CFP Nov 25, 2020

Virtual Reproductions and the Question of Authenticity (Romont, 28 Aug 21)

Vitromusée Romont, Switzerland, Aug 28, 2021
Deadline: Jan 15, 2021
www.vitrocentre.ch

PD Dr. Francine Giese, Vitrocentre und Vitromusée Romont

Original or Copy: Virtual Reproductions and the Question of Authenticity

Organizers: Vitrocentre & Vitromusée Romont, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Le Stanze del Vetro

Keynote Speaker: Adam Lowe (Factum Foundation)

We are pleased to announce the call for papers for an international conference dedicated to glass art and questions surrounding the virtual reproduction, copying and authenticity in the digital age. It will be held at the Vitromusée Romont (Switzerland), the Swiss Museum for Stained Glass and Glass Art, on August 28, 2021. The conference is jointly organized by the Vitrocentre and Vitromusée Romont, the Institute of Art History of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Le Stanze del Vetro. It will take place in conjunction with the exhibition “Interconnectées: Venise et Romont en dialogue” co-organized by the above mentioned institutions and shown at Vitromusée Romont from August 29, 2021 to January 9, 2022.
The one-day conference will address the growing importance of digital tools for research, artistic production and museum work, by presenting current developments and applications in glass and applied arts. Special attention will be placed on the potential and limits of virtual reproductions and the way they changed our perception and valorization of original artworks.

While the “Convention for promoting universally reproductions of works of art for the benefit of museums of all countries,” initiated by Sir Henry Cole und signed during the International Exhibition of 1867 in Paris, institutionalized the reproduction of artworks by museums and academies, Walther Benjamin pointed out the consequences of reproducibility in his 1936 essay “Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit.” He highlighted the loss of aura through the mechanical mass reproductions in photography and film. Revisiting his writing in a time of rapid development in virtual art reproduction (VR, AR), to what extent are Benjamin’s concerns still valid? Where are we standing today? Do the almost unlimited possibilities of virtual 3D reproductions contribute to legitimizing the copy as a valuable product of the digital age? Or are digital copies still just a tool for the reconstruction of lost or partly destroyed originals, art education and research?

The organizers welcome proposals on the following topics:
- Digitalization and virtual reproductions in art historical research: current developments and new applications
- Glass museums and glass art collections and their databases: presentation, technology and audiences
- Reproducing and reconstructing artworks: new technologies and ethical questions
- Theoretical discussions on authenticity or the relationship between original and copy in the digital age

The presentations should be max. 20 minutes and may be given in French, English or German. Please submit a proposal of maximum 300 words and a brief curriculum vitae by January 15, 2021 to sibylle.walthervitromusee.ch.

Accommodation and meals during the symposium will be covered. Participants are expected to pay for their own transportation.

Deadline for submissions: January 15, 2021
Notification of acceptance: February 18, 2021

For further information, see www.vitrocentre.ch

Reference:
CFP: Virtual Reproductions and the Question of Authenticity (Romont, 28 Aug 21). In: ArtHist.net, Nov 25, 2020 (accessed Mar 29, 2024), <https://arthist.net/archive/24002>.

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