Academic Sessions: Glasgow 2010
AAH Annual Conference 2010
15 - 17 April, University of Glasgow
Exhibitions as Research: Theory, Practice, Problems
Session Convenors:
Stacy Boldrick, Research and Interpretation Manager, The Fruitmarket Gallery interpretation@fruitmarket.co.uk
Stephanie Straine, Exhibitions Organiser, The Fruitmarket Gallery support@fruitmarket.co.uk
Ideally, exhibitions always present audiences with new research. When exhibitions are outcomes of individual academic research projects, however, the research undergoes a process of translation. Under the guidance of curators and other museum and art gallery staff, art historians discover how to turn their work into a phenomenological and conceptual experience that communicates not only with their academic peers but also with public audiences, not only through the act of writing about objects and ideas, but also through encountering them and placing them in space and time. As a collaborative situation, the process of exhibition-making can, for some academics, become a form of research in itself.
In this session, the term ‘research’ is inclusive, incorporating conventional art historical research, research conducted by artists and curators, and other research practices. Forms of research may range from traditional scholarship which informs large-scale survey or blockbuster exhibitions, and more focused academic exhibitions, to artist-led research. This session will consider how research is translated in exhibitions of art from any period, from medieval to modern and contemporary.
Speakers:
Fiona McGovern (Freie Universität Berlin)
Revealing the Repressed: Mike Kelley’s exhibition project ‘The Uncanny’
Lisa Schmidt (Freud Museum, London)
Researching History: Contemporary Art at the Freud Museum in London
Rebecca Gordon (University of Glasgow)
Communicating Research: Christine Borland's research practice in relation to the exhibition 'Communication Suite'
Anita Herle (University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology)
Assembling Bodies: Art, Science and Imagination: Exploring the research potential of assemblage and juxtaposition
Elizabeth Rankin (University of Auckland)
(Mis)representing post-colonial concepts
Doreen Mende (Goldsmiths/ZKM Karlsruhe)
Academy Expanded and Expanded Exhibiting