CFP: Exploring the Plurality of Artists’ Practices: Artists as Dealers and Agents; Session at AAH (Newcastle, 1-3 Apr 20)

AAH 2020 Newcastle, April 1 – 03, 2020
Deadline: Oct 21, 2019

Tropes from the Romantic era depicted artistic practice as an expression of the artists’ ‘isolated genius’ which, in sociological terms, translated into the ‘autonomisation of intellectual and artistic production’, as a form of ‘auto-normativity’. This session, however, aims to subvert such compartmentalisation of artistic activities and think about artistic practices- in the plural- which extend beyond the intellectualisation of ‘disegno’. In particular, we would invite papers which seek to bridge seemingly disparate areas of artistic practice and explore the activities of artists as commercial agents.

Artists were involved in negotiating the complex art worlds of their day, cultivating patrons, creating support networks or supplementing their incomes through dealing in art. From the Renaissance, artists often acted for the patrons in both the primary and secondary market for collecting, shaping the taste and opportunities for artists other than themselves. Indeed, their knowledge and experience as artists was highly valued as Giovanni Maria Sasso or Gavin Hamilton operated simultaneously as restorers, dealers, agents or collectors.

This session thus invites papers covering all periods of art history and exploring plural notion of ‘artistic practices’ as means to expanding its meaning and application. We are particularly interested in how artists’ shaped taste and collections, acted as dealers, or revised their own practices in response to an increasingly international art market.

Session Co-Convenors:
Adriana Turpin (IESA, Paris)
Marie Tavinor (Christie’s Education, London)

To Submit a Paper:
Your proposal should be submitted at: pluralpractices@gmail.com by Monday 21 October 2019, using the “Proposal Form” available on the Association for Art History website.