Contemporary Art Forum: Art Speech—A Symposium on Symposia, Day 2

Saturday, May 21, 2011

9:30 AM

This two-day program brings together artists, art historians, scholars, critics, writers, and speech and performance studies experts to discuss possible frameworks for better understanding issues surrounding art speech and methods for being direct and achieving clarity in spoken public presentations in the visual arts. The spoken public presentation is central in the field of the visual arts, particularly in the area of adult learning. Public program departments in museums operate based on a set of conventions regarding the way they present lectures or discussions about art involving artists, art historians, and/or theorists. Yet very little qualitative analysis has been conducted on the effectiveness of these presentations. Often times, public presentations are deemed impenetrable or obscure. What is communicated in writing cannot always be easily grasped when presented on stage.

Using a variety of strategies, this year’s forum will seek to anatomize art historians' and artists' habits at the podium. Sessions will include reenactments of famous acts of criticism, critiques of the academic slide show, an investigation of the effects of apparently authoritative presentations, experiments in the effects of stage presence, and analyses of the academic introduction and of the performative.

Program Schedule

9:30–10:00 a.m.

Coffee and snacks

10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Session 1

10:00–10:15

James Elkins discusses the philosophical and rhetorical problems with art speech

10:15–10:45

Christophe Cherix, Chief Curator, Department of Prints and Illustrated Books, The Museum of Modern Art, presents a film of Robert Morris's early performance work 21.3 (1964)

10:45–11:45

Donald Preziosi, Professor of Art History, University of California, Los Angeles, deconstructs one of his previous talks, followed by a conversation with James Elkins

11:45–12:30

Anna Kryczka, PhD candidate, Visual Studies, University of California, Irvine, talks about “Our Literal Speed,” with a response by Abbey Shane Dubin on behalf of “Our Literal Speed.” A conversation follows

12:30–12:45 p.m.

Coffee break

12:45–1:20 p.m.

Respondent's panel discussion

Respondents: Charles Altieri, Professor of English, University of California, Berkley; Alexander Alberro, Virginia Bloedel Wright Professor of Art History, Barnard, Columbia University, New York; Pablo Helguera; and James Elkins

1:20–2:00 p.m.

Q&A