Symposium, The Work of Art in Critical Times

How can the work of artists and curators be effective in critical times ? What are the various cultural, political and environmental values of art today and are such values in conflict ? This symposium, hosted by the Department of Art at Falmouth University, seeks to explore these concerns with a keynote speech delivered by art historian, writer and broadcaster Michael Bird, based on his book 100 Ideas that Changed Art (2012).

The symposium is open to all with an interest in the topic. Additionally, for anyone interested in masters study at Falmouth University, there will be the opportunity to speak to MA award leaders in the Department of Art.

Friday, 8 March 2013*

17.30: Registration
18.00: Keynote Speech by art historian and writer, Michael Bird
19.00: Book signing by Michael Bird, complimentary buffet, bar and social time
20.30: Close

*Subsidised accommodation will be available at our Tremough Campus, Penryn for £15.00 per night per person and will include transport to and from the Woodlane Campus for the symposium.

Keynote Speech – ‘The world come to my place’: a short history of transformation
What happens when you dispense with historical and critical categories – with terms like Renaissance or Expressionist – in thinking about art history? The emphasis shifts from theory to practice, to a more dynamic relationship between technological developments and abstract ideas. In this talk Michael Bird proposes an alternative route through 30,000 years of art in which, in different ‘critical times’ of technological and social evolution, art has not only mirrored such changes but been an essential element in the process.

Michael Bird is an author, art historian and broadcaster. He has written extensively on modern British art, including monographs on Sandra Blow (2005) and Bryan Wynter (2010), and The St Ives Artists: A Biography of Place and Time (2008). His book on the sculptor Lynn Chadwick is due out in 2014. Michael regularly presents features on BBC radio and has created exhibition scripts for major museum projects, including the award-winning redevelopment of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter. He is a visiting lecturer and MA supervisor at Falmouth University. This talk is based on his book 100 Ideas that Changed Art (2012).  Signed copies will be available to purchase after the talk for £18.00 (RRP £19.95).

Saturday, 9 March 2013

09.30: Registration with tea and coffee
10.00: Welcome

The sessions below will be delivered in three parallel strands, hosted by award leaders: Dr Daro Montag – MA Art & Environment; Kate Southworth – MA Curatorial Practice; and Rob Gawthrop – MA Fine Art: Contemporary Practice. Visiting speakers will deliver on some sessions including: partners from Tate St Ives; Newlyn Art Gallery & the Exchange; Bergit Arends – Curator of Contemporary Art, Natural History Museum; James Marriott – Co-Director of PLATFORM; and artist David Cross – one half of the duo Cornford & Cross.

10.15: Session 1
11.30: Break
12.00: Session 2
13.00: Lunch
14.00: Session 3
15.00: Plenary
15.30: Break and social time.

There will also be the opportunity to speak to the award leaders of MA Art & Environment, MA Curatorial Practice and MA Fine Art: Contemporary Practice should you be interested in learning more about postgraduate study at Falmouth. Interviews for a place if you have made an application can also be arranged.

17.00: Close

Dr Daro Montag
An international leader in his field, Daro’s work concerns the integration of art with contemporary ecological thinking and real world issues. His work on art and climate change led to his being invited to participate in the 2009 Cape Farewell expedition to the Peruvian glaciers and rainforest. In 2002 he was awarded the prestigious L’Oreal Art-Science prize in Tokyo, and has also worked with the Institute of Animal Health, the Met Office and Deutsche Bank. He leads the RANE research group at Falmouth University.

Kate Southworth
Kate is an artist whose work is informed by net art, distributed networks, healing, protocols and curating. In 2007 Kate organised the Disrupting Narratives conference at Tate Modern, which brought together some of the world’s leading media artists, theorists and researchers. In 2011 she organised the Arts Council England-funded Digital Debates series of seminars across the South West, and January 2013 sees the next phase of her Arts Council England-funded Electronic Village Galleries project.

Rob Gawthrop
Rob is an artist, musician, researcher, writer, lecturer, external examiner and PhD supervisor. He practises primarily in a live context using sound, film and installation. He has performed widely including Manchester Cornerhouse, Tate Modern and Dundee Contemporary Art and is a member of the collective School of Noises. Thunder and Lightning was published in Reverberations: Aesthetics and Politics of Noise (Continuum 2012). He has been at Falmouth since 2010 and was previously Director of Art at Dartington College of Arts.

Open-day symposium – evening event: The Work of Art in Critical Times
5:30pm to 8:30pm, 8 March 2013

Falmouth Campus, Falmouth University, Woodlane, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4RH

17.30 – 20.30, Friday 8 March – evening event
09.30 – 17.00, Saturday 9 March – day event

www.falmouth.ac.uk