Information from the organizers, 27 October 2015
Frans Hals Museum | De Hallen Haarlem and Museum M are currently developing a research project on the notion of "transhistoricity" (or "cross-historicity") in curatorial practice within the museum field. The conference The transhistorical museum: objects, narratives & temporalities is an effort to bring together different perspectives (museological, curatorial, theoretical) on the subject of transhistoricity, in order to critically map this domain. It aspires to both trace its genealogies in existing theory and practice, and to present new ideas with regards to questions like: Can a transhistorical approach to exhibition making or collection display produce relevant new insights into the specific qualities of art objects, by manoeuvring them into unchartered contexts − historically, materially, and ontologically? What can we learn from historical artworks, when we study them through the lens of contemporary artistic production − or vice versa? How do we read art history forward into the present, and use recent practice as a vantage point from which to revise the past?
Over the course of two days (13 November 2015 in Haarlem, and 25 February 2016 in Leuven), we will examine the ways in which curatorial, institutional and artistic practice relate to the notion of transhistoricity, and discuss and challenge museological concepts like "the encyclopaedic museum" and "the Wunderkammer." The two-day symposium will bring together an international roster of theorists, art historians, curators, and artists, from the fields of art history and philosophy. The symposium will present keynote lectures, case studies, papers and panel discussions. A publication is planned for the fall of 2016.
Follow this link for the programme of 13 November in Haarlem (in PDF).
Call for papers
The organizers are pleased to announce a call for papers, that will offer the opportunity to present a paper at the second conference in Leuven, on 25 February 2016, and/or inclusion in the publication scheduled for the fall of 2016.
Proposals may include subjects like:
· The transhistorical museum: definitions, methods, models
· Artist projects in / with collection displays
· The autonomous artwork vs the exhibition experience
· Curatorial authorship vs art historical scholarship
· The transhistorical art object: relational or withdrawn?
Final entries will be reviewed by a selection jury, which will be announced at the first conference day in Haarlem (13 November 2015).
Please submit your piece, anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 words, with a maximum 250 word abstract and full contact information by 10 January 2016, to papers@franshalsmuseum.nl.
