Russian Avant-Garde and the First World War: Culture, Contacts, and Contexts

Organizers: Maria Kokkori, The Art Institute of Chicago; and Maria Mileeva, The Courtauld Institute of Art. Email: mkokkoriartic.edu and maria.mileevacourtauld.ac.uk

It could be argued that the First World War had a more profound influence on the politics and aesthetics of Russian visual culture than the October revolution. The metaphor of war was connected to the idea of innovation, and the quest to destroy the old aesthetics for the sake of creating new art. The avant-garde is by definition “embattled”, and for the Russian avant-garde artists, war signified revolution and liberation as well as the restructuring of social life and the human environment. Marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, this session is intended as an interdisciplinary project.
Participants are invited to explore questions of transformation of Russian art, culture and national identity, currents of Russian modernism and cultural exchange through papers on painting, sculpture, graphics, cinema, music, theater, and architecture as well as exhibitions, and art education policies.

Please submit a 1-2 page double-spaced proposal, letter of interest, CV and contact information to both mkokkoriartic.edu and maria.mileevacourtauld.ac.uk

For the full call for papers, see:
http://www.collegeart.org/proposals/2014callforparticipation