Workshop
Historiographies of Art in Latin America:
National Constructions, Reception, and Institutions

Organizers:
Jens Baumgarten
Cássio Fernandes
Angela Brandão
André Tavares
Tristan Weddigen

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp) and University of
Zurich (UZH) are pleased to announce the workshop, “Historiographies of
Art in Latin America: National constructions, Reception, and
Institutions.”

This conference intends to map out the historiographies of art in Latin
America, especially in Brazil. We seek to analyze the circulation of
aesthetic ideas and methods and to discuss questions of reception and
cultural transfer. The workshop also calls for a wider theoretical and
epistemological debate: Can we assume a “universal” theory of reception
and historiography? How can we apply aspects of today’s theoretical and
political debates on global art history?

The workshop focuses mainly on the reception of art-historical models
and methodologies and their “translation” abroad by architects,
professionals in heritage and patrimony as well as art historians, art
critics and museum curators. The aim of the workshop is not to
establish a new universal narrative of art history. On the contrary,
it intends to overcome the dichotomy between the idea of a “pure
reception” of European and US models in Latin American historiography
and national discourses. An integral part of the discussion will be the
diverse and different experiences of reception and circulation of ideas
and more complex concepts of transfer. Some questions neglected by
historiographical research will be addressed, such as how institutional
frameworks constitute the development of discipline and its paradigms
and how institutions like museums, universities, associations but also
journals and scientific projects have shaped the circulation of ideas.
Participants will present papers, which discuss aspects of transfer,
national discourses, and institutional impacts. A main purpose of the
workshop will be to stimulate a discussion between specialists of
European and Latin American historiography as to re-evaluate different
approaches, including their terminology. On this basis we can explore
the omissions in past methods and reflect on their potential for the
discipline’s future.

We invite papers that consider the following themes:
- the reception of authors such as Burckhardt, Wölfflin, Warburg in
Latin American countries
- national historiographies in Latin America
- the historiography of global art history in Latin America
- the circulation of ideas in Latin American art history
- the impact of migration of forms upon ideas and values concerning
originals and copies
- the impact of universities, associations, museums, patrimony,
journals upon the shaping of art history
- parallels with “neighboring fields” of art history like literature
and anthropology concerning the circulations of ideas

The deadline for the submission of a 30-minute presentation proposal is
Friday, 29 June 2012. Abstracts should not exceed 250 words. Papers
will be preferably delivered in English, Portuguese or Spanish.
Please send your abstract and CV to jens.baumgartenunifesp.br
The organizers are pleased to reimburse travel and accommodation
expenses depending upon funding.

This conference is one of the scholarly activities connected with the
project “New Art Histories”, a joint venture between the University of
Zurich and Federal University of São Paulo, as part of the initiative
“Connecting Art Histories”, sponsored by the Getty Foundation. It also
forms part of a collaboration with the thematic project “Plus Ultra”
funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.

Descriptions of the project can be found on the following websites:
http://www.unifesp.br/humanas/projetos/barrocoglobal/
http://www.khist.uzh.ch/neuzeit/res/nah.html

Main Sponsor: Connecting Art Histories, The Getty Foundation

For further information, please contact Jens Baumgarten at
jens.baumgartenunifesp.br