History of Art

Conference: Making in Two Modes

University College Cork and Crawford Art Gallery,

15-16 September 2010

‘Though working at the outset on non-linguistic substances, semiology is required, sooner or later, to find language (in the ordinary sense of the term) in its path… [T]here is no meaning which is not designated, and the world of signifieds is none other than that of language.’

Roland Barthes: Elements of Semiology (1968)


‘Types of order are forms of thought.’

Mel Bochner: ‘The Serial Attitude’ (1967)


This conference seeks to explore the work of practitioners, from the Romantic period to the present day, who both write and make visual art. Such concurrent ‘making in two modes’ raises significant questions regarding the relationship of text to image, and of both to different forms of thought. It is now frequently acknowledged that the material and visual dimensions of writing are crucial to its effects, and that vision is threaded through with language. But the question remains as to whether visual art and literature embody different styles of thinking, or at least configure thought differently. If both practices are involved in a kind of world-building, with each governed by its own formal structures, laws, modes of relation, and species of content, what is the relationship between these different ‘worlds’ when they share the same maker? Is it possible to explore the meaningfulness of each one equally, without language (as commonly understood) intervening to provide the master explanatory code? How can we discuss artists’ writings and visual artworks together without folding the means of one into the means of the other? Lastly, is it possible to construct a coherent history for the ways in which the stakes of this dialogue have shifted over time? How far is the nature of these problems determined by historical circumstance, and how far do they transcend (or at least partially abstract themselves from) such determinations? Papers are welcomed from literary scholars, art historians, philosophers, cultural theorists and practitioners.

The conference is organised with a view to publishing a selection of the accepted papers.

Keynote Speakers:   Prof. Michael Newman (Goldsmiths and Art Institute of Chicago), Prof. Graham Parkes (University College Cork).

The conference is generously supported by UCC's School of History.

Conference Fees: 40 euro / 20 euro students and concessions. To book a place, please email l.lenihan@ucc.ie. Payment can be made by cheque (payable to UCC), or in cash when you register for the conference in September.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Liam Lenihan,
History of Art / English,
T: +353 (0)21 490 2124
E: l.lenihan@ucc.ie

Dr. Ed Krcma,
History of Art,
T: +353 (0)21 490 3926
E: e.krcma@ucc.ie