I am happy to be joining forces once again with art historian, fine arts appraiser, and art advisor Dr. Lara Tomaszewska of Openwork Art Advisory to co-chair a session at the upcoming 2020 Universities Art Association of Canada Conference this fall. Our session’s title is “The Price of Everything: Commerce, Aesthetics, and the “Value” of Contemporary Art” and extends on ideas, themes, and approaches that we first explored at UAAC back in 2014 in a popular dual session we hosted titled “At the Intersection of Art History and the Art Market: Navigating The Business of Art.” This time, we are focusing squarely on recent transformations in the contemporary art world and art market that have challenged the ways in which art is valued (literally and with respect to cultural capital) and welcome submissions from researchers, art advisors, curators and/or those interested in the study of contemporary art valuation.
The full call for paper proposals reads as following:
The Price of Everything: Commerce, Aesthetics, and the “Value” of Contemporary Art
In recent years, the conversation around contemporary art, and how it is “valued,” has been set against the backdrop of public scandal and spectacle. Media coverage of record prices attained at art auctions, the global expansion of branded art fairs, and protests surrounding museum trustees and donors connected to conflicting interests, co-mingle with viral art world news stories that spark great public debate, such as the shredded Banksy performance at Sotheby’s London in 2018; the Maurizio Cattelan banana piece and aftermath at Art Basel last year; or closer to home, the controversies surrounding Rodney Graham’s public art work Spinning Chandelier funded by a luxury condo developer in Vancouver. This panel seeks to examine the broader and critical dimensions of this issue and calls for presentations that explore, whether through specific case study or theory-based examination, the contours and stakes around how contemporary art is “valued,” collected, and given meaning in the current climate.
We invite proposal submissions of 300 words max, along with a 150 word biography, through JULY 31, 2020, directed to dorothy.barenscott@kpu.ca and lara@openworkart.com that include the following. For more information on submissions, the conference, and other details related to the event, please visit: https://uaac-aauc.com/conference/
UAAC was to be originally going to be held in Vancouver this year, but has had to move online because of the Covid-19 global pandemic. We are still anticipating a vibrant and energetic conference, and are especially looking forward to our featured keynote speaker, artist Stan Douglas, who will also be representing Canada at the next Venice Biennale (postponed to 2022). Please contact me directly with any further questions or clarifications by clicking on the mail icon at the top of my blog page.