CAA News Today

American Society of Hispanic Art Historical Studies

The American Society of Hispanic Art Historical Studies (ASHAHS) has announced the recipients of two annual awards, with one honorable mention, at a business meeting held during the CAA Annual Conference in February 2011. The Eleanor Tufts Award, which recognizes an outstanding English-language publication in Spanish or Portuguese art history, went to Janice Mann for Romanesque Architecture and Its Sculptural Decoration in Christian Spain, 1000–1120: Exploring Frontiers and Defining Identities (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009). In addition, the jurors selected Giles Knox’s The Late Paintings of Velázquez: Theorizing Painterly Performance (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009) as an honorable mention. The winner of the ASHAHS Photographs Grant is Kelly Watt of the University of Louisville, who is conducting research for her dissertation, “Medieval Churches on the Spanish Frontier: How Elite Emulation in Architecture Contributed to the Transformation of a Territorial Expansion into Reconquista.”

Art Libraries Society of North America

The Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) has awarded its 2010 George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award to Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles: The Mary Hunt Kahlenberg Collection (New York: DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2010). Edited by Ruth Barnes and Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, this large, beautifully produced catalogue includes stunning, detailed photographs of many rare and unique textiles and essays by expert art historians and anthropologists that seamlessly connect the history and cultural significance of these aesthetically beautiful weavings for the reader. Aimée Brown Price’s Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010) received the honorable mention. Her exceptional two-volume set includes a scholarly monograph on the artist and a catalogue raisonné of his painted works. ARLIS/NA presented the two awards at a joint conference with the Visual Resources Association, another CAA affiliated society, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 25, 2011.

Association for Latin American Art

The Association for Latin American Art (ALAA) announces the election results for its executive committee: Margaret A. Jackson of the University of New Mexico holds the office of president; Elisa Mandell of California State University, Fullerton, is the new vice president; and Paul Niell of the University of North Texas becomes secretary-treasurer. As advocates for all areas and periods of Latin American art, committee members hold office for a three-year term (2011–13).

Association of Academic Museums and Galleries

The Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) will hold its next annual conference, “Who’s Muse? Challenges to the Curatorial Profession in Academic Museums,” on May 21, 2011, at the University of Houston’s Blaffer Art Museum in Texas. Curatorial practices in academic museums and galleries are sometimes highly experimental. Faculty members from a wide variety of fields and with limited curatorial experience periodically recommend and help lead exhibition projects. The organization of exhibitions likewise engages both graduate and undergraduate students, museum-education professionals, librarians, and even area school classes in project leadership roles. Exhibitions thus generated offer unorthodox approaches to curatorial planning and execution. Appropriate to a scholarly mission, they can stretch disciplinary boundaries, cross-fertilize disciplinary methodologies, and generate wholly new paradigms for knowledge. Academic museums and galleries thus become vital centers of original research, interdisciplinary dialogue, and participatory learning. While this democratic and laboratory approach to curatorial practice contributes in significant ways to the groundbreaking research and all-important teaching missions of universities and colleges, it can also challenge conventional standards of the curatorial profession. Through the presentation of outstanding case studies and lively roundtable discussions, the 2011 conference will explore the pros and cons of the broad curatorial approaches found in academic museums and galleries.

Association of Art Historians

Art History, the flagship journal of the Association of Art Historians (AAH), has just published a special issue on “Creative Writing and Art History.” Guest edited by Patricia Rubin of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and Catherine Grant of the Courtauld Institute of Art and Goldsmiths, University of London), this collection of articles and projects considers the ways in which the writing of art history intersects with creative writing, from the creative writing of art history to dialogues between modes of creative and art-historical writing. Essays range from the analysis of historical examples of scholarship that have a creative element to presentations of contemporary modes of creative writing about art.

Association of Historians of American Art

The Association of Historians of American Art (AHAA) has announced the names of new board members: Peter John (P. J.) Brownlee of the Terra Foundation of American Art is chair (2011–12); Jenny Carson of Maryland Institute College of Art is cochair (2011–12); Elizabeth Kuebler-Wolf of the University of Saint Francis is web coordinator (2011–14); and Melissa Renn of the Harvard University Art Museums is membership coordinator (2011–14).

