[1] Medieval Echo Chambers: Ideas in Space and Time

From: Jack Hartnell <j.hartnelluea.ac.uk>
Date: 26.06.2017

Session sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art

In recent decades, historians of medieval art and architecture have begun to think about the ways in which the interaction of objects, images, and performances were focused by particular medieval spaces. Whether directed towards a powerful cumulative spirituality, a slowly-accruing political self-fashioning, or more everyday performances of social coherence, it is clear that medieval space had the power to bind together sometimes quite disparate objects, forming their multiple parts into coherent messages for different types of viewers.

Thus far, however, such discussions have largely chosen to focus on individual moments of such consonance, thinking through the medieval Gesamtkunstwerk in only one particular iteration. This session proposes to expand this type of thinking beyond the snapshot by considering how medieval spaces could not only encourage resonance between objects in the moment but also echo these ideas over time. How did certain medieval spaces act as ideological echo chambers? How did certain spaces encourage particular recurring patterns of patronage, reception, or material reflection? How did people in the Middle Ages respond aesthetically to the history of spaces they inhabited, and how did they imagine these spaces’ future?

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers that focus on material from any part of the Middle Ages, broadly defined both chronologically and geographically.

Paper topics might address, but are by no means limited to:
- longue durée narratives showcasing the continuous interaction of objects and architecture.
- the resonance of particular quotidian spaces—marketplaces, bridges, squares—with objects and performances over time and across evolving audiences
- relationships emerging over time between certain types of space and certain types of artist or craftsman
- documents and performances through which the evolving histories of particular spaces and objects were remembered, reiterated, repeated
- the role of the immaterial—sound, light, smell, touch—in drawing together spaces and objects, and the issues associated with charting these relationships over time
- medieval spaces that continue to foster relationships with objects of the classical world
- medieval interactions between objects and space that project into the early modern period and beyond
- ‘future spaces’, which point to times and places beyond themselves, whether an imminent reality or a more fantastical future

250-word proposals should be sent with a short academic CV to Jack Hartnell (j.hartnelluea.ac.uk) and Jessica Barker (j.barkeruea.ac.uk) by 14th August 2017.

Accepted speakers may be eligible to apply for ICMA-Kress Travel Grants to support travel to and from Los Angeles. For more information, see: http://www.medievalart.org/kress-travel-grant

Organisers:
Dr Jack Hartnell, Lecturer in Art History (UEA, Norwich)
Dr Jessica Barker, Lecturer in Art History (UEA, Norwich)

---

[2] Cripping the Curriculum: Pedagogical Practices and Strategies when Teaching Disability in the Arts

From: Lucienne Auz <lauzmca.edu>
Date: 30.06.2017

“Cripping,” according to disability studies scholar Carrie Sandahl, “spins mainstream representations or practices to reveal able-bodied assumptions and exclusionary effects.” This session asks how instructors can crip traditional art history, studio art, art education, and museum and curatorial studies curriculum in order to reconsider these disciplines’ practices and presumptions through the lens of disability studies and to counter ableism within the visual arts. Contributors are invited to share their crip pedagogies and innovative strategies for designing lesson plans or semester-long courses that incorporate critical and creative disability studies perspectives. Papers may address the various approaches, challenges, and outcomes encountered when creating a cross-disciplinary class that foregrounds disability-based content; how to develop an inclusive instructional environment; the theoretical frameworks used to bridge this relatively new terrain; and effective ways to discuss topics such as embodied experience or disability as an intersectional cultural identity.

Chair: Lucienne Auz, Memphis College of Art
Email: lauzmca.edu
Proposals are due to session chair by Monday, August 14, 2017.

Proposals should include:
1. Completed session participation proposal form, located at the end of the CAA CFP brochure (http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/call-for-participation.pdf).
a. Make sure your name appears EXACTLY as you would like it listed in the conference program and conference website.
b. Make sure your affiliation appears as the official, recognized name of your institution (you may not list multiple affiliations).
c. Make sure to include an active CAA Member ID (all participants must be current members through February 24, 2018; inactive or lapsed members will be pulled from participation on August 28, 2017).
2. Paper/project abstract: maximum 250 words, in the form of a single paragraph. Make sure your title and abstract appear EXACTLY as you would like them published in the conference program, Abstracts 2018, and the CAA website.
3. Email or letter explaining your interest in the session, expertise in the topic, and availability during the conference.
4. A shortened CV.
5. (Optional) Documentation of work when appropriate, especially for sessions in which artists might discuss their own practice.
CHAIRS DETERMINE THE SPEAKERS FOR THEIR SESSIONS AND REPLY TO ALL APPLICANTS BY AUGUST 28, 2017.

