T h e S t a t e o f t h e R e a l

An Interdisciplinary Conference

Glasgow School of Art, UK

21-22 November 2003

Keynote Speakers:
Prof. Linda Nochlin, New York University
Prof. Slavoj Zizek, University of Ljubljana

"How real can you get?" This two-day conference will debate the
subject of Œthe real¹ in aesthetic philosophy, criticism and
practice.

"When is representation not real?" Recent years have seen notions of
reality discussed in the open. What relationship do current views
developed by this discourse have with those tenets of realism and
representation that once provided the foundation for aesthetic study?
What are the philosophical consequences of the introduction of
technologies that increasingly blur the boundaries between art and
popular culture? What is the effect of aesthetic culture on
Realpolitik? What has happened to the notions of social realism,
verisimilitude, and the imaginary? Are they still relevant, and how
have they been changed, if at all?

"Reclaiming the real." The organizers are also interested in how
notions of reality are affected by, and continue to affect, aesthetic
practice in the fields of art, design, and media production. With the
popularity of haptic technologies, what has happened to Œreal¹
haptics? How do practitioners and academics view older technologies
in the light of their electronic avatars? With the development of
notions of virtual space, what has happened to our understanding of
the body, the mind, and corporeal space?

The conference will include panels on these issues, and also on
Reality TV, Photography, Museum Studies, Design, Cinema and Urban
Space.

For more information, and a registration form, email the organisers
at:

realgsa.ac.uk

Or please contact:
ŒThe State of the Real¹,
Dept. of Historical and Critical Studies,
Glasgow School of Art,
167 Renfrew St,
Glasgow,
Scotland, UK.
G3 6RQ.

You can also log on to the conference website, which will be updated
throughout the Summer.

http://www.gsa.ac.uk/research/statereal.htm