CAA News Today
New Book on the History of CAA: The Eye, the Hand, the Mind
posted by Christopher Howard — January 07, 2011
Edited by Susan Ball, executive director emerita, The Eye, the Hand, the Mind: 100 Years of the College Art Association surveys the impressive history of the organization from 1911 to the present. The 330-page hardcover book, published jointly by CAA and Rutgers University Press, can be ordered now ($29.95); it will also be available at the upcoming Annual Conference in New York—just in time for CAA’s Centennial Kickoff.
CAA was founded with a single stated purpose: “to promote art interests in all divisions of American colleges and universities.” From this humble yet ambitious origin, Ball has organized her book thematically instead of chronologically, with sixteen “purposes” from the CAA By-laws that are covered in twelve chapters. Written by artists and scholars who have worked closely with the organization over the last few decades, The Eye, the Hand, the Mind offers not a comprehensive history but rather a presentation of memorable highlights that tells the complex, contentious story of a venerable organization.
The Eye, the Hand, the Mind reviews familiar aspects of CAA. Craig Houser negotiates the long history of CAA’s dynamic publications program, which began in 1913 with the first issue of The Art Bulletin, and Julia A. Sienkewicz chronicles the evolution of the celebrated Annual Conference. Less known is CAA’s traveling-exhibition program in the 1930s, uncovered by Cristin Tierney. More recently, Ellen K. Levy explores how CAA has similarly supported presentations of artwork by its members, both students and professionals. Other authors investigate myriad other topics: developments in pedagogy and curriculum; political involvements and advocacy work; visual resources, libraries, and issues of copyright; professional support and career development; partnerships with museums and their associations; relationships to other learned societies in the humanities; governance structure and diversity matters; and much more. In the conclusion, Paul B. Jaskot anticipates the future of the organization as it enters its next one hundred years.
Ball, who served as CAA executive director from 1986 to 2006, is now director of programs at the New York Foundation for the Arts. In addition to organizing the book project, she wrote the introduction and contributed a chapter on the founding of CAA, administrative and financial matters, and the organization’s larger role in the visual arts.
The renowned artist Faith Ringgold has generously allowed the use of her lithograph, The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles (1996), for the book’s cover. She created the work, published by the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper (now the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions), as a benefit print to support CAA’s Professional Development Fellowship Program. Ringgold will be honored this year with CAA’s Distinguished Feminist Award.
Events at the Annual Conference
At the Annual Conference, CAA and Rutgers University Press are planning several events to promote The Eye, the Hand, the Mind. Judith K. Brodsky will operate a table outside Convocation, to be held at the Hilton New York on Wednesday evening, February 9, 2011, in the East Ballroom, Third Floor. Book signings with many of the contributors will take place in CAA’s Book and Trade Fair, also at the Hilton, on Thursday and Friday afternoons, February 10–11. Please check back later this month for more details on these events and more.
Table of Contents
Below is a list of the fifteen authors and their chapter titles:
- Susan Ball, “Introduction”
- Steven C. Wheatley, “The Learned Society Enterprise”
- Susan Ball, “The Beginnings: “Art for higher education, and higher education for Artists”
- Cristin Tierney, “A Stimulating Prospect: CAA’s Traveling Exhibition Program, 1929–1937”
- Barry Pritzker, “Cooperative Relationships with Museums”
- Craig Houser, “The Changing Face of Scholarly Publishing: CAA’s Publications Program”
- Julia A. Sienkewicz, “United the Arts and the Academy: A History of the CAA Annual Conference”
- Ofelia Garcia, “Mentoring the Profession: Career Development and Support”
- Ellen K. Levy, “Art in an Academic Setting: Contemporary CAA Exhibitions”
- Matthew Israel, “CAA, Pedagogy, and Curriculum: A Historical Effect, An Unparalleled Wealth of Ideas”
- Christine L. Sundt, “Visual Resources for the Arts”
- Judith K. Brodsky, Mary D. Garrard, and Ferris Olin, “Governance and Diversity”
- Karen J. Leader, “CAA Advocacy: The Nexus of Art and Politics”
- Paul B. Jaskot, “Conclusion: The Next 100 Years”
The book also includes four appendices that list CAA’s sixteen purposes, past presidents of the Board of Directors, volunteer and staff administrators, and the editors from the publications program.