AHAA has named the winner of the $500 AHAA Travel Grant: Maggie Cao, a graduate student at Harvard University and a predoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She delivered a paper, “Invisible Color: Abbott Handerson Thayer and Camouflage,” in the AHAA-sponsored scholarly session, “Color and Nineteenth-Century American Painting,” at the recent CAA Annual Conference in New York.

Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art

The Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art (AHNCA) held its eighth annual graduate-student symposium in nineteenth-century art at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, on March 4, 2011. Speakers included ten doctoral candidates from the United States, France, Spain, and Switzerland. AHNCA will also hold a special event for its members this summer in conjunction with the current exhibition, Manet, the Man Who Invented Modernity, at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Association of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey

Created in honor of a dear friend and colleague, Rhonda A. Saad (1979–2010) and sponsored by donations from numerous generous individuals, the Association of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey (AMCA) has established the Rhonda A. Saad Prize for Best Graduate Paper in Modern Arab Art. The award, which aims to recognize and promote excellence in scholarship on modern and contemporary art, is offered annually to a graduate student (defined as predissertation) working in any discipline whose paper is judged to provide the most significant contribution to Middle Eastern studies and art history. Papers will be evaluated according to the originality of research and methodological approach, cogency of argument, and clarity of writing. The submission must be written in English by a single author. AMCA will award $500 to the winner at the Middle East Studies Association annual meeting in December 2011. The paper must have been produced between June 2010 and June 2011; must not exceed thirty-five pages, excluding notes and bibliography; and must not be or have ever been submitted for publication. Applicants should send their entry for the inaugural prize to info@amcainternational.org by June 30, 2011.

Historians of British Art

The Historians of British Art (HBA) recently announced the winners of its 2011 Book Prizes for publications on British art. Kevin Sharpe received the award for pre-1800, single-author book for Selling the Tudor Monarchy: Authority and Image in Sixteenth-Century England (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009). Marcia Pointon won the prize for post-1800, single-author book for Brilliant Effects: A Cultural History of Gem Stones and Jewellery (New Haven: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, in association with Yale University Press, 2010); and Elizabeth Prettejohn, Peter Trippi, Robert Upstone, and Patty Wageman received the multiauthor publication honor for J. W. Waterhouse: The Modern Pre-Raphaelite (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2009).

The HBA awarded its Publication Grant to Leon Wainwright for Timed Out: Art and the Transnational Caribbean, forthcoming from Manchester University Press in 2011. Lyrica Taylor received the HBA Travel Grant to present a paper, “Winifred Knights and Interwar Artists at the British School at Rome, 1920–1925,” at the Association of Art Historians’s 2011 conference, held at the University of Warwick, March 31–April 2, 2011.

Historians of Islamic Art Association

At its 2011 annual business meeting, the Historians of Islamic Art Association (HIAA) recognized the visionary leadership of Renata Holod as president (2008–10) and welcomed Shreve Simpson as her successor (2010–12). Members chose Sheila Canby as president-elect (to follow Simpson), and Lara Tohme became the new webmaster. HIAA also decided to separate the secretary-treasurer position, currently held by Glaire Anderson. Anderson will continue serving as treasurer, and Ladan Akbarnia will be acting secretary for 2011.

HIAA also announced the winner of its 2011 Margaret B. Sevcenko Prize in Islamic Art and Culture for the best unpublished article written by a young scholar: Silvia Armando of the Università della Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy, for her paper on “Ugo Monneret de Villard (1881–1954) and the Establishment of Islamic Art Studies in Italy.” The organization then described several new initiatives, including the establishment of the Oleg Grabar Memorial Fund and the Richard Ettinghausen Achievement Award. The venue and dates for the third biennial symposium were given: the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, October 18–20, 2012. Finally, HIAA announced plans to organize a memorial service for Grabar with the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture, which took place at Harvard University on April 23, 2011, at 2:00 PM.

