Call for Papers

Baroque Tendencies in Contemporary Art

South East College Art Conference
Nashville, Tennesee (USA)
October 25-28, 2006

Terms used to define Baroque art often include the following: dramatic,
emotional, excessive, extravagant, irregular, serial/cyclical, spectacle,
transgressive, vulgar. Such descriptive characteristics of the Baroque can
also be applied to contemporary art trends. For example, the multimedia
work of Matthew Barney can be understood as a contemporary example of the
Baroque concept of gesamtkunstwerk, or, a "synthesis of the arts."
Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century scholars saw the Baroque as a
degenerative style bracketed by periods of rationality (the Renaissance and
the Neoclassical).

The Baroque is now currently envisioned as a period of pluralistic
contrasts, not dichotomies. This is not unlike our own time, a fluid
Postmodern period emerging from the rigid formalism of High Modernism. This
issue of a contemporary Baroque has been explored in the fields of film
history and popular culture studies, notably Angela Ndalianis', "Neo-Baroque
Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment" (2004), but there is little
discourse regarding such tendencies specific to contemporary art.

This session seeks papers and presentations that will promote discussion and
understanding of Baroque tendencies in contemporary art practice. Scholarly
papers and presentations by practicing artists will also be considered.

Send proposals (300 word maximum) and a short curriculum vitae to:

Dr. Kelly Wacker

wackerkamontevallo.edu

Department of Art
Station 6400
University of Montevallo
Montevallo, AL 35115

Deadline: May 15, 2006