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MIDWEST ART HISTORY SOCIETY ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
Chicago, Illinois, April 2 - 5, 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS

Proposals are Due on December 15, 2007. They should be typed, single-spaced, no longer than 250 words. Remember to include/attach a c.v., and indicate your MAHS membership status. All conference participants must be MAHS members at the time of the conference. Session chairs will notify applicants about their decisions by February 1, 2008. It is strongly recommended that submissions be emailed as MSWORD documents to the web addresses listed below with a subject line that includes “MAHS.”

Index of Topics

Descriptions

African Art

This session seeks to highlight the diversity of approaches that characterizes the field of African art as it is studied today. Of particular interest are papers that query the boundaries of the field in terms of media or methodology, that are cross-cultural in scope, or that emphasize connections to other areas of art history.

Session Chair: Mark D. DeLancey
Dept. of Art and Art History
DePaul University
1150 W. Fullerton Ave., 3^rd Floor
Chicago, Il 60614-2204
Phone: (773) 325-8601
Fax: (773) 325-1950
mdelance@depaul.edu

American Art, 1938-1950

The impact of impending World War and the immediate post-war years provided many paths for American artistic expression. Scholars are encouraged to explore the artistic responses to the War and to the Bomb, the demise of realism as well as the surviving forms of magic realism, surrealism, social realism, and the spiritual and religious responses to secular modernism. Papers address these topics in painting, sculpture and the decorative arts are welcome.

Session Chair: Judith Barter
Field McCormick Chair of American Art
Art Institute of Chicago
jbarter@artic.edu

Asian Art: Problems, Special Issues Relating to
Researching and Exhibiting Asian Art

This panel invites scholars of any area of South, Southeast, and East Asian Art to present papers on recent research of exhibition projects that have posed unusual problems, raised important issues (including benefits), or resulted in unexpected outcomes. A huge challenge for many, Asian art research or exhibition projects is how to introduce effectively to the public whole cultures, religions or philosophies, historical eras, artistic genres, literary traditions, or social ideals as they relate to the interpretation of Asian art. Participants are encouraged to share how cultural information relating to Asian art might be better synthesized, translated, shared and made relevant to today’s public audience.

Session Chair: Helen M. Nagata
Assistant Professor of Art History
School of Art
Art History Division
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
Phone: (815) 753-7863
hnagata@niu.edu

Baroque and Eighteenth-Century Art

This session will showcase new research in European art, architecture, and urbanism c. 1600 - 1800. Priority will be given to proposals that emphasize methodological approaches to problems. Topics related to European colonial possessions of the period are also encouraged.

Session Chair: John Beldon Scott
University of Iowa
jb-scott@uiowa.edu

Byzantine Connections

This panel explores the complexities of cultural and artistic exchange between Byzantium and its neighbors. Papers that challenge textbook notions of Byzantine art and examine artistic connections across political or religious boundaries are especially welcome. Papers investigating any chronological aspect of Byzantine art and architectural history will also be considered.

Session Chair: Elena Boeck
1150 W. Fullerton Ave, 3^rd Floor
Art and Art History Department
DePaul University
Chicago, IL 60614
eboeck@depaul.edu

Chicago Architecture and New Urbanism

This session invites submissions from scholars working on any topic that addresses the history of Chicago architecture in new ways. Also welcome are papers that investigate theories, principles and working models of New Urbanism and sustainable development.

Session Chair: Cheryl Bachand
Senior Curator and Vice President of Museum Programs
Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust
931 Chicago Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
Phone: (708) 848-1976, ext 242
bachand@wrightplus.org

The Criticism of Art Criticism

Art criticism often finds itself the object of a good deal of criticism and complaint: that there is no good criticism to read; that nobody reads criticism anyway; that it is necessary but lacking; or that it is superfluous and should be cut out. The contradictions of this “crisis” of criticism can be hinted at by its simultaneous “death” in periodicals as the publishing venues for sustained and critical reflection shrink and its “birth” in universities and art academies as programs of art writing and criticism are instituted, or in the antagonisms between the artist, critic and art historian as well as the interesting moonlightings that each does in the other’s job. This session invites the submission of papers that grapple with art criticism’s vexed status and relationships within the fields of modern and contemporary art. Are there historical models from which we might gain insight? Or, are there illuminating examples of art criticism in the present? Are there different, perhaps more productive ways of framing the problems or articulating the terms of this “crisis” in art criticism?