International Center of Medieval Art

At its annual meeting for 2011, the International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) announced the election of new officers and a new group of directors, all to serve three-year terms. Lawrence Nees is president, Nancy Sevcenko became vice president, and Gerry Guest is secretary. Rebecca Corrie continues as treasurer. The new directors elected by the membership are Eva Hoffman, Melanie Holcomb, Charles McClendon, Elizabeth Morrison, Kirsten Noreen, Elizabeth Teviotdale, Benjamin Withers.

At the CAA Annual Conference, ICMA sponsored a well-attended and stimulating interdisciplinary session, “Medicine and Science in Medieval Visual Culture.” Organized and chaired by Jennifer Borland, the panel features papers from Megan McNamee, Kathleen Crowther, Jean Givens, Talia Avisar, and Jack Hartnell. ICMA thanks the Samuel H. Kress Foundation for a generous grant that underwrote some of the travel costs for speakers.

ICMA seeks proposals for the 2011–12 Harvey Stahl Lectureship. Named in memory of a longtime professor of medieval art at the University of California, Berkeley, the fund supports talks by distinguished scholars in any field of medieval art history, to be held at one or more locations. The precise number of venues depends on the availability of funds and the readiness of local host institutions to provide hospitality. While lectures may take place anywhere in North America, proposals that involve a venue in the Southwest (particularly New Mexico) are given priority, with the goal of having at least one event in that region every three years. Due to the current financial climate, ICMA cannot fund speakers who must travel from outside North America. Applications for the 2011–12 Stahl Lectureship should consist of a completed application form (available on the ICMA website) and CV(s) of the host(s). Please direct all lectureship proposals and inquiries to: Kirk Ambrose, Department of Art and Art History, 318 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0318. Deadline: May 15, 2011.

Italian Art Society

The Italian Art Society (IAS) has elected its new officers for 2011–13 terms: Kirstin Noreen of Loyola Marymount University is president, and Cathleen Fleck of Saint Louis University is vice president. The society also welcomes new committee members: Niall Atkinson, Jennie Hirsh, Martina Bagnoli, Sara Kozlowski, Catherine Hess, and Ian Verstegen. David Boffa, Rebekah Perry, Gilbert Jones, and Lisa Tom are members of a newly formed Graduate Student Committee. Jasmine Cloud of Temple University and Rebekah Perry of the University of Pittsburgh received 2011 Graduate Student Travel Grants to give papers, respectively, at the Renaissance Society of America’s annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec, and the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

IAS has selected Alison Luchs, curator of early European sculpture at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, to present the 2011 Italian Art Society–Kress Foundation Lecture. Her talk, entitled “The Wake of Desiderio: His Impact on Sculpture of the Late Quattrocento,” will take place at the historic Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence at 4:00 PM on June 8, 2011.

Japanese Art History Forum

The new officers of the Japanese Art History Forum (JAHF) are: John Carpenter, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, president; Monika Dix, Saginaw Valley State University, vice president; John Szostak, University of Hawai‘i, Manoa, treasurer; Alicia Volk, University of Maryland, College Park, secretary; and Asato Ikeda, University of British Columbia, graduate-student representative.

Leonardo Education and Art Forum

Leonardo Education and Art Forum (LEAF) thanks those members who organized events, panels, and meetings at the 2011 CAA Annual Conference in New York. Special thanks goes to Ellen K. Levy, who, after making significant contributions on behalf of LEAF, has rotated off as former chair. Levy and Victoria Vesna hosted a LEAF event, called “ART SCI Salon,” at the former’s studio in New York on April 9, 2011. The salon theme was “Art and Neuroscience,” and attendees participated in a Pecha Kucha–style presentation of their work.

Midwest Art History Society

The Midwest Art History Society (MAHS) recently hosted its thirty-eighth annual conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Held April 14–16, 2011, the conference was hosted jointly by Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, with additional support from the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts. The event offered twenty scholarly sessions, including special topics on the body in art, conservation, gardens as art, and public sculpture. Several featured events included an evening dialogue with the iconic American artist Jim Dine, who joined the conference at the Meijer Gardens on April 14, and a presentation by Rebecca Zorach, author of the acclaimed book Blood, Milk, Ink, Gold: Abundance and Excess in the French Renaissance (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005).

