Conference 2014 – Call for papers

September 2013
ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS
Center for Iconographic Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka
announces

Eighth Conference of Iconographic Studies

CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY IN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART

Rijeka, June 04 – 06, 2014

Organizers:
Center for Iconographic Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka
The Cultural Iconology and Semiography Research Group, University of Szeged
Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade
The Institute for the Study of Culture and Christianity, Belgrade
Visual Art Department, University of Johanesburg

in association with:

Department of Art History, Iconology Research Group
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Department of Art History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
Department of Cultural Heritage of the Church, Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Church, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome

This conference seeks to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue as well as to continue the cycle of sessions for scholarly discourse on significant subjects in iconographic studies. The Eighth conference seeks to explore the complex web of interactions between Christianity and modern and contemporary art and visual representations (including fine arts, literature, film and multimedia) through interdisciplinary approach.

Religion, religious narratives and religious institutions grow in their significance in our contemporary world. In many of its manifestations modern/contemporary art has been engaged in a dialogue with Christian tradition, its iconography and symbols. We come across a variety of approaches in modern and contemporary art: in some cases artists re-interpret religious motifs, in new media and techniques, while in other cases they critically examine Christianity, sometimes using even blasphemy and assault to transmit their massage.

The themes and subjects for discussion include (but are not limited to) the following:
– traditional Christian iconography in modern/contemporary art
– Christian origin of the “sacred” and “spiritual” quality in high modernism
– modern/contemporary religious art
– icons and postmodern images
– the new canon of iconographic subject matter – traditional versus revolutionary
– individualized and “personalized iconography” – specific artistic interpretations
– blasphemy
– problems in depictions and interpretations of images
– relation between art and its spatial frame
– Christian art and kitsch
– Christian (religious) art and politics
– relationship between religion and image – are there limits?
– traditional iconography in different art forms (visual, verbal, multimedial)

It is our objective to offer an insight into the development of iconographic studies and related disciplines, and to reflect upon their potential development within the Humanities.
The conference is also a possibility to inform scholars, students and others interested in the field, of the recent research developments in the studies.

Paper proposals should be submitted to:

Center for Iconographic Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Rijeka
Sveucilisna avenija 4 or by e-mail to: cis@ffri.hr
51 000 Rijeka
Croatia
phone: –385 51 265776

A paper proposal should contain:
full name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address
title
abstract (maximum 2 pages)

Deadline:
February 15, 2014

NO registration fee

Travel expenses and acomodation ARE NOT COVERED.
Administration and organizational costs, working materials, lunch and coffee breaks during conference as well as all organized visits are covered by the organizer.

Please contact us for any additional information.
web page: http://ikon.ffri.hr

Award by CAAH

Marina Vicelja Matijasic received annual award for the contribution to the Art History in Croatia from the Croatia Association of Art Historians!

nagrada-dpuh

The Museum of Russian Icons announcment

The Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts and its peer-reviewed Journal of Icon Studies (http://www.museumofrussianicons.org/research/)is pleased to announce the publication of its first three articles:
Engelina S. Smirnova, “’Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker with Angels and Miracles’ A New Image of Saint Nicholas of Myra in Russian Art of the 16th Century (Icon from a Private Collection in London)”

The icon discussed in this paperrelates to a rare variation of Russian depictions of St Nicholas. In medieval Russia St Nicholas was depicted in various iconographic variations in which were reflected how the saint was venerated. Some types of depiction which had come from Byzantium and were modified on Russian soil did not have special names.Our icon appears to be an example of a rare Russian iconographic type so far unidentified, absent from scholarly literature,and whose special characteristics havenot until this time been described.

Clemena Antonova,“Visuality among Cubism, Iconography, and Theosophy:
Pavel Florensky’s Theory of Iconic Space”

This paper considers the little known influence of Theosophical notions of visuality
on Pavel Florensky’s theory of iconic space. What is probably the most insightful aspect of Florensky’s position on the pictorial space of the medieval image appears in his essay “Reverse Perspective” (1919). But these ideas cannot be understood outside his Theosophically-derived notions of vision in an even earlier work, Smysl idealizma (The Meaning of Idealism, 1914). The close connection between the two texts has not yet been noticed, but the importance of the icon for Florensky lies exactly in its ability to provide a model of vision at a higher level of existence.

Henry Hundt and Raoul Smith “A Teratological Source of Hellhead”
A group of 17th century Russian icons of the Resurrection and Descent into Hell have an interesting depiction of Hell. It is a creature with a face that is human-like but with an opening on the top of its head from which the righteous exit Hell. We have found what we think is the source for this creature, which we call Hellhead, in a medieval Russian novel about Alexander the Great called Aleksandriya.

