OSK Course | Materials & Materiality in Art History

Dates: 28 October 2020 (Virtual Introductory Session); 5 November 2020 (Leiden, Museum De Lakenhal, tbc); 19-20 November 2020 (Studio Claudy Jongstra), 11 February 2021 (Mechelen, Museum Hof van Busleyden)
Locations: Virtual/Leiden/Studio Claudy Jongstra/Mechelen
Open to: Open to all ResMA students and PhD candidates Art and Architectural History, max. 12 participants
Credits: 6 EC
Instruction language: English
Instructors: prof. dr Sven Dupré (Utrecht University/University of Amsterdam & prof. dr Ann-Sophie Lehmann (University of Groningen)
Coordination: OSK (osk-fgw@uva.nl)
Fees: There is no course fee. A stay for one nights (Friesland) and the travel costs to Mechelen are subsidized for OSK students. Not included: travel costs to Leiden and Friesland, and food & drinks.
Registration: via website and provide a CV and short letter of motivation and send it to osk-fgw@uva.nl. Registration deadline: 1 October 2020

Art history is witnessing a turn and return to object centered research and teaching. Material culture studies, art theory, artistic practice, conservation, technical art history, history of science, as well as ethnography, all shape a field, which is reinvented on its own grounds. The material status of the artwork has clearly become a topic of relevance that reaches also those art historians, whose work is not primarily concerned with the production, conservation, and restoration of art. Moreover, this re-orientation towards materials and materiality seems to go hand in hand with a ‘global’ turn, adding non-western artworks, materials, modes of production and transmission to the mix.

During this course, students of all areas of the discipline (medieval, early modern, modern & contemporary art, architectural studies, design and applied arts, museum studies, art theory, etc.) are familiarized with recent approaches to materials and concepts of materiality that have entered art history from other disciplines, as well as those theories and methodologies, developed within. The course combines a seminar setting with presentations and discussions of recent literature with object-led and handling sessions with practitioners, and scientists in order to test and reflect upon methods needed to research the meaning of materials in art and artistic practice

Apart from a thorough, critical introduction to the developing field and its key players and texts, which enables participants to relate their own work to issues of materiality, students are invited to discuss topics related to their research with regard to questions such as: Is the material status of an art object relevant to all approaches within the discipline?; How do materials make meaning?; What is the historiography of materials in art history?; In which ways could art history profit from studio-based learning/research?; Does art theory care about materiality?; What is the distinction between materials of art works and concepts of materiality?; How much do art historians need to know about technical art history, conservation and scientific analysis?; How and to what end should art historians combine historical with ethnographic and scientific research methods?; What could art history contribute to other disciplines dealing with materials/ity?

The course has a special emphasis on color technologies and will include a visit to a conservation lab, depot or art production site. There will also be hands-on sessions in the Studio Claudy Jongstra, directed by Natalia Ortega-Saez (University of Antwerp), and visits to the Claudy Jongstra exhibition in the Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden and the exhibition ‘Back to Black’ (https://www.hofvanbusleyden.be/back-to-black-3) in the Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen. The course is offered in collaboration with ERC-funded research project ARTECHNE (https://artechne.wp.hum.uu.nl/), led by Sven Dupré.

Main course components:

• Preparatory literature study (= 1 week reading and preparation in advance).
• Virtual and introductory session on 28 October, seminar and museum visit in Leiden on 5 November; and two full-day hands-on workshop in Studio Claudy Jongstra from 19 – 20 November 2020.
• Presentation of research questions related to ongoing research and literature.
• Students write a 4000 w. paper, preferably imbedded in ongoing research (i.e. chapter of thesis/PhD, lecture, article) (= 2 weeks of full time work).
• To complete the course, students present their work in a final presentation on 11 Fberuary 2021 at the Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen.

Syllabus, schedule and exact description of assignments will be made available early October 2020.

Practicalities:

Participation in the OSK course Materials & Materiality in Art History is open to all students enrolled in a Research Master Program or PhD program at a Dutch University. The number of participants is limited to 12. Deadline for application is 1 October 2020. Students will be informed about admittance no later than 8 October 2020.

Students are expected to attend all seminars and lectures and read and analyze the texts in advance.

Credits: 6 EC, to receive after delivering a successful paper and participation. Students have to check with their home university themselves whether the transfer of credits for this course is accepted. OSK will provide a testimonial of work load and EC.