The Grapevine

Petrine Archer, 1956-2012: Scythed too soon

ap's avatarActive Voice

petrine

The Caribbean is in mourning at the sudden passing of one its small group of art historians, Dr. Petrine Archer-Straw. Not many of us knew that she suffered from sickle cell disease which literally allowed the grim reaper to scythe her yesterday, on the eve of her 56th birthday. I didn’t know her closely, but we both wrote about art and sometimes found ourselves in the same forum, as in 2002 at the Documenta11 platform on Créolité and Creolization in St Lucia. Our views on art and culture often diverged but i will miss her meticulously kept blog which chronicled most art events worth recording in Jamaica. Her entries were brief, to the point and allowed you to get a quick sense of whatever it was she was documenting.

Interestingly in a recent posting she found herself confronted by the freewheeling  visual prodigy Peter Dean Rickards, who challenged her description…

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PUB: The Slave in European Art. From Renaissance Trophy to Abolitionist Emblem

esther schreuder's avatarEsther Schreuder

The Slave in European Art: From Renaissance Trophy to Abolitionist Emblem

Edited by prof. Elizabeth McGrath (Warburg Institute) and prof. Jean Michel Massing (University of Cambridge)

Warburg Institute Colloquia, 20

(Editors: Jill Kraye and Charles Burnett)

The Warburg Institute – Nino Aragno Editore (London and Turin, 2012)

This volume explores the imagery of slaves and enslavement – white as well as black – in early modern Europe.

Long before the abolitionist movement took up the theme, European art abounded in images of slaves – chained, subjected, subdued figures. Often these enslaved figures were meant to be symbolic, for slavery was widely invoked as a metaphor in both religious and secular contexts. The ancient Roman iconography of triumphalism, with its trophies and caryatids, provided a crucial impetus to this imagery, particularly for Renaissance artists who developed their own variations. Here the use of classical models had a peculiar force, since nudity…

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JOB: Assistant Professor, Africa and the Diaspora @ Rollins College

The Department of Art and Art History seeks an Assistant Professor of Art History, tenure track, to teach the visual culture of Africa and the Diaspora, in any geographical and chronological periods. Ph.D. and teaching experience required; scholarly productivity expected. Primary area of expertise may be in either Africa or the Diaspora, but the successful candidate must be able to teach in both areas. Especially welcome are applicants with interests in interdisciplinary teaching, the development of courses addressing cross-cultural themes, and international experiences. Preference will be given to applicants with a background in internationalization, community engagement, and/or digital humanities. Opportunities exist for participation with the college’s Cornell Fine Arts Museum, The Africa/African-American Studies Program, and nearby Eatonville. Rollins supports teaching and scholarship that addresses developing countries. Duties include curriculum development, advising, and other service to the department and to the college. Please include cover letter, statement of teaching philosophy, and CV listing at least 3 referees. Finalists will be contacted about submitting letters of recommendation. Review of applications will begin November 28, 2012 and will continue until position is filled.

Applicants should apply on the college’s Human resources page: https://www.rollinsjobs.com/. The search committee chair is Dr. Kimberly Dennis, kdennis@rollins.edu.

JOB: Arts of Africa and the African Diaspora – Tenure-Track @ Wellesley College

The Art Department at Wellesley College seeks candidates for a full-time tenure-track position in the Arts of Africa and the African Diaspora at the rank of Assistant Professor.  Candidates should have a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching and a demonstrated record of scholarly excellence. The position demands an interest in teaching at all levels of the curriculum, as well as active participation in the department’s team-taught introductory course. The teaching load is four courses per year. Collegiality and service on both departmental and college-wide committees, and a strong connection to the Africana Studies Department, is expected. Candidates should have received the Ph.D. by July 1, 2013.

Wellesley is a women’s college and one of the leading undergraduate liberal arts colleges in the United States.  The Art Department includes majors in Art History, Architecture, Studio Arts, Media Arts and Sciences, is closely allied with Cinema and Media Studies, and it enjoys exchange programs with MIT, Brandeis University, and the Olin College of Engineering.

Wellesley College is an EO/AA educational institution and employer.  The College is committed to increasing the diversity of the college community and the curriculum.  Candidates who believe they will contribute to that goal are encouraged to apply.

