CAA News

The first decade of the twenty-first century has given rise to new possibilities, new questions, and new challenges. With continued globalization and technological innovation, new platforms for human interaction and exchange have emerged. Simultaneously, we have witnessed an increase in terrorism, an energy crisis, and global economic instability. These problems have generated heated political debate about how we should best prepare for the future. Can we continue to employ the same solutions that worked in the past, or must we fundamentally change the way that we understand and approach these issues? How will this decade be remembered in the future?

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of ARTspace and the Centennial of CAA, the Services to Artists Committee invites artists to submit action-based works that respond in some way to the first decade of this new millennium. These performance works, to be collectively presented as Times, Interludes, and Action, will be displayed in the form of video documentation in the ARTspace Media Lounge at the 2011 Annual Conference in New York.

To be considered, please submit the video that you would like to include; or you may submit a written proposal for a work not completed, along with a portfolio. Please also send your artist statement, résumé, and contact information.

Email submissions limited to three or fewer works are preferred. Video may be sent either as a small email attachment (5 MB or less) or as a link to a website. Please send your submission to both Jeffrey Bird and Joseph Meiser. If an emailed submission is not possible, you can send a CD or DVD along with hard copies of your documents to: Joseph Meiser, Dept. of Art and Art History, Art Bldg., Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837. Deadline for emailed proposals: October 1, 2010. Mailed items must be postmarked by September 24, 2010.

Each month, CAA’s Committee on Women in the Arts produces a curated list, called CWA Picks, of recommended exhibitions and events related to feminist art and scholarship from North America and around the world.

The CWA Picks for August 2010 include two exhibitions of folk art: works by American women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries presented at the American Folk Art Museum in New York, and by contemporary practitioners from around the world, displayed at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Columbia College Chicago is hosting a panel of five women at the forefront of gaming theory and practice, called “3G Summit: The Future of Girls, Gaming and Gender.” Lastly, closing this month at the Guggenheim Museum in New York is an exhibition devoted to the art-education practices of Hilla Rebay, the first curator and director of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting.

Check out past CWA Picks archived at the bottom of the page, as exhibitions highlighted in previous months are often still on view.

CAA’s Committee on Women in the Arts (CWA) has inaugurated a new section of the CAA website, called CWA Picks. Each month, the committee will produce a curated list of exhibitions, conferences and symposia, panels, lectures, and other events related to the art and scholarship of women.

The CWA Picks for July 2010 include an exhibition of prints by June Wayne in Washington, DC; screenings of films by Sally Potter at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and a forum on women working in glass art in Seattle. In addition, all five exhibitions in the CWA Picks for June are still on view.

CAA’s Committee on Women in the Arts (CWA) has inaugurated a new section of the CAA website, called CWA Picks. Each month, the committee will produce a curated list of exhibitions, conferences and symposia, panels, lectures, and other events related to the art and scholarship of women.

Read the just-published listings for June 2010, which include Show of Hands: Northwest Women Artists 1880–2010 at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington, and Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The two exhibitions in the CWA Picks for May are still on view.

CAA invites nominations and self-nominations for individuals to serve on juries for the annual Awards for Distinction for three years (2010–12). Terms begin in May 2010; award years are 2011–13. CAA’s twelve awards honor artists, art historians, authors, curators, critics, and teachers whose accomplishments transcend their individual disciplines and contribute to the profession as a whole and to the world at large.

Candidates must possess expertise appropriate to the jury’s work and be current CAA members. They should not be serving on another CAA committee or editorial board. CAA’s president and vice president for committees appoint jury members for service.

Nominations and self-nominations should include a brief statement (no more than 150 words) outlining the individual’s qualifications and experience and an abbreviated CV (no more than two pages). Please send all materials to: Vice President for Committees, c/o Lauren Stark, Manager of Programs, CAA, 275 Seventh Ave., 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Materials may also be sent to lstark@collegeart.org; all email submissions must be sent as Microsoft Word attachments. Deadline: April 16, 2010.

The following jury vacancies will be filled this spring:

• Charles Rufus Morey Book Award: 2 members
• Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Award: 3 members
• Arthur Kingsley Porter Prize: 2 members
• Art Journal Award: 2 members
• Frank Jewett Mather Award: 1 member
• Distinguished Teaching of Art Award: 1 member
• Distinguished Feminist Award: 2 members
• Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Art: 2 members
• CAA/Heritage Preservation Award: 2 members

No jury members are needed for the Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award, the Artist Award for a Distinguished Body of Work, and the Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement.