---

[3] Object - Event – Performance Art, Materiality, and Continuity since the 1960s

From: Hanna Hölling <h.hollingucl.ac.uk>
Date: 30.06.2017

In the 1960s, the art world and its objects began to experience a dramatic shift in what and how art can be. New modes of artistic expression articulated through Fluxus activities, happening, performance, video, experimental film and the emerging practices of media art questioned the idea of a static object that endures unchanged and might thus be subject to a singular interpretation. Different from traditional visual arts, the blending genres and media in art since the 1960s began to transform not only curatorial and museum collecting practices, but also the traditional function and mandate of conservation, now augmented to accept the inherent dynamism and changeability of artworks.
How do these artworks endure over time despite their material and conceptual changes? How do their identities unfold contingent on ruling knowledge, values, politics, and culture? Forging an examination of the physical and immaterial aspects of artworks at the intersection of art history and theory, material culture studies, and conservation, our session proposes to interrogate artworks that evade physical stability and fixity familiar from traditional works often conceived in a singular medium and meant to last “forever.” Intrinsically changeable and often short-duration, these artworks challenge art, conservation, and museological discourses. Not only do they test the standard assumptions of what, how and when an artwork is or can be, but they also put forward the notion of materiality in constant flux that plays a significant role in the creation and mediation of meaning.

The deadline for submissions is August 14, 2017. Please consult general guidelines for participants listed in the 2018 CAA Call for Participation (accessible on the CAA website). Selected contributions might be considered for publication.

Send applications to: Chair: Hanna B. Hölling, University College London, h.hollingucl.ac.uk

---

[4] Disappointment and Representation

From: Elizabeth Howie <ehowiecoastal.edu>
Date: 01.07.2017

Chair: Elizabeth Howie, Coastal Carolina University, ehowie@ coastal.edu

The word disappointment, which originally meant the dismissal of an individual from an appointed position, has come to describe the emotional impact or affect of such a removal: it can amalgamate surprise, loss, melancholy, hopelessness, anger, embarrassment, etc. Despite its familiarity, the feeling of disappointment may be so overwhelming and confusing that it is hard to identify and articulate. Such confusion may mark a productive breakdown of ideologies, when things don’t go as expected. Unlike melancholy, disappointment may be a response to a very specific loss. Like paranoia, it may engender a terrifying anticipation of possible bad outcomes. It may be directed both
outward to a known perpetrator or situation, or inward like depression or shame. The shock of disappointment may identify previously unrecognized desires or may demonstrate that desires were much more powerful than previously understood until they were denied. Disappointment appears in visual art overtly in terms of, for example, sentimental nineteenth-century representational works. How else might visual art invoke disappointment? Is there a particular facial expression for this experience? How might abstraction reference it? Is disappointment purely human? What are its historical roots? What are its political and ethical implications? Following recent theoretical investigations into affect, including minor ones, by Sara Ahmed and Sianne Ngai among others, this
panel seeks to explore disappointment in a broad range of art, whether in terms of a literal representation, more generalized content, or as a theoretical approach to understanding a work of art’s impact.

Proposals are due to session chairs by Monday, August 14, 2017, and should include:
1. Completed session participation proposal form, located at the end of the CAA CFP brochure. Make sure your name appears EXACTLY as you would like it listed in the conference program and conference website. Make sure your affiliation appears as the official, recognized name of your institution and do not list multiple affiliations. No changes will be accepted after September 18, 2017.
2. Paper abstract (strict 250 word maximum) in the form of one double-spaced, typed page with final title for paper at top of page. Make sure your paper title and abstract appear EXACTLY as you would like them published in the conference program and Abstracts 2018; no changes will be accepted from you or your session chairs after September 18, 2017.
3. Letter explaining your interest, expertise in the topic, and CAA membership status (all participants must be current members through February 18, 2018; inactive or lapsed members will be pulled from participation by December).
4. Shortened CV with home and office mailing addresses, email address, and phone and fax numbers. Include summer address and telephone number, if applicable.
5. Documentation of work when appropriate, especially for sessions in which artists might discuss their own work.

CHAIRS DETERMINE THE SPEAKERS FOR THEIR SESSIONS AND REPLY TO ALL APPLICANTS BY AUGUST 28, 2017.

---

[5] Reflective Surfaces in Medieval and Early Modern Art

From: Rachel Danford <danfordrmarshall.edu>
Date: 01.07.2017

This session explores the use and simulation of reflective surfaces in medieval and early modern works of art. In the Middle Ages, reflection often operated as a metaphor for imperfect vision (see: 1 Corinthians 13:12), while in the Renaissance, it came to encapsulate notions of naturalistic representation and artistic production broadly conceived. While we are interested in considering this historical distinction, in this session we especially seek to understand approaches to light and reflection that remain stable across the medieval and early modern eras through anthropological, ritual, scientific, theological, or literary approaches.