Exhibitor and Advertiser Prospectus for the New York Conference Published
posted by CAA — September 14, 2010
The Exhibitor and Advertiser Prospectus for the 2011 Annual Conference is now available for download. Featuring essential details for participation in the Book and Trade Fair, the booklet also contains options for sponsorship opportunities and advertisements in conference publications.
The Exhibitor and Advertiser Prospectus will help you reach a core audience of artists, art historians, educators, students, and administrators, who will converge in New York for CAA’s 99th Annual Conference and Centennial Kickoff, taking place February 9–12, 2011. The Book and Trade Fair offers three days of exhibit time and will be centrally located at the Hilton New York, the conference headquarters hotel.
In addition, vital sponsorship packages will allow you to maintain a high profile throughout the conference. Companies and organizations may sponsor specific areas and events, such as Convocation and the Student Lounge, or work with CAA staff to design a custom visibility package. Advertising possibilities include the Conference Program, distributed to over five thousand registrants, and the conference website, seen by thousands more.
The priority deadline for Book and Trade Fair applicants is October 29; the final deadline for applications and payments, and for sponsorships and advertisements, is December 3.
Questions about the Book and Trade Fair? Contact Paul Skiff, CAA assistant director for Annual Conference, at 212-691-1051, ext. 213. For sponsorship and advertising queries, speak to Sara Hines, CAA development and marketing manager, at ext. 216.
CAA Wraps Its 98th Annual Conference in Chicago
posted by Nia Page — February 24, 2010
The College Art Association (CAA) hosted its 98th Annual Conference in Chicago, February 10–13, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The program included three days of presentations and panel discussions on art history and visual culture; career-development workshops, mentoring programs, and job interviews with colleges and universities; a Book and Trade Fair of academic and trade art publishers and artist-materials distributors; and a host of special events throughout the Chicago area.
Here are some conference highlights.
Attendance
More than 4,000 art professionals from throughout the United States and abroad—including art historians, visual artists, students, educators, curators, critics, collectors, and museum staff—were in attendance.
Sessions
Conference sessions featured presentations from art-history scholars, graduate students, artists, and curators from institutions across the country and internationally. Conference sessions address a range of topics in art history and the visual arts. In total, over 150 sessions, developed by CAA members, affiliated societies, and committees, were offered.
Career Services
Career Services included three days of mentoring and portfolio-review sessions, career-development workshops, and job interviews. Approximately 185 (mentoring only) interviewees and 26 (mentoring only) interviewers were on hand to participate in Career Services.
Book and Trade Fair
This year’s Book and Trade Fair presented 135 exhibitors, including participants from the United States, Mexico, Turkey, England, Belgium, Scotland, and the Netherlands, displaying new publications, artists’ materials, digital resources, and innovative products of interest to artists and scholars. The Book and Trade Fair also featured book signings, lectures, and art-materials demonstrations, as well as three exhibitor-sponsored program sessions on art materials and publishing.
ARTspace and ARTexchange
ARTspace, a “conference within the conference” tailored to the needs and interests of practicing artists, presented this year’s Annual Artists’ Interviews: Tony Tasset was interviewed by John Neff, and Phyllis Bramson was interviewed by Lynn Warren. Over 150 people attended this extraordinary event. Programmed by CAA’s Services to Artists Committee, ARTspace was made possible in part by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
ARTexchange, an open-portfolio event where CAA artist members displayed drawings, prints, photographs, small paintings, and works on laptop computers. Fifty-two artists participated in ARTexchange this year.
Convocation and Awards for Distinction
More than 600 people attended CAA’s Convocation and Presentation of the 2010 Awards for Distinction. The keynote address was delivered by the renowned photographer Dawoud Bey.
