The newly founded German organisation for the study of Netherlandish art and culture, the “Arbeitskreis Niederländische Kunst und Kulturgeschichte e.V.” (ANKK), will host a three-day international conference in Frankfurt from 30 September to 2 October 2011. The conference aims to provide a forum for discussion and scholarly exchange on a variety of issues relating to Netherlandish and German art.
The title was chosen at the 2009 ANKK meeting in Heidelberg because it reflects the wide-ranging interests of our members and mirrors the enormous potential and innovative approaches that characterise our discipline. The ANKK conference committee and the ANKK board invite all members as well as interested colleagues in Europe and overseas to submit proposals for sessions and workshops. Deadline for submissions is 30 November 2009 (for more details see below).
Information from the ANKK, 26 October 2009
The title "Systems of Perception" refers to a characteristic phenomenon of Netherlandish art and culture, namely the special importance accorded the cognitive significance of sight. The conference aims to address aspects of visual culture in which the work of art effectively imposes order on that which is visible and that which is perceived.
Individual objects, entire collections of artefacts and indeed architecture can thus be interpreted as an endeavour to organise human experiences using visual means. Early Netherlandish art, for instance, represents an early attempt to create images of everyday-life that encapsulate different realms of religious belief. In the seventeenth century, art and scientific illustrations provided empirical and analytical insights into the “world”, especially in those cases where pictorial representations were used to organise and explain visual experiences. In more modern times, the De Stijl group attempted to establish an autonomous system of art that illustrates underlying patterns and structures. The theme of this conference seeks to investigate the multifarious forms of artistic production that occur in a wide spectrum of genres, media, regions, epochs and methods.
Proposals for sessions (1) and workshops (2) could, for instance, relate to the following areas of research: early-modern and contemporary art theory; the migration and mobility of people and ideas; the interaction between art and science; the creation of art and technological progress; the history of collecting and pictorial archives; the relationship between image and text; historiography and reception theory; social and economic contexts; art and religion, etc.
We look forward to receiving numerous proposals for sessions and workshops, ones which will address the conference topic in an interesting and inspiring manner. In order to reflect the scope and diversity of our field, we invite contributions on a wide variety of media (architecture, sculpture, painting, decorative arts, prints & drawings, books & manuscripts, etc.). ANKK strongly encourages younger scholars to submit proposals.
Please email your proposals to: Christiane Kruse and Heike Schlie
Deadline: 30 November 2009
Abstract: Short description of the concept (maximum 250 words)
Conference languages: German/ English
Please include the following information: your name, address (professional or private), affiliation (museum, university, independent scholar)
Please note: all session and workshops chairs, as well as the four speakers in each session, are required to be members of ANKK in 2011.
Ad 1) Sessions: Each session lasts 3.5 hours (including a 30 minute coffee break). This allows for a short introduction by the session chair, four papers of approximately 30 minutes duration each, and discussion time.
Ad 2) Workshops: Each workshop will run for 2 hours. The workshop offers its participants an interactive forum for discussing a specific topic. The maximum number of participants is 20. The workshop chair will give a short introduction of c. 10-15 minutes and moderate the proceedings. Each chair is expected to put together and circulate in advance texts and images which will provide participants with a basis for active discussion. It is possible to invite two to three colleagues to present short statements related to the topic (maximum: 10 minutes).
The ANKK conference organising committee: Nils Büttner, Dagmar Eichberger, Ulrich Heinen, Christiane Kruse, Ariane Mensger, Jochen Sander, Heike Schlie, Matthias Ubl.
For more information on ANKK e.V. see: www.ankk.org (under construction)