OSK Course: Materials & Materiality in Art History

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 relevant also to art historians, whose work is not primarily concerned with the production, conservation, or restoration of art. The re-orientation towards materials and materiality naturally includes non-western art works, materials, and modes of production and offers crucial knowledge and insights for environmental and eco-critical approaches in art history.

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, technical art history 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. Seminars with presentations and discussions of recent literature are combined with object-led, hands-on sessions in which students meet practitioners and scientists in order to experiment with 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 own 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? How does knowledge about artist’s materials relate to environmental and eco-critical approaches in the field?

Main course components:

• Preparatory literature study (= 1 week reading and preparation in advance).
• Presentation of research questions related to ongoing research and literature (Day 1)
• Active participation during hands-on and practice-led sessions (Day 2)
• Integration theoretical and practical aspects of the course (Day 3)
• 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).

Syllabus, schedule and exact description of assignments will be made available by the end of February 2023.

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, OSK members will have first access. The number of participants is limited to 12. Deadline for application is 1 December 2022. Students will be informed about admittance no later than 8 December 2022.
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.

Instruction language: English.