Proposed Session for the Annual Conference, College Art Association (CAA), New York, 2019

“Reconsidering the Status of the Artist in Early Modern Iberia and Latin America (1500-1800)“

Chair: Lisandra Estevez, Assistant Professor of Art History, Winston-Salem State University, email: estevezlwssu.edu

The status of the artist remains a central question in the history of both early modern Iberian [includes both Spain and Portugal] and Latin American art. While most studies have certainly (and rightly) recognized Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) as the painter par excellence of the Golden Age, the field of inquiry can be broadened to include other artists of the period to illuminate different models of the artistic subject. The construct of the "artist" in the early modern period was not a fixed one but one that fluctuated and changed in complex and paradoxical ways because it was subject to and conditioned by cultural, economic, ethnic, religious, social, and political factors.

The session seeks to re-engage with this topic by examining the careers of artists who present alternative or comparative models of artistic identity in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. Papers can address the lives of artists working in and across different media (painting, sculpture, architecture, printmaking, etc.). Topics for consideration, more broadly, can include the economic, business, and legal lives of artists; style as a marker of individuality and/or erudition; self-portraits and signatures as bearers of meaning; critical fortunes and reception as constructed in early modern art biographies and other relevant texts; collaboration, competition, and rivalry among artists; the emergence of art academies; and the ethnic identity of the artist (i.e. artists who were of African, Amerindian, and/or diverse ancestries and religious backgrounds who were active in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America). Interdisciplinary approaches to this topic are especially welcome.

Please submit the following materials for consideration in this proposed session as follows:

1) a. Make sure your name appears exactly as you would like it listed in the session submission. 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 (if applicable).
2) Paper/project abstract: maximum 250 words, in the form of a single paragraph.
3) A brief explanation of your interest in the session, expertise in the topic, and availability during the conference.
4) A shortened CV.

The deadline for abstract submissions to me is Monday, April 16, 2018.
Notifications of acceptance will go out by Monday, April 23, 2018.
Complete session information will be submitted to CAA by Friday, April 27, 2018.

If you have any questions, please send me an email (estevezlwssu.edu).