-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] New Perspectives in Italian Art
From: Ilaria Andreoli, Kelley Di Dio
Date: May 29, 2024
Deadline: Aug 1, 2024

This session aims to create a space for emerging scholars (recent Ph.D.s or Ph.D. candidates) to present their work. The intention is to provide new scholars with a forum to present their work, possibly for the first time at an international conference. Panelists will receive mentorship in preparation for the panel, including receiving constructive feedback from senior scholars in their area of expertise in advance of the conference.
Proposals on any area of Italian early modern art (1300-1700) are welcome. We are particularly interested in scholars working in new methodologies, new areas of study, or innovative approaches to more traditional areas of Renaissance studies.

Paper proposals must include:
- paper title (15-word maximum)
- paper abstract (150-word maximum)
- resume (.pdf or .doc upload)
- PhD or other terminal degree completion year (past or expected)
- full name, current affiliation, and email address.

Please note:
Send all materials to Ilaria.Andreoligmail.com and Kelley.DiDiouvm.edu by July 15, 2024. We will notify applicants of their status on July 20. By July 30, those accepted will confirm and join RSA, if they are not already members.
If accepted, panelists will be expected to send their papers and powerpoints to the organizers and senior reviewer six weeks before the conference (by February 1, 2025). Panelists will do a run-through of their papers two weeks before the conference via Zoom.
Participants can only give one paper at the RSA conference, per RSA guidelines.
Speakers must become RSA members and register for the conference to speak at the conference.
Proposals must abide by the word limits and include all parts of the submission requirements.
Papers are a maximum of 20 minutes in length (approx. 8-9 pages double-spaced, 10 pt font).

---

[2] Bearing Witness: Scratching the Surface of Italian Art
From: Grace Harpster
Date: May 30, 2024
Deadline: Aug 1, 2024

This session will explore scratched, gouged, and graffiti-laden surfaces in Italian Renaissance and Early Modern art, broadly defined from 1300 to 1700. These marks, often anonymous or signed by little-known individuals, appear across various media, including panel paintings, frescoes, and sculpture. In altering the surface of a work, the marks also transform its meaning.

Frequently erased, covered over, or ignored, such scratchings could serve a variety of functions. Markings could reveal intentional acts of damage, with destructive gouges seeking to cancel out or disempower the figures represented. Graffiti, left on the walls of churches or scratched on the surface of cult objects, could demonstrate devotional practices while expressing individual or communal piety. Recordings of historical events or graffiti left by condemned prisoners could provide a lasting memory of the past. In other instances, signed names, coats of arms or identifiers could associate a specific individual with a site or work of art. The traces of artists’ signatures could reinforce a link with a site, image or other creator, potentially demonstrating the emulation or appropriation of an earlier work.

This session aims to foster a nuanced discourse on the intentional alteration of artistic surfaces. We welcome papers exploring a variety of issues related to the creation of graffiti or scratched surfaces, such as the reception or preservation of those traces; the question of cultural heritage; the role of appropriation; and the significance of iconoclasm. Through the examination of these intentional marks and their significance within the image and spatial context, we seek to deepen our comprehension of Italian Renaissance and Early Modern art while acknowledging the diverse voices that have left their mark upon it.

Please submit your paper title (15 words maximum) and abstract (200 words maximum), and a CV to Kirstin Noreen at (kirstin.noreenlmu.edu) and Grace Harpster (gharpstergsu.edu) by August 1st, 2024. Do ensure the application materials include your full name, current affiliation, Ph.D. degree completion year (past or expected), and email address.