CfP: 73rd annual SECAC Conference, Columbus, OH, 25-28 Oct 17

Call for papers for the Southeastern College Art Conference http://www.secacart.org/conference

The Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) in Columbus, Ohio, is hosting the 73rd annual SECAC Conference, October 25-28, 2017.

The call for paper proposals is available. The deadline is April 20 at midnight EDT.

The Collectors’ Impulse: Conspicuous Consumption or Philanthropy?

In his 1899 book, Theory of the Leisure Class, economist Thorstein Veblen coined the still-useful phrase, “conspicuous consumption,” meaning the pursuit of status via goods such as art works. More recently, Pierre Bourdieu argued that taste is inextricably linked to social standing. Most often one must possess wealth to amass noteworthy collections, but is collecting more complicated than status seeking or gaining cultural capital?  What if the consumer creates a museum with his or her art collection, such as Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry and Arabella Huntington, and more recently, Eli Broad has done? Is this primarily creating institutions to solidify and enhance their cultural capital? Should others with great collections feel obligated to share them with the public or is it acceptable to keep them hidden until they are ready to sell? To what degree is a collection left to the public conspicuous consumption, philanthropy, or something else altogether? This panel seeks perspectives on collecting practices, past or present. Who is or was collecting and why? What aspects of collecting motivate one to share a collection with strangers (or not)? How should museum-goers react to private-turned-public collections?

Contact: Dr. Leanne Zalewski

Transatlantic Exchange between the US and Ireland

Transatlantic Exchange: Ireland and the United States in the 20th Century

This panel seeks papers that focus on transatlantic cultural exchange between Ireland and the United States during the twentieth century. Americans who traveled to Ireland, many compelled by familial connections, developed rich relationships with Irish artists that led to cultural exchange between the two countries, while tumultuous political circumstances in Ireland prompted Irish artists to leave their homeland. For example, Irish painter John Yeats and Irish American art collector John Quinn facilitated cultural exchange during the early decades of the twentieth century, particularly in that Yeats was the father of three of the most influential cultural figures in Ireland: writer W.B. Yeats; Ireland’s celebrated painter Jack Yeats; and textile designer Lily Yeats. After solidifying his connection with Quinn, Yeats went on to establish close ties to American artists John Sloan and Robert Henri.
This panel seeks to explore these and other examples of Irish/American transatlantic cultural exchange.

  • What impact did the American presence in Ireland have on Irish art?
  • Conversely, how have American artists been impacted by their experiences in Ireland?
  • What exhibitions document these exchanges?

These are but a few questions that we hope to answer on this panel.

Session Chairs: Cynthia Fowler, Emmanuel College; James Swensen, Brigham Young University

Contact: fowlecy@emmanuel.edu ; james_swensen@byu.edu

For more information:
https://secac.memberclicks.net/assets/documents/secac/conference/secac-2017-call-for-papers.pdf

Source: 2 Panels/Sessions at SECAC 2017 (Columbus, 25-28 Oct 17). In: H-ArtHist, Feb 20, 2017.