From: Benjamin Meyer-Krahmer <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Apr 12, 2014
Subject: CFP: Curatorial Things (Berlin, 30 Oct-1 Nov 14)

Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, October 30 - November 1, 2014
Deadline: May 20, 2014

Call for Papers

Curatorial Things

Organizers: Beatrice von Bismarck, Benjamin Meyer-Krahmer, Thomas Weski
Cultures of the Curatorial, Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig 
(www.kdk-leipzig.de)

Curatorial Things

Meaning and status of things have changed significantly since the 
beginning of the 21st century. This becomes particularly evident with 
regards to the handling of things in the context of presentation. In the 
practice of today's globalized exhibition system they are of high 
mobility just like people, discourses and spaces and are involved in 
changing signifying contexts. As a result traditional concepts of how 
things obtain meaning as exhibits begin to dissolve and get 
re-formulated, which in turn entails far-reaching consequences for the 
ways of dealing with them as well as for the conditions of these 
practices. A critical attitude toward the representative capability of 
things in the context of presentation can be traced back to the early 
20th century and its validity for today should be considered. However, 
the current transdisciplinary interrelation of discourses and 
praxis-theory approaches provide a situation which allows for an 
analysis of the status of things which is specifically related to the 
curatorial. Three interrelated aspects testifying to the altered 
understanding of things have gained substantial weight for the current 
curatorial discourse: The first relates to the changed attitude towards 
the "container function" of exhibits. Through its attribution things in 
Western culture initially became repositories of meaning and thereby 
obtained the central constituting role in the conception of the museum. 
Recent discourses on the function of museums in a global context and 
their relation to different media and forms of cultural production made 
a revision of this notion necessary. Just as little as this 
representative function can be generalized in regards to non-Western 
exhibition practice and institutions, it cannot be applied to the 
curatorial practice of other disciplines – such as theater, dance or 
film. Secondly, the things one encounters in curatorial situations – as 
works of art, cultural objects and exhibits – are not anymore static or 
material neccesarily but are accompagnied, if not replaced, by elements, 
which are in their materiality, appearance and meaning ephemeral, 
flexible and incomplete. In this setting, meaning, function and status 
of curatorial things are in flux and require new tools of assessment, 
interpretation and operation. Thirdly finally, in recent debates things 
have acquired the status of agents, thus acting as participants in 
presentational situations. Beyond visualizations of theoretical concepts 
this has consequences for the experience in exhibitions as much as for 
curatorial strategies.

The international conference "Curatorial Things" will investigate the 
implications, consequences and potentials, which arise from the 
entanglement of these aspects and their developments. It is based on the 
understanding of curatorial practice as constructing constellations. 
Bringing together theoreticians, academic researchers, curators and 
artists from a variety of professional and disciplinary backgrounds the 
conference aims at exploring from different cultural and institutional 
perspectives the changes, effects and power attributed to things as 
participants in such curatorial constellations.

Please send your abstract (max. 300 words), short CV and contact 
information to [log in to unmask] by May 20th, 2014.

Reference / Quellennachweis:
CFP: Curatorial Things (Berlin, 30 Oct-1 Nov 14). In: H-ArtHist, Apr 12, 
2014. <http://arthist.net/archive/7444>.

____________________________________________________________________

H-ARTHIST
Humanities-Net Discussion List for Art History
E-Mail-Liste für Kunstgeschichte im H-Net

Editorial Board Contact Address / Fragen an die Redaktion:
[log in to unmask]

Submit contributions to / Beiträge bitte an:
http://arthist.net/mailing-list/mode=contribute

Homepage: http://arthist.net

  --