CAA invites nominations and self-nominations for two members-at-large to serve on the Publications Committee for a three-year term, July 1, 2010–June 30, 2013.

Candidates must possess expertise appropriate to the committee’s work. Museum-based arts professionals with an interest and experience in book, journal, or museum publishing and those with experience in digital publishing are especially encouraged to apply.

The Publications Committee is a consultative body that advises the CAA Publications Department staff and the CAA Board of Directors on publications projects; supervises the editorial boards of The Art Bulletin, Art Journal, and caa.reviews, as well as CAA’s book-grant juries; sponsors a practicum session at the Annual Conference; and, with the CAA vice president for publications, serves as liaison to the board, membership, editorial boards, book-grant juries, and other CAA committees.

The committee meets three times a year, including once at the CAA Annual Conference; members pay travel and lodging expenses to attend the conference. Members of all committees volunteer their services to CAA without compensation.

Candidates must be current CAA members and should not serve concurrently on other CAA committees or editorial boards. Applicants may not be individuals who have served as members of a CAA editorial board within the past five years. Nominators should ascertain their nominee’s willingness to serve before submitting a name; self-nominations are also welcome. Appointments are made by the CAA president in consultation with the vice president for publications.

Please send a letter of interest describing your interest in and qualifications for appointment, a CV, and contact information to: Vice President for Publications, c/o Alexandra Gershuny, CAA, 275 Seventh Ave., 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Materials may also be submitted to agershuny@collegeart.org. Deadline: April 15, 2010.

The following individuals have been appointed to serve on CAA’s nine Professional Interests, Practices, and Standards Committees for 2010–13. New committee members begin their terms this week at the 2010 Annual Conference in Chicago.

Committee on Diversity Practices: Kevin Concannon, University of Akron; and Zoya Kocur, New York University. Renée Ater of the University of Maryland, College Park, was appointed chair, taking over Jacqueline Francis’s term.

Committee on Intellectual Property: Scott Contreras-Koterbay, East Tennessee State University; Karen Kelly, Dia Art Foundation; Doralynn Pines, Metropolitan Museum of Art (retired); Caitlin Shey, lawyer and consultant, New York; and Christine Sundt, University of Oregon. Kenneth Cavalier, a lawyer based in British Columbia, becomes committee chair.

Committee on Women in the Arts: Richard Meyer, University of Southern California; and Maura Reilly, independent curator, New York.

Education Committee: Teresa Lenihan, Loyola Marymount University; Cindy Maguire, Adelphi University; and Brian Seymour, Community College of Philadelphia.

International Committee: Richmond Ackam, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; and Beth Steffel, California State University, San Bernadino.

Museum Committee: Janet Marstine, Seton Hall University; and Nancy Mowll Mathews, Williams College Museum of Art.

Professional Practices Committee: James Hopfensperger, Western Michigan University; Morgan T. Paine, Florida Gulf Coast University; and Susan Waller, University of Missouri, St. Louis. Charles Wright of Western Illinois University has been appointed committee chair.

Services to Artists Committee: Sharon Louden, artist; Vesna Pavlovic, Vanderbilt University; and Cindy Smith, artist and independent scholar. Brian Bishop of Framingham State College has accepted a one-year extension as committee chair.

Student and Emerging Professionals Committee: Amelia Winger-Bearskin, Vanderbilt University.

A call for nominations to serve on these committees appears annually in the July and September issues of CAA News and on the CAA website. CAA’s president, vice president for committees, and executive director review nominations in December and make appointments that take effect the following February.

For more information about the Professional Interests, Practices, and Standards Committees, please write to Vanessa Jalet, CAA executive assistant.

Aristotle once remarked, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Interviewing well is one such skill that is built not only through sheer practice, but also with constructive feedback.

With this in mind, CAA’s Student and Emerging Professionals Committee will help you polish your interview style and tailor your comments appropriately during two events at the 2010 Annual Conference in Chicago. Both sessions will be held on Thursday, February 11, in the Student and Emerging Professionals (SEP) Lounge, found in the Wrigley Room, West Tower, Bronze Level, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

The first event is a morning lecture and discussion about interviewing techniques, where you can learn how to perfect an “elevator speech.” The second is a special afternoon panel devoted to practice interviews, conducted by seasoned CAA members. Both are moderated by Daniel Larkin, administrative assistant, Friends of Materials for the Arts; and Niku Kashef, artist and adjunct instructor, California State University, Northridge, and Woodbury University. Details are below.

