CfP 'Fiction with footnotes': Writing art history as literary practice

Brighton, April 4 - 6, 2019
CfP Deadline: Nov 5, 2018

Session at the Association for Art History Annual Conference, University of Brighton, April 4 - 6, 2019

Jaś Elsner’s description of art-historical writing as ekphrasis plants the practice firmly in the purview of poetry, literature or fiction, though be it, in his words, ‘fiction with footnotes’. A similar propinquity between the creative work of the artist and that of the historian has been noted, among others, by Boris Groys, Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes and Hayden White, who have indicated that far from being ignobled by the fiction tag, the discipline is perhaps ennobled to deliver on the irreducible multiplicity of its ‘objects’ which hitherto sat uneasily with a scientistic pursuit of linearity, resolution and teleological determination that also treats writing as a neutral expedient. Yet art historians seem reticent to embrace their literary selves as though it is safer on the side of the putative objectivity of language.

The aim of the session is to develop the characteristics of art-historical writing as a practice that necessarily not only negotiates the boundary of visual and verbal, but also manifests a literary fiction produced in the discursive framing of knowledge and meaning-making about artefacts, subjects, processes and their historic contexts. The session invites theoretical and philosophical approaches, as well as case studies, to writing as an epistemic practice of art-historical research. Conceptualisations of art history’s writing practice in view of fact, fiction and knowledge production, and critical readings of art history as Wissenschaft will help in framing the discipline as a practice that not only has to contend with political, institutional and ideological demands but also those of writing itself.

Please email your paper proposals direct to the session convenor: Tilo Reifenstein ([log in to unmask]) by 5 Nov 2018. Provide a title and abstract (250 words maximum) for a 25-minute paper, your name and institutional affiliation (if any). Please make sure the title is concise and reflects the contents of the paper because it will appear online, in social media and in the printed programme. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your submission within two weeks from the session convenor.

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About the Conference:
The Association for Art History's Annual Conference showcases current research and critical debate about art history and visual culture. It takes place over 3 days throughout the UK, bringing together current research and critical debate about art, art history and visual culture.
The Annual conference is an opportunity to keep up to date with emerging research, hear leading keynotes, broaden networks and exchange ideas. It attracts over 500 delegates, speakers and publishers each year. Members of the Association for Art History get reduced conference rates.

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