HomeCritics, buyers, patrons: does the onlooker make the sculpture?
Critics, buyers, patrons: does the onlooker make the sculpture?
Critiques, acheteurs, mécènes : est-ce le regardeur qui fait la sculpture ?
Published on Monday, February 26, 2024
Abstract
The history of sculpture, like that of painting, has long been studied from the perspective of sculptors. In the same way, literary texts have long been read primarily through the lens of their authors. Yet, modern linguistics has, for over a century, emphasized the crucial role of the observer in the very creation of the message. To paraphrase Duchamp: does the onlooker, or the buyer, make the sculpture?
Announcement
11th symposium for young researchers in sculpture
Convenor
Headed by Paul-Louis Rinuy, Professor of Contemporary Art History, Université Paris 8
Registration
Friday, May 31, 2024, 9am–5pm
Paris, Musée Rodin, Léonce Bénédite auditorium. This event will be webcast live.
Presentation
The history of sculpture, like that of painting, has long been studied from the perspective of sculptors. In the same way, literary texts have long been read primarily through the lens of their authors. Yet, modern linguistics has, for over a century, emphasized the crucial role of the observer in the very creation of the message. To paraphrase Duchamp: does the onlooker, or the buyer, make the sculpture?
The aim here is to start tracing the outlines of an unconventional history of sculpture from the 19th, 20th, or 21st century, moving away from a study of the artists' styles, materials, poetic ambitions and social trajectories. The analysis shall instead focus on the way in which private buyers—that invisible cohort whose names often remain mythical or ghostly—look at, choose and interpret artworks. Friends, critics, buyers, patrons, various intermediaries, and gallery owners are all part of this circle that often visits the artist's studio. They sometimes even know the works before they are produced, and buy them for a specific purpose: ornamentation, glorification, for a funerary monument, or as ceremonial objects; it can also be out of personal preference, or because they want to build up a collection.
Without excluding problematized monographic inquiries, preference will be given to studies of groups or categories, informal or otherwise. Additionally, a precise analysis of the practices, circumstances of intervention and measurable effects of the action of these onlooker-buyers will be favored.
Submission guidelines
Proposals for papers should include a title, a summary of the presentation (between 1,500 and 2,000 characters) and a short biographical note (1,000 characters), and should be sent to colloques@musee-rodin.fr
before April 8, 2024.
Each presentation will last 20 minutes and will be audio recorded. The recording will be available on the Musée Rodin website.
Research committee
- Amélie Simier, Chief Curator of Cultural Heritage, Director, musée Rodin
- Paul-Louis Rinuy, Professor of Contemporary Art History, Université Paris 8
- Véronique Mattiussi, Head of the Research Department, musée Rodin
- Franck Joubin, Researcher and Conference Coordinator, musée Rodin
Subjects
Places
- Musée Rodin, auditorium Léonce Bénédite - 21, boulevard des Invalides
Paris, France (75)
Event attendance modalities
Hybrid event (on site and online)
Date(s)
- Monday, April 08, 2024
Keywords
- sculpture, regardeur
Contact(s)
- Franck Joubin
courriel : joubin [at] musee-rodin [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Franck Joubin
courriel : joubin [at] musee-rodin [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Critics, buyers, patrons: does the onlooker make the sculpture? », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, February 26, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/vwtx
