[spectre] (fwd) CFP: The sculptural in the (post-) digital age (Munich, 1 July 2020)

[Andreas Broeckmann]

Betreff: 	Das Skulpturale im (post-)digitalen Zeitalter
Datum: 	Mon, 24 Jun 2019 10:54:02 +0100
Von: 	Mara Johanna <mara.koelmel at googlemail.com>


Symposium: "The sculptural in the (post-) digital age"

1 July 2020 (Central Institute for Art History, Munich)

Submission deadline: 21 July 2019

Digital technologies have profoundly impacted the arts expanding the 
field of sculpture and the sculptural. A number of theoretical 
approaches discuss the implications of so-called 'Aesthetics of the 
Digital', referring above all to screen-based phenomena. Art history, 
however, continues to pay little attention to sculptural works that are 
conceived and 'materialized' using digital technologies. This is 
surprising given that computers became an artistic medium in 1950s, CNC 
technology was used as early as the 1960s and 3D scanning and printing 
processes in the 1980s. The symposium aims to discuss current research 
perspectives on historical and contemporary sculptural phenomena, and in 
particular how digital technologies configure the understanding of 
sculpture and the sculptural.

The following questions serve as guidelines and outline the topics to be 
discussed: How are concepts of monumentality and site-specificity 
altered, when sculptures easily circulate as files online and can be 3D 
printed at any time? If artists now model their sculptures with 
software, how can we make sense of their spatiality, plasticity and 
materiality? When an object can no longer be grasped based on a tactile 
sense, but via the sense of sight, which modes of perception are 
addressed? How can we think of an object that arises from an algorithm 
and appears as pixels on a screen without sharing the same spatial 
conditions as the viewer? How do we experience objects that only become 
visible through a QR code or app? What ontological status do such 
computer-aided works possess that can be experienced both physically 
(for example 3D printing) and virtually (on screen)? How can we 
interpret concepts of authorship in times of digital coproduction and 
artificial intelligence? Which forms of participation or interaction 
does the respective interface address? How does this experience affect 
the "aesthetic border”? Through systematic, interdisciplinary and 
historical examination, the symposium aims to contribute to discussions 
on sculpture and the sculptural in the age of (post-) digital. Its goal 
is to advance reflections on the artistic medium for our technological 
present.

The symposium will take place on 1 July 2020 at the Central Institute 
for Art History in Munich and is organised by Ursula Ströbele (Study 
Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Central Institute for Art 
History, Munich) and Mara-Johanna Kölmel (Institute for Art History and 
Philosophy, Leuphana University, Lüneburg).

We invite proposals for presentations of 30 minutes in German or English 
(max 2000 characters, including spaces), a short CV and the contact 
address until July 21, 2019 to U.stroebele at zikg.eu and 
mara.koelmel at googlemail.com. The conference language is German and 
English. Participants will be reimbursed for accommodation and travel 
expenses in the amount of a second-class or economy-class train or plane 
journey within Europe, subject to funding approval. We ask our speakers 
to prioritize traveling by train.

Contact person: Ursula Ströbele (ZI München) und Mara-Johanna Kölmel 
(Leuphana Universität, Lüneburg).