Session Chair: Annika Marie, Ph.D.
Visiting Faculty in Art History
Department of Art + Design
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60605
am322@columbia.edu

Historic Preservation in the 21^st Century:
New Challenges and Innovative Solutions

Since the passage of the National Preservation Act in 1966, the field of historic preservation in the United States has developed into a highly professional movement, with complex strategies to protect historic sites and structures. Papers submitted should illuminate the complicated techniques used to achieve success in historic preservation issues in the new century.

Session Chair: David Bahlman
President, Landmarks Illinois
53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1315
Chicago, IL 60604
bahlmand@lpci.org

The History of Photography as the Study of Photographs

Photography has undergone a fairly significant shift in the past few decades - from the rapid growth of digital technologies to the ascendance of the medium within contemporary art collections. Yet despite all the resultant theorizing about photography (as idea, technology, and cultural phenomenon), there is paradoxically little written about specific photographs, at least compared to the historiography of art. This is further reflected in the fact that our subfield is called the “History of Photography,” not the “History of Photographs,” thus emphasizing process over product. Working against the grain, this session invites participants to think about specific photographs as objects, commodities, and experiential phenomenon with distinctive material, economic, historical and/or phenomenological qualities. Virtually any subject matter is open to consideration—from anonymous daguerreotypes to photoessays in LIFE magazine to Andreas Gursky’s mural-sized prints to digital images on cameraphone screens. The goal is not to ignore the broad theoretical ramifications of “photograph” as a category, but to examine them from the perspective of the close visual and material analysis of specific photographs and/or photographic reproductions. Submission should be emailed as MSWORD documents to gfoster-rice@colum.edu. You must include the word “MAHS” somewhere in the subject line of your email to ensure proper processing.

Session Chair: Greg Foster-Rice
Assistant Professor of the History of Photography
Columbia College Chicago
gfoster-rice@colum.edu

Keepin' It Real: Material, Visual, & Conceptual Practices in
African American Art and Its Scholarship

The papers in this session will examine how the relationships between material and visual culture in African American art have contributed to contentious notions of authenticity or being "real." Drawing from sources as diverse as mass produced stereotypes to folk traditions, African American artists have long drawn from high and low sources. From the sign making practices of landscape painter Edward Bannister to the comic book sources in the work of Laylah Ali and Kerry James Marshall to the hip hop portraits of Kehinde Wiley, merging sources is common and meaningful. Papers could question the role of exhibition or collecting practices in framing our awareness of artist's source material. Others might consider the cumulative effect of bringing the past into the present. How does the meaning of a body of work shift when it moves from street to museum? Or vice versa, what are the implications of vernacular artists quoting canon? Moreover, how, do we as art historians perpetuate this essentializing construction of identity in our scholarship and the shows we curate? Please email proposals to both session chairs.

Session Chair: Amy Mooney
Assistant Professor
Columbia College Chicago
amooney@colum.edu

Kymberly Pinder
Associate Professor
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
kpinde@saic.edu

Medieval Art and Architecture

This session invites proposals for papers that consider any topic in the history of western medieval art and architecture from late antiquity through the 15^th century. Intentionally broad in its focus and designed to transcend national and cultural boundaries, this session particularly welcomes papers that shift the interpretive emphasis of what is conventionally thought of as medieval “art,” a concept called into question in recent years by scholars in the field, from aesthetic or formalist toward function, agency, presentation and reception. Papers extending disciplinary boundaries and utilizing interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies are particularly encouraged. Submissions from postgraduate students are most welcome for consideration.

Session Chair: Susan Solway
Department of Art and Art History
DePaul University, 1150 W. Fullerton Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
Phone:(773) 325-4121
ssolway@depaul.edu

Narration and Naturalism in Renaissance Art

This session will explore the relationship between the story-telling functions of Early Modern art (sculpture, painting, prints, manuscripts, tapestry, etc.) and their attempts at verisimilitude, or naturalism. Ideally, the session will deal with a broad range of narratives—religious, historical, political, or mythological themes—and come from a variety of European regions to explore regional preferences or patterns. Among the issues that could be addressed are: Are techniques that contribute to “naturalism” useful (or not) in story telling? How do the technical requirements of a medium affect the relationship between naturalism and narration? Do regional traditions in literary narratives inform the creation of visual images? What is the function of narratives executed in a “realistic” mode? Papers may deal with one region or type of narrative image or present comparative examples of works of art that tell stories.

