Contemporary Art's Confrontation with the Monstrous

A one-day symposium at the Amsterdam Museum, Kalverstraat 92, Amsterdam, Netherlands

4th December 2012, 10:00-17:00

10.00 Welcome

10.10–10.20 Introduction to the Amsterdam Museum

10.20–10.30 Kathryn Brown (Tilburg University): Meeting Monsters

10.30–11.30 Session 1: Monstrous Bodies

Natalie Lettner (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna): ‘The Monstrous and the Hidden Norm of Ambiguity in Contemporary Art’.

Chelsea Nichols (Brasenose College, University of Oxford): ‘Confronting and Collecting Monstrous Bodies in the Medical Museum: Zoe Leonard’s Preserved Head of a Bearded Woman, Musée Orfila).

11.30–11.45 Coffee

11.45–12.45 Session 2: Play, Recreation, and Horror

Kerstin Borchhardt (Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena): ‘Monstrous Shell, Human Core: Humanized Hybrids and the Delighted Horror’.

Esra Plumer (University of Nottingham): ‘Anagrams and Automatism: Exploring Unica Zürn’s Monsters in Graphic Notebooks’.

12.45–13.45 Lunch

13.45–14.45 Session 3: Monstrosity as Political Allegory

Sabine T. Kriebel (University College, Cork): ‘The Political Grotesque: Repulsion and the Monstrous in Interwar Montage’.

Fernando Herrero Matoses (University of Illinois): ‘Antonio Saura’s Imaginary Portraits of Phillip II: The Sovereign and Allegories of the Monstrous’.

14.45–15.00 Coffee

15.00–16.00 Session 4: Biology and Beyond

Rob Zwijnenberg (Leiden University): ‘Bioart and the Role of Art in Society’.

Jenny Boulboulle (Leiden University): ‘In Touch with the Other: On Bio-artists’ Hands-on Approach towards Life Sciences’ new life forms’.

16.00–16.15 Coffee

16.15–17.00 Keynote: Petra Lange-Berndt (University College, London):
Monster Soup. Plasticities, Mutations, Swarmings.

17.00 Close

Registration fee €15/€10 students (includes lunch and refreshments).
To register, please email: infoonderzoekschoolkunstgeschiedenis.nl

Conference organizer: Kathryn Brown (Tilburg University, Netherlands)

This event is sponsored by the Netherlands Postgraduate Research School for Art History