Interviewing Strategies: Interview Techniques and Perfecting Your Elevator Speech
Thursday, February 11, 9:15–10:15 AM
This panel discussion will be an honest and frank discussion on interviewing techniques, focusing on gauging and adapting to the cues of the interviewer, appropriate levels of intellectual detail, and how to keep your “elevator speech” crisp.

Mock Interview Session
Thursday, February 11, 1:00–4:00 PM
These fifteen-minute mock interviews will allow conference attendees to practice interview questioning and techniques, applying what was learned in the morning session. CAA volunteer interviewers include art-history professors, studio-art professors, artists, and more. To schedule an interview, please call Daniel Larkin at 646-246-5497 between 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM (any day of the week). Please note that interviews will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Students and Emerging Professionals Committee looks forward to dynamic discussions and hopes you can join us. If you have questions about these events, or about the committee itself, feel free to contact Daniel Larkin at the phone number listed above.

CAA’s Student and Emerging Professionals Committee seeks volunteers for a series of mock fifteen-minute interviews at the 2010 Annual Conference in Chicago. If you are a seasoned professional and are interested in helping a younger colleague hone his or her interview technique, please contact the session moderator, Daniel Larkin of Friends of Materials for the Arts.

The practice interviews, which allow participants to practice their elevator speech and keep listening skills sharp during a face-to-face interview, will be held between 1:00 and 4:00 PM on Thursday, February 11, in the Student and Emerging Professionals Lounge at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Mary-Ann Milford-Lutzker is CAA’s vice president for committees. She is also professor of Asian art history, Carver Chair in East Asian Studies, and provost and dean of the faculty at Mills College in Oakland, California.

In line with CAA’s practice to update regularly its Standards and Guidelines for professional practices in the fields of art and art history, the Board of Directors approved three revised guidelines for art historians and a new one for academic art administrators at its meeting on October 25, 2009. This work was carried out by four task forces, established by CAA’s president Paul B. Jaskot and executive director Linda Downs, that were overseen by the Professional Practices Committee.

Professional Practices for Art Historians

Authentications and Attributions (2009): The task force appointed by President Jaskot established the need for a stand-alone and separate document for art historians regarding authentications and attributions of works of art. It was determined that no other issue is more urgent for, and its consequences so specific to, the welfare of the profession than dealing with inauthenticity and false attributions. Not only is the integrity of artists and collections at stake, but the economic well-being of art historians who engage in trying to separate the false from the true is also endangered.

Information about authentications and attributions formerly appeared in A Code of Ethics for Art Historians and Guidelines for the Professional Practice of Art History.

Guidelines for Curatorial-Studies Programs (2009): A growing number of colleges and universities across the country have instituted programs in curatorial studies. The revisions for the document, first published in 2004, are intended to help art departments and administrators organizing curricula and to aid faculty advisors and students determining which curatorial-studies programs are appropriate for an individual’s specific interests, abilities, and career goals.

Standards for Retention and Tenure of Art Historians (2009): This guideline, last revised in 2005, has been amended to embrace community and two-year colleges. Inclusion of community colleges into these standards will make this document relevant for art-history faculty who attempt to achieve the highest stands of professional practices in such institutions. It will also help to validate the objectives of professionals who have few peers to support them in their efforts to improve the practice of art history at their institutions.

Professional Practices for Academic Art Administrators

Standards and Guidelines for Academic Art Administrators (2009): This document will serve as a resource for emerging, new, and current academic art administrators, as well as benefiting other CAA members seeking guidance regarding the role of academic art administrators operating in a visual-arts context. The task force was made up of administrators from diverse geographical regions and varied professional experiences that included program directors, chairs and division heads, directors of schools of art, associate deans, deans, and vice presidents.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank all the members of the four task forces (listed respectively on the webpages of their Standards and Guidelines), who worked together to revise and create these Standards and Guidelines. In particular I want to acknowledge the work of Maxine Payne, chair of the Professional Practices Committee, who so diligently worked on all this material and encouraged each task force along the way.