We invite proposals that examine objects and monuments that incorporate precious metals, mirrors, gems, and glass, as well as those that simulate the effects of these materials. How might inquiries into late medieval and early modern optical theories clarify such works of art? What do the perceived differences between light emanating directly from a radiant source and light reflected indirectly off a gleaming surface tell us about compositional strategies? What impact did natural lighting conditions have on the design of medieval and early modern monuments that incorporate glittering materials or mirrors? How might reflective surfaces have been deployed for apotropaic or ritual purposes? And finally, how might works of literature that invoke mirrors or reflection be brought into dialogue with the visual arts?

Instructions for submissions:
Please send all submissions directly to the session chairs by the August 14th deadline: Alexandra Letvin (Johns Hopkins University) at aletvin1jhu.edu and Rachel Danford (Marshall University) at either rachel.danfordgmail.com or danfordrmarshall.edu.

Submissions should include the following four components:
1. A completed session participation proposal form (located at the end of the CAA’s call for participation brochure).
a. Make sure your name appears EXACTLY as you would like it listed in the conference program and conference website.
b. Make sure your affiliation appears as the official, recognized name of your institution (you may not list multiple affiliations).
c. Make sure to include an active CAA Member ID (all participants must be current members through February 24, 2018; inactive or lapsed members will be pulled from participation on August 28, 2017).
2. Paper/project abstract: maximum 250 words, in the form of a single paragraph.
a. Make sure your title and abstract appear EXACTLY as you would like them published in the conference program.
3. Email or letter explaining your interest in the session, expertise in the topic, and availability during the conference.
4. A shortened CV.

---

[6] Provenance Research as a Method of Connoisseurship?

From: Valerie Kobi <valerie.kobiuni-bielefeld.de>
Date: 02.07.2017

Chairs: Christian Huemer (Getty Research Institute, CHuemergetty.edu), Valérie Kobi (Universität Bielefeld, valerie.kobiuni-bielefeld.de), Valentina Locatelli (Kunstmuseum Bern, valentina.locatelligmail.com)

This session will explore the intersections between provenance research and connoisseurship with regard to the early modern period. In order to go beyond today’s dominant understanding of provenance research as a practice exclusively related to Nazi-looted art and questions of restitutions, the panel will deliberately focus on topics from the late fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. By setting this alternative chronological limit, we will delve into the historical role of provenance research, its tools and significations, and its relation to connoisseurship and collecting practices. What influence did the biography of an artwork exert on the opinion of some of the greatest connoisseurs of the past? How did the documented (or suspected) provenance of a work of art impact its attribution and authentication process? Which strategies were employed in the mentioning of provenance information in sale catalogues or, sometimes, directly on the artworks themselves? Did the development of art historical knowledge change the practice of provenance research over time? And finally, how can we call attention to these questions in contemporary museum practice and reassess provenance research as a tool of connoisseurship? In addition to addressing the history as well as the strategies of provenance research, this session will be an opportunity to question its relationship to other domains as well as to bring it closer to core problems of art history and museology. We invite contributions that introduce new historical and methodological approaches. Proposals which go beyond the case study are especially encouraged.

For submission guidelines: http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/call-for-participation.pdf

---

[7] Hucksters or Connoisseurs? The Role of Intermediary Agents in Art Economies

From: Titia Hulst <titiahulstgmail.com>
Date: 02.07.2017

The roles of art dealers in the creation of art economies and the circulatory exchange of goods have come to increasing attention of late. However, much work remains to be done to counter the long history of the hagiographic treatment of dealers, which owes a great deal to the fact that histories of dealers were largely authored by dealers eager to write themselves into the history of art.
For this CAA session, we seek to bring a critical and historical perspective to the role of intermediary agents in the primary and secondary markets. We seek papers that will examine dealers who mediated between the artist as producer and the consumer, whether conceived as an individual patron or broadly configured audiences.
We also seek papers that identify strategies developed by these intermediary figures in response to changing social-historical as well as geographical conditions. Relatedly, what role did dealers play in the emergence of art history as a discipline and the construction of its narratives given the vested interest of these agents in knowledge formation and collection building?
Since histories of art dealers have long been dominated by narratives drawn from the Western market, we are particularly interested in papers that examine the role of this figure in non- western art economies as well as topics that help us test and question standard models derived from the early modern and modern Western context. We encourage analysis of historically grounded strategies and practices, as opposed to anecdotal heroic narratives.

Paper proposals are due August 14. Please email your proposal to both Titia Hulst, Purchase College, New York, titiahulstgmail.com and Anne Helmreich, Texas Christian University, alhelmreichgmail.com