2nd Call for Papers
RGS-IBG 2005
31st August - 2nd September 2005, London
'Art and belonging(s)' session
Convenors:
Peter Kraftl, UC Northampton: [log in to unmask]
Huw Jones, University of Wales Swansea: [log in to unmask]
Harriet Hawkins, Nottingham University: [log in to unmask]
Pippa Biltcliffe, Royal Holloway: [log in to unmask]
The session aims to explore the multifarious connections between 'art' and
'belonging(s)': a theme that - through different interpretations of the
terms involved - opens up several interesting lines of geographical inquiry.
For instance, belonging may be understood as an affectual attachment to
people, objects and place, or a sense of being mobilised through notions of
identity. In another sense, belongings are simply things (e.g. commodities,
collections, gifts) we produce, consume and then pass on. Art is creative
beyond the production of specific art objects or performances. Those
involved with art represent, perform and materialise shifting forms of
belonging that may be any or all of the following: coherent, incongruous,
formal, informal, global, local, complex and/or un/bounded.
As both a verb and a noun, belonging(s) impinges upon the visual arts at
several spheres of geographical concern - i.e. from the 'content' of
specific artworks, to their creation, consumption and display; from art
communities and networks, to the discourses and disciplinary practices that
shape the art world. This session offers a forum in which to discuss these
matters as they are tackled through different conceptual and methodological
approaches (which we leave open to foster debate). We want to know: how,
why, when, to whom and where can art belong?
Whilst we do not wish to be prescriptive about the papers offered here, and
seek contributions that interrogate the many belongings that art represents
and enacts, some possible lines of enquiry include:
1. Picturing belonging(s): feelings of belonging are a chief sentiment
behind many examples of western art. European artists, for instance, have
long sought to express an emotional, cultural or custodial attachment to
people and place through their depictions of the landscape. In another
sense, belongings are an important subject for artists: from the modest
bourgeois comforts of C.17th still-life's to contemporary works that comment
on our obsessive relationship with modern commodities.
2. Art belongings: a recent turn towards the study of art objects, their
meanings ownership and display within homes, communities, galleries and
other sites, has also met with questions of belonging(s). This may extend
from the actual materials used by the artists (brushes, paints, stages), to
the collections of local, national or virtual arts institutions and
societies.
3. Belonging within art: questions of belonging are a necessary concern for
different personalities within the art world (e.g. curators, critics,
patrons, gallery staff, audiences and artists) and are represented,
materialised and experienced within different artistic spaces (e.g. art
studios, galleries, societies, colleges). A certain degree of 'cultural
capital' is often deemed necessary to belong in this sphere of creative
activity; all the while art stretches beyond discernibly artistic projects,
intruding into, and becoming everyday practices, leading to questions of...
4. ...Where/when does art belong? The cultural politics of the art world
brings to mind the boundaries of artistic taste and acceptability, of where
and when art is deemed 'appropriate', and of the 'accepted' cannon of
Western art. It forces us to consider the command certain artworks hold
(e.g. military statues, sacred icons, colonial facades), how they may impose
themselves on the lives and landscapes of others, how they are used to
uphold certain power relations, and how they may be performed, contested,
resisted or destroyed for political gain or to enact new forms of belonging.
If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit a
title and short abstract (which must not exceed 250 words) to any of the
convenors by 21 January 2005.
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