Applicants should send, electronically, a letter of application that describes their teaching and research interests, a CV, and a pdf of a publication or writing sample to: https://career.wellesley.edu. We ask for three letters of recommendation (The online application will request names/email address so that recommenders or dossier services may submit the letters directly.)  The application must be received by December 14, 2012. If circumstances do not allow you to submit materials through our on-line application system, please email us at working@wellesley.edu.

EXH: Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive @ The Walther Collection

Distance and Desire
Encounters with the African Archive
Part II: Contemporary Reconfigurations

The Walther Collection presents Part II of Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive, a three-part exhibition series curated by Tamar Garb. Contemporary Reconfigurations offers new perspectives on the African photographic archive, reimagining its diverse histories and changing meanings. The exhibition centers on photography and video by African and African American artists who engage critically with the archive through parody, appropriation, and reenactment.

Carrie Mae Weems introduces the themes of Contemporary Reconfigurations with her powerful series “From Here I Saw What Happened And I Cried,” a revision of nineteenth and twentieth-century anthropometric photographs of African Americans, overlaid with texts by the artist. Sammy Baloji and Candice Breitz rework ethnographic photographs onto large-scale collages. Zwelethu Mthethwa and Zanele Muholi examine sexuality, costume, and ritual. Samuel Fosso and Philip Kwame Apagya create exuberantly staged studio portraiture, using elaborate backdrops and sets to critique stereotypes and identities.

Sabelo Mlangeni’s black and white photo-essay, “Imbali,” documents the reed dances of KwaZulu-Natal, showing the display of virgins vying to be chosen as brides. Pieter Hugo’s series “There’s a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends” examines ethnicity and skin tonalities through anthropological mug shots. Working in video, Berni Searle performs as a statuesque deity engaged in domestic labor in “Snow White,” and Andrew Putter gives an indigenous voice to the effigy of Marie van Riebeeck, wife of the first Dutch settler in the area known today as Cape Town, in “Secretly I Will Love You More.”

For this group of artists, a stereotype or ethnographic vision in one era may provide material for quotation, irreverent reworking, or satirical performance in another. Illustrating how the African archive — broadly understood as an accumulation of representations, images, and objects — figures in selected contemporary lens-based practices, the exhibition stages a dialogue between the distance of the past and the desiring gaze of the present.

Contemporary Reconfigurations will be on view from November 30, 2012 to March 9, 2013.
Opening Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 12pm-6pm

The Walther Collection Project Space
526 West 26th Street, Suite 718
New York, NY 10001

http://walthercollection.com/#/main@nyspace_main

FEL: Graduate Fellowship @ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is
announcing a new interdisciplinary arts and humanities initiative, called
“Seeing Systems,” which focuses on the study of vision and technology.

The Seeing Systems program is inviting applications from students to pursue
their graduate studies at UIUC for the 2013 academic year in a range of
programs, including in art history, media and cinema, and African-American
studies. Fellowships include a $20,000 per year stipend, as well as a
waiver of tuition and campus fees.

For details and applications procedures see:
http://publish.illinois.edu/seeingsystems/

FEL: Three Fellowships @ The Center for Jewish History

The Center for Jewish History, one of the foremost Jewish research and
cultural institutions in the world, is now accepting applications for three
competitive academic fellowships:

NEH Fellowship for Senior Scholars
The Center for Jewish History offers a single fellowship to a senior
scholar through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The
awards support original research at the Center in the humanities, including
but not limited to Jewish studies, Russian and East European studies,
American studies and Germanic studies, as well as musicology, linguistics,
anthropology, sociology and history. Applications are welcome from college
and university faculty in any field who have completed a PhD more than six
years prior to the start of the fellowship and whose research will benefit
considerably from consultation with materials housed at the Center.
Fellowships carry a stipend of up to $50,400 for a period of one academic
year. Fellows are expected to conduct original research at the Center,
deliver at least one lecture based on the research conducted, actively
participate in the scholarly community at the Center, acknowledge the
Center and NEH in all publications resulting from research completed during
the fellowship and submit a report upon completion of the fellowship
describing the experience. For more information about the fellowship and
complete application instructions please visit: http://www.cjh.org/p/36.

Applications for the 2013-2014 fellowship are Due December 3, 2012
Continue reading “FEL: Three Fellowships @ The Center for Jewish History”

JOB: Visiting Associate Professor or Visiting Professor @ Case Western Reserve University and The Cleveland Institute of Art

ENDOWED JOINT VISITING PROFESSORSHIP IN ART AT

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY/THE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART

http://www.case.edu/

Case Western Reserve University and The Cleveland Institute of Art are pleased to announce a joint recruitment effort to fill the Champney Family Professorship in Art at the level of Visiting Associate Professor or Visiting Professor. This is a one-year position with the possibility of renewal for up to two additional years.

