LINEA II - Tangents, interlaces, knots, labyrinths. Structure and meaning
of lines from antiquity to the contemporary period

International Conference
organized by Marzia Faietti and Gerhard Wolf
4 - 5 November 2010

The conference is the second meeting of the LINEA Project, which is
subdivided into three phases It will discuss fundamental linear structures
that correspond to essential elements, iconic or aniconic, of the visual
art of various cultures: lines that run parallel to each other, intersect
or are interwoven, create labyrinths or indicate the way of escape.

The chosen time frame ranges from antiquity to the present day. Not aiming
to cover these epochs in a systematic or chronological way, the conference
will be constructed on the basis of case studies that may range from
Egyptian papyri to the line of Kandinsky and beyond. The geographical
areas to be taken into consideration are primarily the Western cultures in
their various declinations of lines from both a diachronic and synchronic
perspective. However, the conference will also include a comparative level
with papers on Islamic art and the Far East.

The linear structures identified as the subject of LINEA II recur in, and
are substantiated by, very diversified types of materials and artistic
genres, which in turn presuppose two-dimensional and three-dimensional
systems of representation; spatial or virtual projections; monochromic,
dichromatic or polychromatic forms. Tangents, interlaces, knots and
labyrinths will be analyzed in terms of their aesthetic and symbolic
aspects, ranging from drawings to manuscripts; from prints to metalwork;
from fabrics to ceramics and stamped leather; from paintings and frescoes
to mosaics; from intaglio to sculptures and extending as far as
architectural labyrinths and figurative representations in which bodies
and objects are constructed from or performed by the calibrated and subtle
interplay of lines.

The sections of the conference will not be based on the traditional
classification of works of art according to techniques, materials or
genres; instead, they will favour the analogical or dissimilar linear
structures recurrent in the various "objects" to be studied.

In short, the central objective of the conference will be to analyze and
distinguish the intrinsic dynamics of the "language" of lines, in their
most disparate articulations. In this way, we hope to establish a kind of
cross-cultural laboratory open to the examination and interpretation of
ontological and semantic elements concerning the "line", relating to
different cultures and epochs.

Scholars interested in participating in the conference are invited to send
a proposal of 250 words, their CV and a list of publications to the
following address by 30 April 2010:

dirwolfkhi.fi.it

The conference languages will be: italian, german, english and french.

Closing date for applications: 30 April 2010

Contact:
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz - Max-Planck-Institut
Via Giuseppe Giusti 44
50121 Florence
E-mail: dirwolfkhi.fi.it