We never gave you an update of the conference, did we? Oops! Naughty Art History Council. Nine months of work came and went for the "Social, Class and Art" Conference, and we took a much needed rest.
Okay.. so we kind of just pushed the event out of our minds for a little while afterwards. We started looking towards new things to plan. We can't help it! We love doing things, we love planning!
What were we planning for? Oh, you know. "mARTch" Art History Professional Forums were coming up and we realized we needed to contact our speakers! This week we're having an art critic named Abraham from artSLANT magazine. Cool, huh?
Then we started finalizing our trip to New York City for spring break. A few of us wanted to check out some grad schools and see the galleries out there. A couple of us hadn't even been to the Guggenheim or MoMA before (shame on us!!). So we have been coordinating that trip ... and in the mean time.. we kept procrastinating on updating you, our beloved readers!
We bet you really want to know what happened.. don't you? Alright.. we'll show you.
Here's our first panel: (L-R) Margaret Hankel, Davida Newman, Casey Winkleman, and Daniella Doll.
-Margaret talked about Nationalist Art in Germany during the Nazi Era. Her application of art theory (using Sherry Ortner's "Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?") was impressive, and her presentation was thought-provoking.
-Davida presented her artwork "Psychosexual Matrix," also using art theory by Lacan. Her work addressed identity, femininity, and sexuality.
-Casey approached the integration of science and art / photography, using examples from Futurist artwork and the beginnings of photography.
-Daniella showed her "Spaces" sculptural/performance series. This artwork addressed art in social context, and the way people form their bodies to fit certain social situations.
This is our second panel, minus one of the presenters (who was standing near the podium).
(L-R) Shane Welch, Sandra Goldfield, and yours truly, Casey Champion.
Missing: Nicolette Caldwell.
Shane presented his photographic series from Lower Wacker Drive. He worked with and followed around a heroine addicted couple for several months. They were living on the streets. His series was one of the most popular presented at the conference.
Nicolette observed the images of war from the Congo, with images exhibited at the Congo/Women traveling exhibition. This exhibition presented social issues that no one should ignore.
My presentation was about Charles Alston, a great American artist. He developed several social groups for African-American artists and worked tirelessly to fight discrimination and prejudice. Yet he is still left out of most art history textbooks, and a search for his art on Google will find you few results...
We don't have an image of our last panel sitting together just yet.. but here they are individually.
Leilani Wertens is a graduate photography student here at Columbia College. She photographs estate sales as social spaces with a focus on the lasting memories. Her photographs are terrific and engaging.
Tempestt Hazel presented the notion of significant artists from Art History being left out of art history textbooks. She discussed other artists taking credit for ideas that these artists have innovated. One example she gave was the idea that Frank Stella created shaped canvas techniques... when Sam Gilliam actually tried this before Stella. An interesting topic, you can contact her for more information here: tempestthazel.
Our final presenter was amazing. Christopher Smith, a graduate student from Illinois State University, presented the artwork of Jason Salavon and his potentially "post-post-modern" artwork.
Salavon is a Chicago-based artist whose artwork calls out America's consumerist religion. Smith's presentation really brought light to this artist who is pushing the barriers that most great artists also pushed in the course of art history. Look out for Smith as an emerging art historian, and his forthcoming research.
Salavon's "Newlyweds"
Salavon's "Late Night Triad"
Alright, there you have it !
We can't wait to see you all at next year's conference. If you are interested in participating or sharing your ideas, you know you can always shoot us a line at arthistorycouncil {AT} loop {DOT} colum {DOT} edu.
don't forget to follow us on twitter @AHCchicago!
