[1] Co-opetition: Testing the Bounds of Cooperation and Competition

From: Alexis Culotta <alexis.culottagmail.com>
Date: Jan 6, 2016
Subject: CFP: Testing the Bounds of Cooperation and Competition

Deadline: Feb 1, 2016

Session Sponsored by the Italian Art Society

John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern’s landmark 1944 publication, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, introduced the world to the economic field of Game Theory and proposed the principle of co-opetition. Originally suggested as a method of interaction between businesses, the theory holds that when two competitive entities share congruent interests, working together to develop those shared characteristics will lead to a greater outcome than isolated efforts. This concept has been applied in earlier research to the working relationship between early sixteenth-century figures Raphael and Baldassarre Peruzzi in the negotiations of artistic and architectural commissions at the Roman Villa Chigi (known today as the Villa Farnesina). Though the two were inherent competitors, the visual record at the Villa Farnesina suggests that competition was tempered with collaboration to yield a striking series of visual narratives that today are recognized as a watershed moment in Roman artistic and architectural history.

This session aims to advance this initial exploration by inviting paper topics that work to apply this theory of co-opetition to the larger field of early sixteenth-century Italian artistic and architectural production as a nuanced engagement between the parameters of competition and cooperation, examining instances where normally competitive forces chose to work in tandem to achieve an ultimate artistic goal. Papers could trace this theme within a singular work that exhibits these tensions to a larger negotiation, for example, one that occurs between workshop participants or large-scale commissions. The goal of this session is to better elucidate this term in its applications to art and architecture and to assess more globally its validity in such applications to the working relationships of sixteenth-century figures.

Prospective participants should send a brief abstract (no more than 300 words) and a brief curriculum vitae (300-word maximum in outline rather than narrative form) to alexis.culottagmail.com by 1 February, 2016.

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[2] Michelangelo and the North

From: Emily Fenichel <efenichelfau.edu>
Date: Jan 6, 2016
Subject: CFP: Michelangelo and the North

Deadline: Feb 1, 2016

Dr. Tamara Smithers, APSU
Dr. Emily Fenichel, FAU

According to Holanda in his Dialogues, Michelangelo claimed that Northern, and specifically Flemish art, “will please the devout better than any painting in Italy…It will appeal to women, especially to the very old and the very young, and also to monks and nuns and to certain noblemen who have no sense of true harmony.” Perhaps as a consequence, few artists are more closely associated with Italy than Michelangelo. This session seeks to question this notion, calling for papers to broaden the conversation by considering the influence, interactions, and legacy of Michelangelo and his art on Northern Europe during the Early Modern period.

Possible paper topics include:

- the history, influence, and interpretation of the Bruges Madonna
- Michelangelo’s artistic exchanges with France through the Leda, the lost Bronze David, and the Louvre Slaves and possible impacts on French artists
- so-called “Northern” iconographies, such as the pietà
- Michelangelo’s designs in contemporary print culture
- the impact of Michelangelo’s writing/biographies outside of Italy
- artistic dialogues with Michelangelo’s work in the north by artists such as Rubens and others
- the collecting, distribution, and influence of Michelangelo’s works in Northern museums
- collections of the artist’s drawings in Haarlem, London, and elsewhere
newly discovered and attributed works in Northern collections, such as the Oxford panel and the Cambridge bronzes
- copies/replicas in Northern collections

Please send a brief abstract (no more than 250 words); and a brief curriculum vitae to Emily Fenichel efenichelfau.edu by February 1, 2016.

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[3) Visualizing the Early Modern World in Digital Space and Time

From: Catherine Walsh <cwalshmontevallo.edu>
Date: Jan 6, 2016
Subject: CFP: Visualizing the Early Modern World in Digital Space and Time

Deadline: Feb 5, 2016

This session invites digital projects—at any stage—that attempt to imagine the ways in which aspects of the early modern world can be visualized in digital spaces. We are particularly interested in projects that study the geographic movement of people and objects over time. Within this framework, we seek papers that explore the following questions: What are the spatial and temporal problems that early modern people, objects, and their metadata present to us? How can we reconcile the imprecision of historical sources with the required precision of digital technologies? How can we translate humanistic data into a digital platform in a way that captures the nuance of the source data? What are the limits of these methodologies? In what ways do digital technologies reinforce western conceptions of time and space? Can digital technologies accommodate alternate visions of geospatial conception? How do digital technologies offer ways to liberate information from traditional hierarchies implicit in narrative structure? Can data visualization constitute more than a means of pattern recognition, providing instead an alternate space in which to visualize particular moments in the early modern world?

Please submit a 250-word abstract and CV to Carrie Anderson (carrieamiddlebury.edu) and Catherine Walsh (cwalshmontevallo.edu) by February 5th.