International Conference
May, 8-11 2013
Jacobs University, Bremen

A century has now passed since art patrons, collectors, and the general public were confronted for the first time with the “non-objective” compositions of artists such as Robert Delaunay, Wassily Kandinsky, František Kupka, Kazimir Malevich, and Piet Mondrian. The continued evolution of abstract art throughout the twentieth century led to changes in our understanding of the production, meaning, and reception of art in aesthetics and art history. It influenced the discourse in fields such as philosophy, psychology, history, cultural and media studies, and even politics.

The conference will examine the role that abstract art has played in visual art and culture of the last one hundred years, with a particular focus on its contemporary contextualization in art history, philosophy, and cultural studies. Considering historical examples of artistic practice from the early pioneers of abstraction to late modernism, discussion will center on theoretical and critical narratives that seek to explore new perspectives on the legacy of abstraction in the visual arts. From metaphysical considerations and philosophical reflections to debates about interculturality and global perspectives on abstract art, we are interested in looking back at one hundred years of abstraction in the visual arts from a contemporary viewpoint that acknowledges and is informed by the many social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of artistic practice.

The conference is organized by Prof. Dr. Isabel Wünsche, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen.

Program:

Wednesday, May 8, 2013
13:00 Registration
14:00 Opening of the Conference

Session 1: On the Origins of Abstract Art
14:30-15:00 Charlotte De Mille (University of Sussex/Courtauld)
On the Musical Origins of Abstract Art: Rhythm and Non-Representation
15:00-15:30 Ole W. Fischer (University of Utah)
Nothing Behind the Veil of Truth? Henry van de Velde, Adolf Loos, Hermann Muthesius and the Battle over Abstract Ornament in Modern Architecture
15:30-16:00 Susan Laxton (University of California, Riverside)
The Authority of the “Never-seen”: Photograms and the Advent of Abstract Photography
16:00-16:30 Discussion
16:30-17:00 Coffee Break

Session 2: Metaphysical Considerations and Philosophical Reflections
17:00-17:30 Agata Pietrasik (University of Warsaw)
Empathy for Abstraction: Wilhelm Worringer Revisited
17:30-18:00 Ketevan S. Kintsurashvili (Tiblisi, Georgia)
Formalist Theory, Abstract Art, and Clive Bell’s “Knowledge of Three-Dimensional Space”
18:00-18:30 Manfred Milz (University ofSharjah)
“Concrescence of Prehensions”: Whitehead’s ProcessMetaphysics in Robert Motherwell’s Plastic Automatism
18:30-19:00 Discussion
19:30 Opening Reception

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Session 3: New Perspectives on the Classical Avant-garde
10:00-10:30 Nina Gourianova (Northwestern University)
The Anarchic Vision of Creativity
10:30-11:00 Naomi Hume (Seattle University)
Frantisek Kupka’s Anarchist Colors
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break
11:30-12:00 Rose-Carol Washton Long (CUNY)
Kandinsky, Anarchism, and the Narrative of Modernism
12:00-12:30 Michael Hoff (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg)
The Opacity of Representation: How to Understand Kandinsky’s Achievements of 1913 from Today’s Perspective
12:30-14:00 Lunch
14:00-14:30 Anja Baumhoff (Loughborough University)
Abstract Painting – Gender Neutral or Male by Definition? The Cases of Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee
14:30-15:00 Daniela Stöppel (LMU, München)
From the Black Square to Traffic Signs: The Functionalization of Abstract Art in the 1920’s
15:00-15:30 Discussion
15:30-16:00 Coffee Break

Session 4:Interculturality and Abstract Art in a Global Perspective
16:00-16:30 Karin Wimmer (LMU, München)
From Automatic Drawing to American Abstract Art: André Masson and Cy Twombly
16:30-17:00 Mona Schieren (Hochschule für Künste, Bremen)
“Incorruptible Forms”: The Abstract Work of Agnes Martin
17:00-17:30 Andrew McNamara (QUT, Brisbane)
Evading the Perceptual-Conceptual Divideas a Strategyof Minimal-Conceptual Art in Australia
17:30-18:00 Discussion
18:00-20:00 Dinner

20:00-21:00 Evening Lecture (sponsored byVisComX)
Christiane Paul (Whitney Museum/New York University)
Abstract Art in the 21st Century: Encoded Abstractions?

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See the full program here: https://jacobs-university.de/100-years-of-abstract-art/conference_program

To register for the conference please visit: https://jacobs-university.de/100-years-of-abstract-art/conference_registration-guest

End of Registration: April 28, 2013 Registration fee for the entire event: 100€/50€, Daily rate: 30€/15€ (*reduced rate for graduates)

For information on our venue, maps and directions, please visit: https://jacobs-university.de/100-years-of-abstract-art/conference_registration-guest

Contact:
Wiebke Gronemeyer
Jacobs University
Art and Art History
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Campus Ring 1, Research IV
28759 Bremen
Germany
Phone: 49-(0)421-200-3032
Fax: 49-(0)421-200-49-3303

Email: w.gronemeyerjacobs-university.de
Visit the website at http://https://jacobs-university.de/100-years-of-abstract-art