3 Sessions at CAA (New York, 10-13 Feb 21)

Home , Late modern period

Online and New York City, Feb 10–13, 2021 Deadline: Sep 16, 2020 www.collegeart.com

ArtHist Redaktion

College Art Association Annual Conference

[1] The Classical is Political [2] Double-Sided Objects in the History of Art [3] Session on 18th- and 19th-Century Art

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[1] The Classical is Political

From: Theo Triandos, [email protected]

Theo. Triandos and Berin Golonu, State University of New York at Buffalo Email: [email protected] , [email protected]

Since the rise of nationalism in the 19th century, the modern nation has defined state identity in the pre- sent by redefining its ties to the distant past. No longer an historical—or art historical—given, the temporal, geographic, and ethnic construction of “the classical” became a function of the particular geo-political ambitions of the nation state. Throughout the late modern period, the territorial claims of imperialist nations were motivated by notions of ethnic and cultural lineage connecting occupying powers to the classical pasts of occupied lands. Meanwhile, some countries looked to notions of local classical history to define their distinct cultural identities as defense against the incursions of imperialist powers. The classical remains the subject of contestation in the contemporary. Whereas the right mobilizes classical aesthet- ics as the language of reactionary nostalgia, the left appropriates these forms as a vehicle for staging pro- gressive positions on discourses on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and disability.

We solicit papers, focusing on a range of geographic and cultural localities, which examine the conflicts surrounding the construction of the classical. How and when did definitions of “the classical” take hold? How are claims on the classical past mobilized and what role has art and architecture played in these claims? What types of trans-cultural influences and hybrid cultural forms do definitions of the classical aim to distill or purify? How has the rise of post-colonial theory de-centered hegemonic constructs of the classical?

Please send your proposal, including the completed CAA proposal form (see link to the form below), title, 250 word (max.) abstract, 2-page CV, as well as a short statement explaining why your proposal would be

a good fit with this panel to [email protected] and [email protected]. We encourage early submis-

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sions, and we can only consider proposals received on or before Sept. 16, 2020. Please note that participants must be active CAA members at the time of selection.

https://caa.confex.com/caa/2021/webprogrampreliminary/meeting.html

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[2] Double-Sided Objects in the History of Art

From: Nancy Thebaut, [email protected]

Chairs: Nicole Pulichene (Harvard University) and Nancy Thebaut (Skidmore College)

Double-sided images are pervasive across art historical time and place, yet they are not always considered in their full physical integrity: one side is often studied, displayed, and photographed more than its counter- part. In the historiography of pre-modern art, for example, privileging one side of a work might reflect methodologies borrowed from the study of easel painting. This approach, however, risks flattening an object’s material complexity and obscuring evidence of making and use.

This panel seeks papers that consider the history and historiography of double-sided objects by attending to their many facets, whether “front” and “back,” oblique angles, or otherwise hidden images. We ask how more holistic approaches to works of art might complicate, or even confirm, long-standing art historical narratives. Topics and questions might include: if makers emphasized or concealed the multi-sidedness of an object; if (and how) one side became dominant over time; emergent iconographic or material patterns within an object corpus; and multifarious or changing viewing conditions. Participants might offer solu- tions to unsatisfying yet common descriptors like front/back, recto/verso, or obverse/reverse, which so often reinforce material hierarchies. In keeping with this year’s CAA theme of climate crisis, contributors may wish to explore double-sidedness as a solution to material scarcity, namely through reuse and recy- cling. Proposals dealing with multi-sided works of art are also encouraged to apply. We hope that this panel creates a unique space to confront methodological and visual blind spots within our discipline by revis- ing and challenging one-dimensional modes of looking.

Please submit abstracts via email to Nicole Pulichene ([email protected]) and Nancy Thebaut (nan- [email protected]) by September 16.

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[3] Session on 18th- and 19th-Century Art

From: Michelle Foa, [email protected]

Art’s Undoing: Impermanence, Degradation, and Destruction in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Art

Chairs: Michelle Foa, Tulane University and Jennifer Van Horn, University of Delaware

This session seeks papers that shed new light on art produced in the eighteenth or nineteenth century that was affected by physical impermanence, damage, or destruction. While the session has specific chrono- logical parameters, we welcome examinations of art works from any geographic or cultural context as well as cross-cultural topics. What developments either fostered the production of ephemeral or impermanent works of art or led to art works’ demise? What particular forms of iconoclasm emerged during this period?

How did changes in the manufacture of artists’ materials influence the physical integrity and durability of

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art works? In what ways did the practice of conservation reflect evolving views on the longevity, originality, and materials of art? How did artists’ attitudes towards the preservation or deterioration of their work shape their practice? What political, social, or economic ruptures manifested themselves in acts of artistic destruction? We invite submissions from art historians, curators, or conservators whose research engages with these questions in new ways. Papers might take the form of case studies, broader considerations of impermanence, degradation, or damage in the art of the period, or discussions of interpretive models and tools that are useful for approaching these issues.

Please submit an abstract and CV by September 16 to: [email protected], [email protected]

Reference: CFP: 3 Sessions at CAA (New York, 10-13 Feb 21). In: ArtHist.net, Sep 11, 2020 (accessed Sep 28, 2021), .

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