Session Chair: Ann M. Roberts
Professor of Art
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, IL 60045
roberts@lakeforest.edu

Nineteenth-Century American Art, Science and Technology

As our ability to conceptualize and visualize the physical world expands steadily outward (into the far reaches of the universe) and inward (into increasingly complex images of the body), the historical intersections of art, science and technology have assumed greater significance for historians of American art. Recent scholarship has been far-ranging, investigating the arts in relation to evolutionary theory, kinesthetics, vision, and perception, to name just a few. Deliberately broad in focus, this panel invites proposals that give new consideration to the relationships between any aspect of 19^th century American visual culture (in all media) and scientific and technological advances.

Session Chair:Sarah E. Kelly
Associate Curator of American Art
Art Institute of Chicago
skelly@artic.edu

Nineteenth-Century European Art

This is an open session addressing any and all nineteenth-century European works of art, design, and other visual cultural artifacts. Papers are invited that will focus closely and exhaustively upon a single work or an ensemble of closely-related works. Papers that engage current historiographic and theoretical debates, build upon hitherto unknown or unused evidence, and deploy an interdisciplinary perspective will be especially welcome. If a paper studies conditions of transnationality or other modes of cultural transfer and exchange, while not required for inclusion on the panel, it will nonetheless be a plus. Questions about the panel sent by email shc@northwestern.edu will be promptly and cheerfully answered.

Session Chair: Hollis Clayson
Northwestern University
shc@northwestern.edu

Northern European Art, 1400-1600:
Session in Honor of Charles D. Cuttler

Session Chair: Burton Dunbar
University of Missouri-Kansas City

Open Session

The Open Session is intended to provide a showcase for scholarly work-in-progress whose subject matter doe not readily fit into any of the designated historical and thematic sessions.

Session Chair: Simone Zurawski
Department of Art and Art History
DePaul University
1150 W. Fullerton
Chicago, IL 60614
Phone: (773) 325-7228
szurawsk@depaul.edu

Pre-Columbian and Colonial Art of Latin America

Submissions are welcomed on any aspect of Latin American art and architecture from the Pre-Columbian period until independence in the 19^th century.

Session Chair: Virginia E. Miller
Department of Art History
University of Illinois at Chicago
Phone: (312) 413-2467
vem@uic.edu

Public Art in Chicago

From the civic sculptures of the Gilded Age through the Sixties era exemplified by the mural movement and the Picasso, to the extraordinary success of Millennium Park, Chicago has been and continues to be a major site for the creation of public art. In addition, its art schools, universities, and colleges have educated generations in the theory and practice of public art. This session will examine the evolving role of public art in Chicago. Papers for presentation are sought on all aspects of public art particular to the city. Topics could range from specific studies of works of public art, their genesis, reception, an analysis of their place in present-day guides to the city, etc., to the pedagogy of public art in Chicago: it’s history, theory and/or practice.

Session Chair: Levy Smith
lsmith@artic.edu

Twentieth-Century American Art

This panel is an open session addressing any aspect of art history on topics in 20th-century art of the United States. Proposals are particularly encouraged on topics that address current historiographical and theoretical debates in the field, analyze significant new evidence, address understudied art and/or approach topics from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition, proposals that engage with questions concerning the increasing globalization of U.S. culture and the internationalization of art markets and debates throughout the 20th Century will be particularly of interest. Applicants may also consider that the Art Institute of Chicago will be hosting two major shows in 2008 on Hopper and Homer, respectively, and wish to investigate complementary topics. Nevertheless, all proposals will be considered for a balanced and dynamic panel. Questions or proposals can be sent to pjaskot@depaul.edu.

Session Chair:Paul B. Jaskot
DePaul University
pjaskot@depaul.edu

Women Artists and Patrons in Early Modern Europe

This session invites papers which consider the cultural dynamics implicit in women’s creation and patronage of art in the early modern period. Papers might explore such issues as the ways female artists and patrons absorbed dominant cultural ideals and concepts of gender but also challenged these in their practice; how they negotiated agency; or how they created identity. Participants may examine the topic either through a study of specific artists or patrons or through a broader treatment of these issues in their relation to art.

Session Chair: Marilyn Dunn
Associate Professor
Department of Fine and Performing Arts
Loyola University Chicago
Mundelein Center 905
6525 North Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60626
Phone: (773) 508-8307
Fax:
mdunn@luc.edu

MIDWEST ART HISTORY SOCIETY ANNUAL CONFERENCE Chicago, Illinois, April 2 - 5, 2008