Art in Three Crises: 30–70–Now (Durham, 17-20 Oct 12)

Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC),
Durham, NC (USA), October 17-20, 2012

This panel considers art practices at three paradigmatic moments of financial and social crisis: the 1930s, the 1970s, and the present. We invite papers that highlight the intersection of art with economic conditions and seek to uncover historical and theoretical relationships between culture and capital. By addressing the repetition of certain artistic practices and gestures from the historical avant-garde to the neo-avant-garde to the present, our objective is to explore collisions between past and present artistic responses through the axe of art and economics. This panel takes its starting point from a series of seminars initiated by Brian Holmes during the fall 2011 at Mess Hall, Chicago, in conjunction with the Occupy movement. Extended economic crises punctuate the development and expansion of capitalism during the twentieth century, from the 1929 crash and subsequent depression to the 1971 eradication of the gold standard and 1973 oil embargo to the 2000 dot-com bubble burst and 2008 recession, and responses to these crises shape the subsequent years. We believe there are specific and revealing connections between these economic histories and those of art, and we invite presentations that probe such connections.

To submit proposal, go to the SECAC website: http://www.secollegeart.org/annual-conference.html