The Journal of Icon Studies is seeking submissions in the study of religious icons from the development of icons in the Byzantine period to the modern era, in all areas of iconology and iconography, including the fields of art history, literature, religion, spirituality, comparative studies, conservation and related fields. Submitted articles are reviewed as soon as received and published as soon as accepted by the reviewers.
Guidelines for submission are available at http://www.museumofrussianicons.org/research/index.php/publications/journal-of-icon-studies/publication-guidelines/what-we-publish/.
For further information, feel free to call
978.598.5000 ext. 24 or to email research@museumofrussianicons.org.

Conference 2013 – Call for papers

Rijeka, September 2012
– CALL FOR PAPERS
Seventh International Conference of Iconographic Studies
Iconology at the Crossroads
Rijeka, May 23 – 24, 2013

Organizers:
Center for Iconographic Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka
Department of Art History, Iconology Research Group
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Cultural Iconology and Semiography Research Group, University of Szeged
Index of Christian Art, Princeton University

This conference seeks to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue as well as to continue the cycle of sessions for scholarly discourse on significant subjects in iconographic studies. The conference presentations will deal with different subjects concerning “Iconology” paraphrasing the famous Princeton conference of 1990 “Iconography at the Crossroads”.

The themes and subjects for discussion are as follows:
– Iconography vs. Iconology today
– was there a turning point?
– new perspectives in Iconology
– methodology in Iconology
– Iconology and History and Art History
– problems in pictorial depictions through history
– how are images to be interpreted?
– relationship between text and image
– are there limits?
– new iconographic/iconological interpretations

One of the objectives also is to give a survey of the development of the discipline(s) and to explain the directions of its turbulent persistence within Humanities.
The conference is also a possibility to inform scholars, students and others interested in the field, of recent research developments in the studies. The conference papers will deal with methodological approaches within Iconography and Iconology – new methods, new concepts and new scholarship stress the need for interdisciplinary approaches in research which are resulting in altered interpretations of the meaning of images.

Paper proposals should be submitted to:
Maja Brajkovic or by e-mail to:
cis@ffri.hr
Center for Iconographic Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Rijeka
Sveučilisna avenija 4
51 000 Rijeka
Croatia
phone: +385 51 265776

A paper proposal should contain:
1. full name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address
2. title
3. abstract (maximum 2 pages)

Deadline:
December 15, 2012
NO registration fee
Travel expenses and accomodation ARE NOT COVERED.
Administration and organizational costs, working materials and excursion are covered by the
organizer.
Please contact us for any additional information.
web page:
ikon.ffri.hr

Iconology Old and New – Announcement

September 2012, ANNOUNCEMENT
Center for Iconographic Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Rijeka
The School of History and Pasts Inc. of Central European University, Budapest
The Cultural Iconology and Semiography Research Group, University of Szeged
announce

ICONOLOGY OLD AND NEW
Transregional Conference on the Move – Croatia and Hungary, 2013

Organizers: Marina Vicelja (Rijeka), Attila Kiss (Szeged) and
György E. Szönyi (Szeged and Budapest)
in association with:

Barbara Baert (Leuven)
Nadia al-Baghdadi (Budapest)
Colum Hourihane (Princeton)

Part One: May 23-24 (Thursday-Friday) – University of RIJEKA
Seventh International Conference of Iconographic Studies – Iconology at the Crossroads
Invited keynote speakers: Xavier Barral i Altet (Venice), Hans Belting (Karlsruhe), Michael Ann Holly (Williamstown USA), Colum Hourihane (Princeton), Bianca Kühnel (Jerusalem), Alexei Lidow (Moscow)

Part Two: May 28-29 (Tuesday-Wednesday) – CEU, BUDAPEST
Current Theoretical Interfaces: Iconicity, Semiotics, Historicity
Invited keynote speakers: Massimo Leone (Torino), WJT Mitchell (Chicago), Roland Posner (Berlin)

Part Three: May 29-31 (Wednesday evening-Friday) – University of SZEGED
European Iconology East &West 5: Cultural Imageries of Body and Soul – Intermedial Representations of the Corporeal, the Psychic and the Spiritual
Invited keynote speakers: Barbara Baert (Leuven), Ivan Gerat (Bratislava), Marina Warner (Essex; NYU, Abu Dhabi), Rowland Wymer (Cambridge)

Each part is independent, applicants can join them separately or in combination.
Send your application 1/ indicating your name and affiliation; 2/ with an abstract of max. 150 words to

Marina Vicelja for the Rijeka part and to György E. Szönyi for the Budapest and Szeged programs.

First application deadline is 1 December 2012, however early contacts are most encouraged.
Continuously updated information will be available on the conference website:
www.sites.google.com/site/transregionaliconology/