News

Conference in Paris and Los Angeles, Winter 2018.

Circulating Crafts: Art, Agency, and the Making of Identities (1600-2000)

January 24th 2018: Workshop at La Colonie, Paris

February 21st 2018 : CAA 2-parts Session in Los Angeles

Organized by Yaëlle Biro, Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Noémie Étienne, Bern Universität/Visiting Professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Circulation and imitation of cultural products are key factors in shaping the material world – as well as identities. Many objects or techniques that came to be seen as local, authentic and typical are in fact entangled in complex transnational narratives tied to a history of appropriation, imperialism, and the commercial phenomenon of supply and demand.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, artists and craftspeople in Europe appropriated foreign techniques such as porcelain, textiles, or lacquers that eventually shaped local European identities. During the 19th century, Western consumers looked for genuine goods produced outside of industry, and the demand of Bourgeois tourism created a new market of authentic souvenirs and forgeries alike. Furthermore, the 20th century saw the (re)-emergence of local “Schools” of art and crafts as responses to political changes, anthropological research, and/or tourist demand. This multi-part conference will explore how technical knowledge, immaterial desires, and political agendas impacted the production and consumption of visual and material culture in different times and places. A new scrutiny of this back and forth between demanders and suppliers will allow us to map anew a multidirectional market for cultural goods in which the source countries could be positioned at the center.

PART 1 Workshop “Circulating Crafts”

January 24th 2018, La Colonie, 178 boulevard Lafayette, 75010 Paris

PART 2. Conference Panels “Art, Agency, and the Making of Identities (1600-2000)”

February 21st 2018, CAA, College Art Association, Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015