National Council of Arts Administrators

Three National Council of Arts Administrators (NCAA) members, Cora Lynn Diebler, Kim Russo, and Andrea Eis, presented a highly successful CAA Annual Conference session on the uses of social media.

The next NCAA annual meeting, entitled “Push: The Artistic Engine of Innovation,” will take place November 2–5, 2011, at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. The NCAA board seeks proposals for presentations, sessions, and/or panels for the annual Arts Administrators Workshops, scheduled for Wednesday, November 2. Initial proposals should be no more than 350 words. Topics may include but are not limited to: leadership and management; promotion and tenure; interpersonal communication; succeeding with external constituencies; budget management; personnel evaluation; personal growth; career paths; and case studies (in any area related to arts administration). Please send proposals and inquiries to Sergio Soave by May 16, 2011. Selected entries will be asked to submit a 1,000-word abstract by June 20.

Radical Art Caucus

The Radical Art Caucus (RAC) had a strong presence at the CAA Annual Conference this year. Many thanks to Benj Gerdes and Nate Harrison for chairing “Video Art as Mass Medium” and to RAC copresident Travis Nygard for organizing “Environmental Sustainability in Art History, Theory, and Practice.” RAC especially is grateful to Dan S. Wang for his hard work on the beautifully designed RAC newsletter, reaching hundreds of participants at CAA. At the annual reception, the group held a compelling discussion on academic organizing, thanks to Nayla Wren. Please help RAC continue its important discussions by joining as a member or contributing to dialogues on Facebook or the listserv. For more information, please contact Joanna Gardner-Huggett, RAC secretary.

Society for Photographic Education

The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) seeks proposals for its forty-ninth national conference, called “Intimacy and Voyeurism: The Public/Private Divide in Photography” and taking place March 22–25, 2012, in San Francisco, California. Topics, which need not be theme based, may include but are not limited to: image making, history, contemporary theory and criticism, new technologies, effects of media and culture, educational issues, and funding. The conference offers six presentation formats: (1) Lecture: presentation on historical topic, theory, or another artist’s work; (2) Imagemaker: presentation on your own artistic work (photography, film, video, performance and installation, multidisciplinary approaches); (3) Panel: a moderator-led group discussing a chosen topic; (4) Demonstration: a how-to presentation; (5) Graduate Student: short presentation of your own artistic work and a brief introduction to your graduate program (you must be enrolled in a graduate program at the time of submission); and (6) Academic Practicum Workshop: lectures and panels that address educational issues. SPE membership is required to submit; proposals are peer reviewed. Visit the SPE website for information on membership and to read the full proposal guidelines. Deadline: June 1, 2011.

Society of Architectural Historians

The sixty-fourth annual meeting of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) was held April 13–17, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Thirty thematic paper sessions presented the latest research in the history of architecture, landscapes, and urbanism. In addition, the meeting featured more than twenty-five architectural tours to the Garden District, the Lower Ninth Ward, the Make it Right Foundation neighborhood, and other notable sites and landscapes throughout the city.

SAH currently seeks abstracts of papers for the sixty-fifth annual meeting, to be held April 18–22, 2012, in Detroit, Michigan. Visit the SAH website to view the full list of sessions and to read instructions on how to submit your abstract online. A PDF describing all session is also available. Deadline: June 1, 2011.

Visual Resources Association

The Visual Resources Association (VRA) republished its Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) webpage in a new format in January 2011, after the IPR Committee completed its reorganization project. Called Resources Providing Guidance on Academic Use of Images, the section is arranged into eight sections of information about copyright and fair use that are important to the educational community. Maintenance and workability of current information and the incorporation of new resources guided this revision, and the contents have been more efficiently laid out and are easier to navigate. In other news, VRA has developed fair-use guidelines regarding the use of images in educational settings, and the IPR Committee has begun publishing a monthly news blog, called IPR in the News.