Appel à communication: « Art, Criticism and the Forces of Globalization (Liverpool, 10-14 Sept. 2012)

Art, Criticism and the Forces of Globalization (Liverpool, 10-14 Septembre 2012)

This conference, organized jointly by Winchester School of Art, Tate Liverpool and the Archives of Art Criticism at the University of Rennes, seeks to investigate the historical and contemporary relations of art production and critical writing in the era of globalization. The Liverpool Biennale, opening at the time of the conference, is also focused on a global theme, ‘hospitality in all its dimensions,’ and will be integrated into the programme. You are invited to submit a title and 100 word abstract for twenty-minute papers to be presented within the following sessions. Further sessions may be announced and related events in Winchester and Liverpool will be integrated into the conference’s proceedings, including the Liverpool Biennal 2012.

The deadline for abstracts is 1 March 2012. Please send abstracts to Dr August Jordan Davis at A.J.Davis@soton.ac.uk and Dr Stefanie Van de Peer atS.E.Van-de-Peer@soton.ac.uk

Sessions

Day 1 (10 Sept; Winchester) Globalization and Art in the Twentieth Century
(Convenors: Jonathan Harris, University of Southampton and Dr Paula Barreiro-López, CCHS-CSIC)

How have recognisably ‘global’ and ‘globalizing’ processes and forces shaped art & criticism in the twentieth century? Is the term of analytic value or historical validity in examining practices in art and criticism from before the 1970s? Papers are invited on art practices and critical writing in any country, and may focus on artists, artworks, critics or the place of specific institutions or other
mediating organizations. Proposals, however, should clearly differentiate notions of the ‘global’ and ‘globalization’ from
antecedent but related terms such as ‘modern,’ ‘international’ and ‘cosmopolitan.’

Day 2 (11 Sept; Winchester) Globalization and Contemporary Art (Convenor: Anna Maria Guasch, University of Barcelona)

Contemporary art, in recent critical studies by, e.g., Terry Smith and James Elkins, has been identified closely with notions of the ‘global’ and ‘globalization’. Papers are invited for this session, which will investigate the connections, but also disconnections, that characterise contemporary art production and its critical reception around the world. How might ‘local’ and ‘provincial’, or ‘traditional’, practices and values have been maintained within contemporary art – or transformed by the networks of the global art market and its relationship to ‘gate-keeper’ institutions such at Tate and The Museum of Modern Art, New York? Proposals dealing with north-south cultural and artistic relations are particularly welcome.

Day 3 (12 Sept; Winchester) Globalization and Asian Art (Convenor: Menene Gras, Casa Asia, Madrid)

Contemporary Asian art has been a mainstay of the global art market for more than a decade now. How have Asian artists and their works achieved this success and prominence? What visibility do these marketed artists have in countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan? This session also welcomes papers on contemporary Asian art criticism – its forms, locations, and means of dissemination. Papers are also welcome that deal with the politics of contemporary Chinese art education: its openness to western models, and resistances in terms of practices and values.

Days 4 /5 (13/14 Sept; Tate Liverpool) The Artist as Critic / The Critic as Artist (Convenor: To be announced)

Congruent with holding the last day and a half of our conference at Tate Liverpool, a globally successful venue for modern and contemporary art and its critical understanding, this session invites papers by artists talking about their own work, or the work of others, or artists talking about critics and critical writing on art. Though the twentieth century has thrown up many examples of highly articulate artists – e.g., Robert Smithson and Robert Morris in the US – this session particularly invites papers from artists outside Europe and North America. Papers relating to art displayed in the Liverpool Biennial will also be very welcome.

Organisation scientifique:

Jonathan Harris, Winchester School of Art (WSA)
August Jordan Davis, WSA
Jean-Marc Poinsot, University of Rennes Archives of Art Criticism
Lindsey Fryer, Tate Liverpool

Contacts:

Dr August Jordan Davis, Senior Research Fellow, WSA
Email: A.J.Davis@soton.ac.uk
Dr Stefanie Van de Peer, Senior Research Fellow, WSA
Email: S.E.Van-de-Peer@soton.ac.uk