Contemporary Art and History of the Arts: Anachronisms, References and Documents, 2010

Symposium, 2010 November 9

Contemporary Art and History of the Arts
Anachronisms, References and Documents

Many contemporary practices have grown up like rhizomes and as the philosophers Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari have observed modalities of thought and creative action are no more organized inside a hierarchical system, but as horizontal practices with no centre, opening up to alternative methodologies of interrogating painting, cinema, philosophy, science, language…

In the light of such changes, we believe that the relationship of students to contemporary art may serve as an appropriate approach to teaching the history of art. Out of the academies, such change may take place in social infrastructures, art organizations or alternative collective learning places. Students can thus meet and interact with artists and audiences, making possible the circulation of ideas to interrogate different fields of thought and to open up the examination of non-hierarchical modes of expression. The key focus of the symposium is related to the changes we can implement, from our professional relationships to the world around us – either by rectifying an oversight, or by providing fresh insights.