Reframing the (Art) World
Redéfinir le monde (de l’art)
Commitment, Challenges and Crises of International Art Criticism since 1945
Engagement, défis et crises de la critique d’art internationale depuis 1945
Published on Friday, March 02, 2018
Abstract
The international conference Reframing the (Art) World/Redéfinir le monde (de l’art) aims at concluding an intense three-year research carried out within the frame of the research programme PRISME, hosted at the Archives de la critique d’art (Archives of Art Criticism in Rennes). By following a multidisciplinary approach, the aim of this conference is to reframe a still little-known chapter of cultural history, in order to reconsider art criticism as a historical and epistemological prism in regard to international issues since the second half of the XXth century.
Announcement
International Two-Day-Conference closing the multidisciplinary research programme PRISME (EA 1279 Université Rennes2/GIS-Archives de la critique d’art)
Dates : October 11-12, 2018, Université Rennes 2, France
Argument
The international conference Reframing the (Art) World/Redéfinir le monde (de l’art) aims at concluding an intense three-year research carried out within the frame of the multidisciplinary research programme PRISME, hosted at the Archives de la critique d’art (Archives of Art Criticism in Rennes). The programme does not only consider art criticism within the scope of aesthetic discourse, but also as a field for debates on contemporary society. The programme started from a thorough work of processing and analyzing the archives of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), founded in 1948/1949 in Paris. The point was to identify the international players and networks of art criticism during the second half of the 20th century, as well as to examine the way they addressed major issues of society during their debates and within their writings.
The topics – including the impact of modern technologies and sciences, mass media, political and social events as well as intertwining thoughts on economy and ideology – reveal art critics as intermediaries and influent public players, not only in the “Art Worlds” as described through the interactionist sociology by Howard Becker, but in the world outside of art as well. Thus, one of the main purposes of this conference is to go beyond a limited history of art criticism, narrowed down to a static understanding of artistic reception, in order to understand how art critics grasp other thought patterns and different spaces of social interaction, even if it means examining their limits and failures.
The ideological and theoretical frameworks for thinking about the world that have governed criticism since 1945 are inseparable from the context of the Cold War, decolonization, and burgeoning globalization; they are reflected in the fluctuating constellations and interdependencies of intellectual networks. These fluctuations in turn shaped the position of art criticism, which developed in many directions through new challenges and crises. Thus, the activities and exchanges that have been federated by the AICA provide a roadmap of international art criticism in the second half of the 20th century, and will be examined in a de-compartmentalized way. We seek therefore to discuss questions relating to the particularities of national art criticism, to exchanges, divergences, and misunderstandings between art critics in various countries, as well as to supra-national strategies that advanced cultural visions ranging from “universalism” to “diversity”.
The aim of this conference is to reframe a still little-known chapter of cultural history, in order to reconsider art criticism as a historical and epistemological prism in regard to international issues since the second half of the XXth century.
This call for paper is intended for researchers specialized in different fields, such as the history of art and architecture, political and cultural history, sociology and international relations studies.
We welcome in particular papers that focus on one of the following thematic areas:
1 – Redefining territories: the circulations and borders of international criticism
This area is dedicated to networks of critical circulation during the second half of the XXth century, examining in particular fluctuation in boundaries among the various national cultural spaces and the networks and international sphere of influences of criticism. Papers will assess the ways in which the European cultural territory shifted during the Cold War, and will investigate, from a transnational perspective, the enlarging of this territory in terms of the then so-called “third world” and emerging countries.
2 – Commitment and crises: political, economic and media issues of criticism
This area focuses on the various relations developed between criticism, art and politics since 1945, by approaching the art critic as a political figure interacting with changing historical and geographical contexts. We will pay close attention to the processes involved in the making of history of political events through the prism of cultural figures. In doing so, we aim at understanding the functioning of critical discourses and its dissemination or absence in mass media.
3 – Art criticism within international cultural relations
This thematic area seeks to define dynamic clusters of art criticism within the cultural international policies and its commitment in transmitting artistic and cultural values. By doing so, the purpose is to overcome the idea of art criticism as a marginal field of study and to inscribe it in a broader cultural history that questions the organization of international cultural relations. The papers will put the emphasis on the relations of art criticism with European and international organizations (for example UNESCO, the Council of Europe etc.) and non-governmental organizations such as AICA, ICOM and IAA.
4 – Art worlds/worlds of ideas: intellectual acquaintances of art criticism
The last thematic area proposes to assess the dynamic relationships that determined critical discourse in regard to theoretical debates from complementary fields. Among the key issues for art criticism, papers will explore the impact of scientific and technological evolutions, as well as the circulation and reception of concepts coming from philosophy, literature etc. of the second half of the XXth century. We seek in particular papers that will approach art criticism as a platform for ideas and intellectual exchange.
Submission guidelines
Proposals for a conference paper (30. min.) should include an abstract (no more than 400 words/2500 characters) specifying the title of the paper, and a short biography of the author.
Proposals can be sent until April 15 2018
to: Reframing-Art-World2018@hotmail.com
The decisions will be taken by the scientific board in consultation with the PRISME research network; the answers will be communicated to the candidates before May 15 2018.
The conference will be held on October 11-12 2018 in Rennes (France). Languages: French and English. The publication of the conference proceedings has been scheduled.
Scientific Board
- Nathalie Boulouch (Université Rennes 2/director of the Archives de la critique d’art)
- Caroline Jones (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
- Antje Kramer-Mallordy (Université Rennes 2)
- Richard Leeman (Université Bordeaux Montaigne)
- Jacques Leenhardt (EHESS, Paris/Honorary President of AICA International)
- Henry Meyric-Hughes (Independent art critic and curator/ Honorary President of AICA International)
- Jean-Marc Poinsot (Université Rennes 2/Archives de la critique d’art)
- Lisbeth Rebollo-Goncalves (Universidade de São Paulo/ Current President of AICA International)
PRISME research network
- Mathilde Arnoux (Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte/German Center for Art History, Paris)
- Paula Barreiro-Lopez (Universitat de Barcelona).
- Nathalie Boulouch (Université Rennes 2/Archives de la critique d’art)
- Laurence Corbel (Université Rennes 2).
- Sophie Cras (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
- Valérie Devillard (Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas)
- Larisa Dryansky (Université Paris-Sorbonne)
- Hélène Jannière (Université Rennes 2)
- Julie Verlaine (Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne)
- Vera Wolff (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich).
Scientific coordination
Antje Kramer-Mallordy (Université Rennes 2)
For more information about PRISME : http://acaprisme.hypotheses.org/
Subjects
- Europe (Main category)
- Society > Science studies > Sociology of science
- Mind and language > Thought > Intellectual history
- Periods > Modern > Twentieth century
- Society > Political studies > International relations
- Mind and language > Representation
- Society > Sociology > Sociology of culture
- Society > History > Social history
Places
- Université Rennes 2 - Campus Villejean
Rennes, France (35)
Date(s)
- Sunday, April 15, 2018
Keywords
- critique d'art, AICA, art contemporain, relations internationales, UNESCO, histoire intellectuelle, guerre froide, décolonisation
Contact(s)
- Antje Kramer-Mallordy
courriel : antje [dot] kramer [at] univ-rennes2 [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Antje Kramer-Mallordy
courriel : antje [dot] kramer [at] univ-rennes2 [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Reframing the (Art) World », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, March 02, 2018, https://doi.org/10.58079/zs5
