Call for Papers

European Science Foundation
The Art Historical Canon and its Functions

Universität Hamburg, Kunstgeschichtliches Seminar - Warburg-Haus
October 5 - 7, 2006

The European Science Foundation network Discourses of the Visible - National
and International Perspectives concludes its series of workshops and
symposia on key issues in art history and visual culture with a workshop on
the question of the canon and the canonical.
The concept and existence of a canon of works of art, having been
central to the study and teaching of art and the history of art for
centuries, has come under attack at least since the 1980s. It still is,
however, the hub of the traditions and the teaching of art history in many
European countries, as it still shapes public perception of "Art". Today
canonical works of art are referred to more than ever and do not seem to
have lost any of the aura bestowed on them by the cult of the genius of the
19th century and their canonical status. The notion of the canon also
informs the scholarly production of the discipline both in the past and
today, as in the form of the catalogue raisonné, for instance, or the
critical edition of visual and textual sources. At the same time, the canon
has changed over time; those changes are brought about by contemporary art
practice as well as evolving and changing visual cultures.
We are inviting contributions on questions around these themes: How
does the canon still inform academic work on the visual and the arts today?
How and why does the canon change over time? Are there different national
canons? How does contemporary art constitute its own canon?

Speakers are requested to submit a 200-word proposal for a 30-minute talk by
August 31, 2006 to Charlotte Schoell Glass (schglassuni-hamburg.de) and
Hubert Locher (hubert.locherabk-stuttgart.de). Please include a curriculum
vitae, indicating recent publications, your current position, and your
institution. The working language will be English, but participants may also
present in French or German, provided that an English-language version of
their presentation is available in advance of the workshop.

For further information about previous conferences and workshops and the
aims of the network:
http://www.visualdiscourse.uni-hamburg.de

Steering Committee: Matthew Rampley (Chair); Danièle Cohen (EHSS, Paris);
Thierry Lenain (Université Libre de Bruxelles); Hubert Locher (Staatl.
Kunstakademie, Stuttgart); Andrea Pinotti (University of Milan); Damjan
Prelovsek (Institute of Art History, Ljubljana); Charlotte Schoell-Glass
(University of Hamburg); Kitty Ziljmans (University of Leiden)