Theorizing Things

Jennifer Jane Marshall, University of Minnesota, and Kate Mondloch,
University of Oregon; mail to: Jennifer Marshall, Department of Art
History, University of Minnesota, 338 Heller Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Art history and criticism have a long history of theorizing things.
Meditations on the artwork's "thingness" make up much of the discipline's
canon, from Alois Riegl's Late Roman Art Industry to Michael Fried's Art
and Objecthood. While the interpretive potential of materiality is perhaps
most apparent for sculpture, writers have also considered the signifying
thickness of paint, the importance of presence in devotional spaces
(including museums), and the phenomenological charge of the film or video
apparatus, to name just a few. While thingness has been a primary category
of art history, art historians have offered little explicit comment on
the recent interdisciplinary turn to "Thing Theory." This panel asks how
art history and criticism might productively contribute to this
conversation. We invite papers from historians, critics, and artists that
address the critical potential or liabilities of theorizing thingness from
the vantage point of art.

PROPOSALS FOR
PAPERS TO SESSION CHAIRS Due May 8, 2009
Proposals for participation in sessions should be sent directly to
the appropriate session chair(s). If a session is cochaired, a copy should
be sent to each chair, unless otherwise indicated.

Every proposal should include the following six items:
1. Completed session participation proposal form,
located at the end of this brochure.
2. Preliminary abstract of one to two double-spaced,
typed pages.
3. Letter explaining speaker's interest, expertise in
the topic, and CAA membership status.
4. CV with home and office mailing addresses, email
address, and phone and fax numbers. Include summer address and telephone
number, if applicable.
5. Documentation of work when appropriate (with a self-addressed,
stamped envelope), especially for sessions in
which artists might discuss their own work.
6. A stamped, self-addressed postcard for confirmation
that proposal has been received (if mailing internationally, it is
recommended that
proposals be sent via certified mail, return receipt requested).

CHAIRS DETERMINE
THE SPEAKERS FOR THEIR SESSIONS
AND REPLY TO ALL
APPLICANTS BY JUNE 1, 2009.