from a wide diversity of objects, media, historical periods and cultures are sought for submission and discussion.

Kenneth Bé, Gerald Ford Conservation Center, kbe.lute@gmail.com

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The Garden as Ideal

Because of the way gardens foreground the complex relationship between art and nature, they typically give physical form to various ideals regarding nature and its role in the constructed environment. This panel invites papers addressing gardens throughout history as these spaces shaped visions of how the world – or at least a portion of the world – should be ordered. Presentations might address issues of paradise, the garden as a sacred space, themes of knowledge construction, notions of nature perfected, the function of geometry, or the picturesque.

Craig Hanson, Calvin College, CraigAshleyHanson@gmail.com

The Cultural Production of Natural Knowledge, 1700-1850
Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick, 30 October 2010

Paper proposals due by 29 September 2010

This one-day interdisciplinary workshop seeks to understand the cultural and aesthetic frameworks within which medical and scientific knowledge was created, represented and communicated in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. We aim to place these within the contexts of the wider global circulation of people, texts and things, and the expanding market for medical knowledge and scientific objects. We envisage that the workshop will focus on the following themes, but we invite speakers to interpret these flexibly. First, we wish to discuss the cultural discourses surrounding the collection and collation of new facts from the field. Questions that might be discussed could include: Who acted as intermediaries in the transmission of information, and how did they do so? What factors influenced the extent to which informants’ contributions were included, or excluded, by the travellers who collected new knowledge? How did these processes of collection and inscription relate to those that took place in the metropole, where texts were edited and streamlined for publication, objects were marshalled into museum collections, and paintings were produced and displayed? What was the relationship between natural knowledge and place / space, and how did this relate to contemporary aesthetic theory?

Second, we aim to relate these cultural contexts to the production and consumption of texts, collections and visual representations. Who read these texts or studied collections, and how did they relate to them? How were scientific and medical ideas created and disseminated in literary texts, epistolary culture, travel writings, works of art, and other cultural productions? What were the points of intersection between aesthetic discourse and medical and scientific knowledge? Bringing together scholars of literature, history and art history, this workshop will discuss the cultural production of knowledge, texts, and visual representations of natural knowledge.

We invite papers of 20-25 mins in length. Please send proposals (300 words) to: Emily Senior, E.F.Senior@Warwick.ac.uk and Sarah Easterby-Smith, Sarah.Easterby-Smith@alumni.Warwick.ac.uk. The deadline for proposals is Wednesday 29 September 2010.

Emily Senior and Sarah Easterby-Smith
University of Warwick
E.F.Senior@Warwick.ac.uk
Sarah.Easterby-Smith@alumni.Warwick.ac.uk
Email: e.f.senior@warwick.ac.uk
Visit the website at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/emforum/confworks/naturalknowledge/

A Forgotten World: Florentine Patricians as Patrons, Collectors, Cultural Brokers under Medici Rule (1530-1743)
University of Groningen, The Netherlands, 3-5 March 2011

Proposals due by 1 December 2010

This first international conference on the cultural habitus of Florentine patricians during the principate of the Medici originates from a research project at the University of Groningen, started in 2007 by prof.dr. H.Th. van Veen. The flourishing cultural life of the Florentine patricians during the principate of the Medici has either been forgotten or ignored for a long time. There has been little interest in patricians as commissioners of palaces, villas and chapels, as participants in academies and confraternities, and in patrician engagement in art, literature, theatre and music. In the twentieth century historians have systematically portrayed the patricians as sycophant courtiers, only interested in gaining noble titles and estates. The fact that reality was much more complex and dynamic, has become clear only in the last two decades. Through groundbreaking research in the field of socio-economic history, prosopography and political science, the image we have of the Florentine patrician is now changing, These studies show that patricians, as a group, were still holding on to most of the economic and institutional power they had obtained in the fifteenth century. The studies also show that patrician diplomatic missions played an important role in the arranging of marriages and foreign politics of the Medici. Remarkably, this historical revisionism is taken up by very few art historians, even though we now know that the contribution of patricians to the cultural dynamics of early modern Florence was highly significant.

The ambition of this conference is to discuss the cultural contribution of patricians to Florentine society and to approach it from an interdisciplinary perspective. The main question we will address is: how can we designate the dynamics, already observed in economical and political studies, in the cultural field? Other relevant questions are: how can we compare the cultural activities and ways of self-representation of the patricians, to those of the Medici? Did patricians facilitate or emulate the grand dukes? Or were they even seeking to rebel against them? Were the cultural objectives of the patricians homogeneous in character, or did they differ from one family to another? By stimulating the debate on an international level, we hope to shed more light on the nature and intentions of patrician art patronage and their collecting activities in this period. (more…)