Do we have an Image Problem?

Performance and Media Art caught between Art History and Visual Culture Studies.

1 Sep 2005
30 Oct 2005

The first Media Art Conference in Osnabrück will take place from the 15th to the 17th of May 2006 as a three-day specialist symposium at the University of Osnabrück and is sponsored by Department of Kultur- und Geowissenschaften. It will be held immediately following the 19th European Media Art Festival (EMAF, 10th to 14th May 2006), one of the largest media art events in Europe.

The conference will focus on the growing affinity between art forms produced, experienced and distributed by the media on the one hand and the highly debated iconic or pictorial turn on the other. One of the central issues will be to question whether the recently developed aesthetic terminology can sufficiently deal with the time- and action-oriented art forms of performance and media art.

In addition to a number of distinguished experts invited to present papers, the speakers will include young scholars as well as contributors selected on the basis of the abstracts they submitted to this call for papers.

Enclosed you will find further information concerning the background and objectives of the conference. Please do not hesitate to ask us questions at any time.

We would be very pleased to include you among the speakers or authors for our planned publication.

Topics for Talks and Articles

1. Performance and media art in the context of the contemporary debate between art history and Visual Culture Studies and where art history is positioning itself in relation to Visual Culture Studies, Media Studies and Cultural History.
2. Media art, art history’s cultural orientation and the scientific modus operandi given the wide range of methodologies and the overlap of genres.
3. Examples of art historical and media studies descriptions and analysis of performance and media art.

In addition to a description of content, the abstracts for papers (c. 400 words) should clearly demonstrate both their relevance to the theme of the conference and their originality.

A publication of the conference findings is planned. All contributions will be considered.

Please submit your abstracts by 30 October 2005 to the EMAC office:

Media Art Conference Osnabrück

www.media-art-conference.com