Call for papers
AAH Annual Conference 2011
31 March - 2 April, University of Warwick, UK

Title of Session: The Session of Imaginary Artists

Abstract
In 1957 Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges started working on the
Book of Imaginary Beings in it he describes mythical beings extracted
from literature and popular culture. The session of imaginary artists
will take on his idea and methodology to attempt a compendium of
artists that exist in a different layer of reality.
From alluring Rrose Selavy to Media artist Roberta Breitmore the
history of art is widely inhabited by alter egos that bring into art
yet another dimension apart from the traditional interactions between
the artist, the work and the spectator.
Partly as a reaction to the machinery of art and partly as a way of
obtaining a sense of freedom artists have created other selves that
challenge traditional ways of studying and showing art. This session
will elaborate on the history of artists that do not exist and their
works of art if any. More than a question of pseudonyms this session
will try to reconstruct the history of the artist as a work of art. It
could also be thought of as an attempt to reconstruct the biography of
artists that are a figment of another artist?s imagination.

Deadline: 1 November 2010
Convener: Maria Clara Bernal
mariaclara.bernalgmail.com

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