Recipients of CAA’s awards are as follows:
- Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement: Suzanne Lacy
- Artist Award for Distinguished Body of Work: Emory Douglas and Barkley L. Hendricks
- Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Art: Holland Cotter
- Frank Jewett Mather Award: Terry Smith
- Distinguished Feminist Award: Griselda Pollock
- Distinguished Teaching of Art Award: Dean Nimmer
- Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award: Richard Shiff
- Charles Rufus Morey Book Award: Cammy Brothers, Michelangelo, Drawing, and the Invention of Architecture
- Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Award: Debra Diamond, Catherine Glynn, and Karni Singh Jasol, Gardens and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur
- Arthur Kingsley Porter Prize: Michael Schreffler, “‘Their Cortés and Our Cortés’: Spanish Colonialism and Aztec Representation”
- Art Journal Award: Joanna Grabski, “Urban Claims and Visual Sources in the Making of Dakar’s Art World City”
- CAA/Heritage Preservation Award for Distinction in Scholarship and Conservation: David Bomford
CAA’s well-attended Gala Reception was held at the Art Institute of Chicago’s newly inaugurated Modern Wing. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, this stunning space served as the kick-off venue for the conference.
Special Events
CAA’s Annual Exhibition, Picturing the Studio, was presented at the new Sullivan Galleries of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Sold-out tours explored the riches of Chicago’s arts and architecture, from Frank Lloyd Wright to the city’s historic skyscrapers.
Save the Date
CAA’s Centennial Celebration and 99th Annual Conference will be held in New York City from February 9 to 12, 2011.
About CAA
The College Art Association is dedicated to providing professional services and resources for artists, art historians, and students in the visual arts. CAA serves as an advocate and a resource for individuals and institutions nationally and internationally by offering forums to discuss the latest developments in the visual arts and art history through its Annual Conference, publications, exhibitions, website, and other events. CAA focuses on a wide range of issues including education in the arts, freedom of expression, intellectual-property rights, cultural heritage, preservation, workforce topics in universities and museums, and access to networked information technologies. Representing its members’ professional needs since 1911, CAA is committed to the highest professional and ethical standards of scholarship, creativity, criticism, and teaching.
Exhibitor and Advertiser Prospectus for Chicago Book and Trade Fair
posted by Christopher Howard — August 06, 2009
CAA’s next Annual Conference—the foremost international forum for professionals in the visual arts—takes place February 10–13, 2010, in Chicago, Illinois. The Windy City’s dramatic architectural skyline, world-renowned museums and galleries, and ultracosmopolitan Michigan Avenue provide the setting for an exciting gathering of more than four thousand artists, art historians, curators, critics, educators, and students.
An exhibit booth in the Book and Trade Fair can reach this active and distinguished group. The fair, which annually hosts more than one hundred publishers, art-materials manufacturers, and providers of art-related programs and services, will be centrally located within the conference. With three days of exhibit time, the Book and Trade Fair offers high visibility and high floor traffic for exhibitors.
In addition, an advertisement in conference publications—which include the Conference Program, Abstracts, Convocation Booklet, and Directory of Attendees—can also reach a wide audience for your publications, products, and programs.
Full details are available in the Exhibitor and Advertiser Prospectus. For questions about exhibits, please email Paul Skiff, CAA assistant director for Annual Conference, or call him at 212-691-1051, ext. 213. Interested in advertising? Contact Sara Hines, CAA marketing and development assistant, by email or at 212-691-1051, ext. 216.
Conference Book and Trade Fair Exhibitors
posted by Christopher Howard — February 17, 2009
CAA has announced the list of exhibitors who will be present in Los Angeles for this year’s Book and Trade Fair. Taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center during the 97th Annual Conference, the Book and Trade Fair hosts more than one hundred major college and university publishers, leading trade publishers, and trend-setting independent presses.
The largest national and international art-materials manufacturers and distributors, as well as highly specialized companies with unique products for studio artists, will show their products and wares. Also on hand are a handful of contemporary art journals.
The fair continues to attract a wide array of diverse organizations providing professional services to the visual arts, including programs of advanced study, specialized associations, advanced-degree programs, and independent exhibition services.
At the CAA booth, you can purchase copies of the highly anticipated directories of graduate programs in the arts: Graduate Programs in Art History and Graduate Programs in the Visual Arts. Stop by to browse these publications, talk with CAA staff members, and learn more about CAA’s programs and services.
The Book and Trade Fair in Los Angeles is open for three days: Thursday, February 26, and Friday, February 27, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM, and Saturday, February 28, 9:00 AM–2:30 PM. The 2009 sponsors are ARTstor, Blick Artist Materials, Prestel Publishing, Saskia Ltd./Scholars Resource, the School of Visual Arts, and SlideRoom.