Call for papers

106th College Art Association Annual Conference Los Angeles, 21-24 February 2018

Hucksters or Connoisseurs? The Role of Intermediary Agents in Art Economies

The roles of art dealers in the creation of art economies and the circulatory exchange of goods have come to increasing attention of late. However, much work remains to be done to counter the long history of the hagiographic treatment of dealers, which owes a great deal to the fact that histories of dealers were largely authored by dealers eager to write themselves into the history of art.

For this CAA session, we seek to bring a critical and historical perspective to the role of intermediary agents in the primary and secondary markets. We seek papers that will examine dealers who mediated between the artist as producer and the consumer, whether conceived as an individual patron or broadly configured audiences.

We also seek papers that identify strategies developed by these intermediary figures in response to changing social-historical as well as geographical conditions. Relatedly, what role did dealers play in the emergence of art history as a discipline and the construction of its narratives given the vested interest of these agents in knowledge formation and collection building?

Since histories of art dealers have long been dominated by narratives drawn from the Western market, we are particularly interested in papers that examine the role of this figure in non- western art economies as well as topics that help us test and question standard models derived from the early modern and modern Western context. We encourage analysis of historically grounded strategies and practices, as opposed to anecdotal heroic narratives.

Paper proposals are due August 14. Please email your proposal to both Titia Hulst, Purchase College, New York, [log in to unmask] and Anne Helmreich, Texas Christian University, [log in to unmask]

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Call for papers

Musée du Louvre, Paris, 23-24 November 2017

Ards Study Day 2017

Collecting Medieval Sculpture

Ards, M-Museum Leuven (B) is launching a Call for papers for the 4th annual colloquium ‘Current research in medieval and renaissance sculpture’, which will be held in the Musée du Louvre in Paris (FR) on November 24th  2017.

During the colloquium we will be having keynote speakers on the topic and a selection of submitted papers in plenum. One day before, on November 23rd, we will have the opportunity to visit the magnificent collection of medieval sculpture in the Arts décoratifs Muséum in Paris as well as other suggested excursions.

This year we are inviting all researchers and curators working specifically on and with specific sculpture collections or collectors to submit papers. Firstly, we want to take a look at collecting medieval sculpture. How did or do medieval sculpture collections get formed? How has medieval sculpture been collected in the past (including in the middle ages and renaissance period) and how is this evolving right now?

We know the prices on the art market are slowly rising as medieval sculpture is becoming increasingly more interesting as an investment.

Can we take a closer look at what’s happening in that area? In December 2014 the Getty Museum acquired a rare medieval alabaster sculpture of Saint Philip by the Master of the Rimini Altarpiece at Sotheby’s for no less than 542,500 GBP. If a small statuette by an anonymous master can generate this kind of money at a sale, this must mean the ‘market’ for medieval sculpture is shifting thoroughly.

Moreover, does the exhibition or publication of medieval sculpture influence this trend? It is a fact that the more we know about an art piece or artist, the more interesting it becomes to buy or exhibit them. What are the motifs or instigating factors for museums and private collectors to collect this intrinsically religiously inspired and therefore (?) ‘less attractive’ discipline. Links can be drawn to the abolition of churchly instances at the end of the 19th century and the gothic revival in the 19th century, the export of mainland patrimony to the United Kingdom.

Would you like to submit a paper for this conference? Your proposal can be of an art-historical, historical as well as a technical or scientific nature. Multidisciplinarity is encouraged.

Priority will be given to speakers presenting new findings and contributions relevant to the specific conference theme. The conference committee, consisting of sculpture curators from M – Museum Leuven will select papers for the conference. Submissions that are not selected for presentation in plenum, can still be taken into consideration for (digital) poster presentation. There are no fees, nor retribution of transport and/or lodging costs for the selected papers. After the conference, presentations will be shared online with the Ards-network on the website, so please make sure your pictures are copyright cleared.

How to submit your proposal?

- Write in English or French. Presentations are given in English or French.

- Include a short CV.

- Max. 500 words for abstracts

(excl. authors name(s) and contact details). 

- E-mail to [log in to unmask].

- Deadline: 31.08.17.

Successful applicants will receive a notification by 15.09.17.

For more info, visit www.ards.be

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