CALL FOR PROPOSALS

You are invited to submit a proposal for the Visual Culture Caucus
Session for the College Art Association Conference, New York, NY,
February 19-22, 2003

This, That, and the Other Thing: Objects and Visual Culture

In direct contradiction to the forecasted de-materialization of art,
making things has remained integral to the production of even the most
conceptual creative work. Moreover, possessions continue to dominate
our lives well into what claims to be the information age. The
emergence--or consolidation--of visual culture as an interdisciplinary
practice makes it possible to discuss mass produced objects in the same
conversation with hand-crafted objects and to consider intentional, new
production alongside that which occurs through re-use or
reconfiguration. Contemporary discourse on things includes artists'
elaborations of motive and process, material culture analyses of social
context and use value, psychoanalytic discussions of fetish objects, as
well as anthropological research on reception and deployment.

This panel invites a consideration of all manner of things: found
objects, crafted objects, popular cultural artifacts, props, and
sculptures. Examinations of both contemporary and historical
relationships to things are encouraged--in part, as a way of
understanding the persistent resonance of physical objects.

Send Proposals by May 1, 2002, to:

Sallie McCorkle
Associate Professor, Visual Arts
Area Head, Sculpture
School of Visual Arts
210 Patterson Building
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
Office: 814-865-9471
Email: smm11psu.edu

Please read and distribute. We are hoping to identify people
interested in this topic. It is not outside the realm of possibility
that a separate symposium may be warranted--beyond the panel at CAA--
should enough interest be generated.

Feel free to contact me with your questions. (My apologies if you
received this more than once.)