The interrelation between artists and society has been a determining feature of different civilisations, countries, cultural spaces and epochs throughout human history. Many of specific facts, literary sources or artworks sheds light on the manifold ways in which these connections evolved in time. What are the modes in which relationships between the artist and society are reflected in a specific artworks; What are the ways in which artist mirror the perceptions and beliefs of the society; How did the social status of artists change over times and what was the level of their artistic independence; To what extent does the society and its ideology determine artists’ visions; how does the subject-matter change in time; what are the modes of self-expression and which factors determine artists’ recognition by the society either the conflicts between them; What are the means of expression traditionally applied by the artist and which new perspectives and challenges are brought by the contemporary life?

The working languages are English and Georgian.

Venue: 1 Chavchavadze Avenue, Building I, Room 107, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Tbilisi, Georgia

PROGRAMME

FRIDAY, 18 NOVEMBER

9:30
Registration of Participants

10:00
Opening of the Conference

Zaza Skhirtladze, Chair, Institute of the History and Theory of Art,
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

Giorgi Sharvashidze, Rector, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

Nana Gaprindashvili, Dean, Faculty of Humanities,
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

10:30
Session I
Chair: Irina Koshoridze

Medieval Painters of Georgia Mentioned in Fresco Inscriptions
Ketevan Miqeladze, George Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation

Teaching and Learning to Draw for the Social Recognition: Origins of Drawing Books
Nino Nanobashvili, Ludwig Maximillian University

National Culture Values and Ideals. Latvian Exile Society in the United States 1948-1991
Andra Silapetere, Art Academy of Latvia

Sergo Kobuladze: Art and Heritage
Marina Gachechiladze, George Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation

12:00 -13:00
Coffee Break

13:00
Session II
Chair: Katerina Preda

The Romanian State artist: an overview of the Union of Visual Artists and its role in society

The Romanian Union of Visual Artists and the Formalisation of Artistic Dialogue with the East and the West During Late Communism
Alina Popescu, University of Bucharest

Reforming the Union of Visual Artists and the “State” Artist
Christina Stoenescu, University of Bucharest

”Cartooning for Peace”. Changing the Functions of Caricature in Communist Romania (1949-1970)
Dan Draghia, University of Bucharest

Visual Artists Under the Surveillance of the Communist Secret Police. The Case of Ion Irimescu
Dumitru Lacatusu, University of Bucharest

SATURDAY, 19 NOVEMBER

10:00
Session III
Chair: Katharina Stadler

Chinese Painting – Wen-Jen Hua: Intellectualism in Painting
Natia Demurishvili, Georgian National Museum

“It’s Already Existed” – Reproduction as an Artistic Practice to Reflect Society
Annette Tietenberg, Braunschweig University of Art

The Modern Artist as Spiritual Adept
Jewell Homad Johnson, University of Sydney

Contemporary Art, Anthropology and Social Engagement in Tbilisi
David Chigholashvili, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

12:00 -13:00
Coffee Break

13:00
Session IV
Chair: Annette Tietenberg

Designer Created Tableware for Changing Society Eating Habits
Nauris Cinovics, Art Academy of Latvia

Evidence-Based Design for Nowadays Society
Elita Reina Fleimane, Art Academy of Latvia

Site Specific Structures, Participatory Commodification and the Limits of Consciousness in Ideological State Apparatuses OR Three Artists Walk into a Bar in Tbilisi
Katharina Stadler, Artist

Paradise Lost. Javakheti - Haven of Dukhobors. Presentation of Photo Project
Natela Grigalashvili, Artist

15:00
Final Discussion