Neighbors located in University Circle, a square-mile park comprised of world-class cultural, educational, and medical institutions, CWRU and CIA are seeking a dynamic visual artist of national/international reputation able to make a substantial contribution to the studio and art history programs at both institutions and to build new connections between them.  We envision this as a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership in the visual arts. Specialties might include, but are not limited to, digital media, film, installation art, painting, sculpture, and video. Applicants, who may hold the MFA and/or MA/PhD, will be judged according to the following criteria:

1)   A strong commitment to working with students at the college/university level.

2)   A distinguished record of creativity as an artist.

3)   Knowledge in a related field of art history, especially recent theories and practices of art.  Preference given to candidates with recognized scholarly activity as an art historian, critic, and/or curator. Interest in non-Western, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural art forms, as well as global issues is welcome.

4)   The ability to teach introductory and advanced studio courses to art students in a four-year professional program, as well as a range of courses to university undergraduates and to graduate students enrolled in Art History. CWRU’s MA and PhD programs in Art History are designed to train curators, scholars, and museum professionals and are offered in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art.

5)   Professional commitment to fostering collegial learning environments and creative collaborations between and within the CWRU and CIA communities.

6)   Candidates must be in full-time residence for the duration of the appointment.

7)   Candidates at the visiting associate level will demonstrate broad professional recognition; candidates for appointment to visiting professor will require a significant artistic professional presence on the national or international level. Rank commensurate with experience.

Applications should include a letter of interest detailing qualifications and proposed contributions to each institution, CV/resume, and the names and contact information (email addresses and telephone numbers) of three references. Candidates must also provide a portfolio of works created since 2005. The maximum file size of the complete application cannot exceed 12 mb. Alternatively, candidates may provide a direct URL link to the requested visual material, but the letter of application and CV/resume must be sent electronically.

For full consideration, send the completed application with the subject line “Champney Search” by January 11, 2013 to Associate Dean Molly W. Berger at molly.berger@case.edu.

In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to Equal Opportunity and Diversity.  Women, veterans, members of underrepresented minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Case Western Reserve University provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity at 216-368-8877 to request a reasonable accommodation. Determinations as to granting reasonable accommodations for any applicant will be made on a case-by-case basis.

CFP: Photography as Witness: Power and Politics, the charged landscape of the 21st century

EXTENDED DEADLINE EXTENDED DEADLINE
NEW DEADLINE: DECEMBER 14, 2012

Call for Participation in a Juried Exhibition

Photography as Witness: Power and Politics, the charged landscape of the 21st century

Exhibition: January 25 through March 9, 2013

This exhibition seeks artists whose photographic practice interrogates contemporary issues, and documents our global conditions and challenges. Technology has extended our awareness of events taking place around the world from the Arab Spring, the Occupy Movement to the ongoing poverty caused by corporate greed, corrupt governments, criminal organizations, and religious and tribal violence. These challenges affect the two-third of the world, emergent nations and under-reported regions of the West. It is the witnessing of the devastation of humanity and the environment that moves us to action.

For submission guidelines go to: http://www.geneseo.edu/galleries/photography-witness-juried-exhibition

Other Historians’ Perspectives on the Emancipation Proclamation

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Donald R. Shaffer's avatarCivil War Emancipation

Not surprisingly, other historians are weighing in on the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. Here is what I’ve come across so far. No doubt there is more to come. Readers: feel free to send me links to any other essays of this sort you come across.

Eric Foner, “The Emancipation Proclamation at 150: Abraham Lincoln’s turning-point” (in The Guardian). Some good thoughts on the Emancipation Proclamation from the dean of Reconstruction historians. I appreciate that Foner reminded me that the Preliminary version had a last overture to the slave states to accept gradual compensated emancipation.

Allen Guelzo, “How Lincoln Saved the ‘Central Idea’ of America” (in the Wall Street Journal). A nice piece from the most prominent proponent of the Emancipation Proclamation’s centrality in freeing the slaves. Still, I respectfully disagree with Guelzo on the practicality of returning contrabands to slavery had there been…

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