The Challenge of Ubiquity in Digital Culture
CHArt 27th Annual Conference, Thursday 17th and Friday 18th November 2011,
London venue to be confirmed
www.chart.ac.uk
Utopian hopes for the ubiquity of digital and networked technologies leading
to a more transparent and democratic society are being met by expressions of
concern about their implications for art. Nicholas Bourriaud has observed that
such technologies can bring about a “collective desire to create new areas of
conviviality and introduce new types of transaction with regard to the cultural
object”. However, others perceive an imminent threat, characterised by such
terms as a digital 'deluge' or 'oblivion’. CHArt is interested to examine
critically both positive views and apocalyptic concerns about the implications
of the widespread merger of telecommunications and computer technology in
society for art, its history and practice.
We are looking for papers that engage with issues including, but not limited
to:
The implications of the ubiquity of digital and network technologies for
evaluating what constitutes an original work of art and the originality of its
creator(s).
What effects have these technologies had on valuing art in terms of its
aesthetic quality?
What impact have real-time technologies had for the creation, ownership and
distribution of culture?
What are the impacts of the widespread proliferation and use of such
technologies on curatorial practice and the processes of selecting, preserving
and enabling access to art?
How have they affected both the content and methods of teaching the history
and practice of art?
Are other disciplines and areas of society affected by art mediated by real-
time technologies? How?
We are particularly interested in work that engages with such questions and
extends beyond simply understanding digital and network technologies as
transparent conduits of data and information. CHArt encourages proposals
addressing complex artefacts that, in Friedrich Kittler's words, “determine our
situation”.
Contributions are welcomed from all sections of the CHArt community on the
intersection between art and art history and semantic web developments; cloud
computing; data mining; screen scraping; crowd sourcing; mashups; and freely
available sites that enable data and images to be stored and accessed.
CHArt seeks papers from art historians, artists, architects and architectural
theorists and historians, curators, conservators, computing scientists,
scientists, cultural and media theorists, archivists, technologists,
educationalists and philosophers.
Postgraduate students are encouraged to submit a proposal. CHArt is able to
offer assistance with the conference fees for up to three student delegates.
Priority will be given to students whose papers are accepted for presentation.
An application form and proof of university enrolment will be required. For
further details about the Helene Roberts Bursary please emailanna.
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Submissions should be in the form of a 300-400 word synopsis of the proposed
paper with brief biographical information (no more than 200 words) of
presenter/s, and should be emailed to [log in to unmask] by July 1st 2011.
Notification of paper acceptance: 1 September 2011
Submission of papers: 17 October 2011
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