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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture CFP: International Medieval Congress, Kalamazoo 2014 (May 8-11, 2014) http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/ Materiality and Aesthetics in Medieval Art Recently there has been a surge of interest in the material qualities of medieval art. A range of recent publications and conference sessions have helped to refocus our attention on the material complexity of medieval art, the ways in which various substances come together in objects yet maintain their integrity, the tendency for one medium to signify another or even multiple others, and the complex processes by which the rich materiality of medieval things was able to affect human behavior on a number of levels. What is sometimes left out of such analyses are the aesthetic values of medieval art. Clearly, medieval artists, patrons, and viewers found both beauty and pleasure in the materials of medieval art and their technical transformations and combinations. Certainly, quality and cost were two factors at play here, but materials and/or techniques might be chosen to call attention to themselves for a whole host of other reasons. Consciousness of style might be influenced by the materials selected, and vice-versa. Materiality and media are undoubtedly linked, but are not necessarily synonymous. Representation itself was undoubtedly affected by the aesthetics of both materials and media. In these ways, medieval art called attention to itself as art, as made thing, and simultaneously pointed to other values, values both earthly and supernatural. In shaping the session, speakers are encouraged to place in the foreground the key concepts spelled out in the session proposal but with the knowledge that the intersection of materiality and aesthetics allows for a broad range of approaches to art history. Please send your paper proposals (a one-page abstract, and a completed Participant Information Form (http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#Paper)) by September 15, 2013 to: Gerry Guest, John Carroll University ([log in to unmask]) AND Beth Williamson, University of Bristol ([log in to unmask]) ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion