Association of Art Historians 41st Annual Conference

Sainsbury Institute for Art, UEA, Norwich, UK
9 - 11 April 2015 - See more at: http://www.aah.org.uk/annual-conference#sthash.A6vmKEIc.dpuf

Session: Navigating the Pacific: Latin America and Asia in conversation

Convenors: Kathryn Santner and Paul Merchant (University of Cambridge). Kathryn.santnergmail.com and pm437cam.ac.uk

The critical role of Asia in the history of Latin American art has often been overlooked; recent scholarship has, however, begun to reassess this longstanding cultural engagement. This session will examine the significance of Asia-Latin America exchange from its earliest days via the Manila Galleon and Portuguese trade networks through to the present day.

Iberian trade brought luxury goods - porcelain, lacquerware, folding screens, ivories, and inlaid furniture - to the Americas, where they were adapted and incorporated into local artistic practice, spawning new art forms like the biombo. The decline of the galleon trade after 1815 did not mark the end of this transpacific relationship; ensuing centuries brought successive waves of Asian immigrants to Latin America - notably the Chinese to Peru and the Japanese to Brazil.

In the wake of this diaspora, artists have recently begun to explore Asian identity in Latin America, notably in several successful documentary and fiction film productions from the region. The presence, for the first time, of a Latin American pavilion at the Beijing Art Expo 2013 also points to the increasing recognition of a centuries-old dialogue in the visual arts. So too does the ‘Latin American Artists in Asia’ network, whose members practise in fields from sculpture to photography and digital art.

This session will cover a broad historical period, and adopt a variety of methodological approaches. Key issues to be considered include (post) national identity, materiality and its relationship to place, and the opportunities and complications offered by digital technologies.

Structure of the session: Papers will be 40 minutes in length (5 minutes set up, 30 minute paper and 5 minutes Q&A.

Please send your paper proposals of no more than 250 words to Kathryn Santner (kathryn.santnergmail.com) and Paul Merchant (pm437cam.ac.uk) by 10 November.