Call For Papers

The Art History Graduate Students Association of York
University cordially invites proposals for
contributions to its sixth annual symposium,
addressing the theme

Performative Histories of Art: Perilous Conventions,
Possible Disruptions

March 9th, 2007
Department of Art History
York University
Toronto, Canada

Within art discourses, the term ‘performance’ can
describe staged, interdisciplinary artworks which
often emphasize actors over objects. By contrast, the
term ‘performativity’ derives from Derrida’s
intervention into linguistic philosopher John L.
Austin’s concept of ‘performative utterances,’ and
refers to the iterability of speech acts and identity.
Theories of the performative tend to emphasize the
constitutive nature of performative repetition as well
as the possibility of endless citationality; thus
performativity is not a question of intention or
choice, but rather, as Judith Butler observes in
Bodies that Matter (1993): “'performance' is not a
singular 'act' or event, but a ritualized production,
a ritual reiterated under and through constraint,
under and through the force of prohibition and taboo.”
It is clear, then, that performativity is a
multi-valenced concept, and that performance can
signify any number of different events or practices.

The committee seeks academic papers on any relevant
topic including, but not limited to:
Performance art
The art critic / art historian / artist as performer
Gender performativity
Museums and their institutional production
Tableaux in painting and photography
“Giving the conference paper” as performance
Discursive theatricality
Ephemerality in/of art
Imposter syndrome
Queering art history
The performative impulse in self-portraiture
The production and reproduction of (art)history
through performance
Display practices, viewing experiences
Rituals and ritualistic behavior
Art interventions/ intervention art
Etc.

We invite proposals for 15-minute presentations from
interested graduate students of all disciplines.

Please submit abstracts of 250 words, contact
information, and a description of your audio-visual
requirements to york_art_historyyahoo.ca by January
15, 2007. Applicants may expect a response by January
24th, 2007.

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