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Plunder: An Alternative History of Art, Association for Art History Conference Session, Goldsmiths, University of London, 6-8 April 2022

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‘I place looting at the heart of the modern formation of what is called art, analyzing how it was obscured and transformed into the history of collecting.’ This session at The Association for Art History’s 2022 Annual Conference proposes to take up the challenge presented by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, examining the history of plunder and loot as an alternative history of art.

AAH 2022 Annual Conference
Goldsmiths, University of London
Wednesday 6 – Friday 8 April 2022

Submission deadline: 1 November 2021

From the triumphant parade of sacred objects from the Temple in Jerusalem through the streets of Rome, to the stolen treasures from Egypt, Italy and elsewhere that were put in a new museum in Paris by Napoleon Bonaparte, art objects have been seized and taken back home as trophies of war, spoil and loot. Over time, these illicit transfers of artistic ‘treasures’ and their display, have been captured, imagined, and re-interpreted by contemporary artists, whose works continue to question and tell stories of triumph and loss. 

This session invites papers that critically engage with the relationship between art history and the history of plunder. What instances, beyond the canonical cases, can be identified? How has looting been represented visually? How have histories of loss and possession forged an understanding of objects as art? What are the roles of resistance and restitution? The session aims to combine case studies of plunder with more theoretical reflections, in order to open up a fundamental debate about the role of looting in our discipline and the global history of art.

Session convenors:

Mary-Ann Middelkoop, University of Oxford, mary-ann.middelkoop@prm.ox.ac.uk
Elsje van Kessel, University of St Andrews, ejmvk@st-andrews.ac.uk

Submission:

Please email your proposal directly to the convenors. Include in your proposal a clear paper title, a short abstract (max 250 words), your name and email. The deadline for paper proposals is 1 November 2021.

For further details about the conference see:
https://eu.eventscloud.com/website/5317/

 

 

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