CALL FOR PAPERS

From Ritual to Revelry
4th Annual Society of Art History Graduates' Symposium
University of Florida, Samuel P. Harn Museum
February 4, 2006

Deadline: November 18, 2005

The symposium committee invites submissions of graduate and postgraduate
papers dealing with the party and its presence in or influence on art and
art making. By focusing on such events as parties, masquerades, carnivals
and celebrations, the symposium will problematize and explore the area
between the terms "ritual" and "revelry." When and where does one end
and the other begin? How should we construct and present forms as
seemingly disparate as feasts, fetes, and rites of passage? What kind of
festive pleasures can be rendered in visual art? How do the visual arts
create the context for either ritual or revelry?

Some themes that papers might address are:

- the objects associated with or used for celebrations ( e.g. kraters
from the ancient Greek symposium, paraded saints' effigies, hookahs, etc.)

- the depictions of festivals, balls, masquerades, celebrations, etc. in art

- the social and symbolic aspects of group gatherings (as seen in examples
like the Fete Galante, Judy Chicago's Dinner Party, Bacchanalia, potlatches)

- the moralizing associated with stereotypes of excess and idleness (e.g.
the still-life, Hogarth's works)

- the networking done at functions necessary for success in the
contemporary gallery market and museum world

To submit a paper, please send a one-page abstract and a brief c.v. to
Robyn Reese at UF.arthistory.symposiumgmail.com by November 18, 2005.

Limited travel funds available to some presenters