CALL FOR PAPERS
ISEAS Conference
The Culture of Value and the Value of Culture:
The Socio-economic Life of Southeast Asian Art
1-2 July 2010
Singapore
The production of art is a political, ideological and economic activity. It can only be properly comprehended within the political economy of artists, the state, private or public funders, auction houses, academics, critics, patrons and audience-consumers. This conference seeks to examine how this political economy shapes the economic value, cultural capital, and artistic importance of Southeast Asian art. It will examine what the late Pierre Bourdieu termed ‘cultural intermediaries’ who are responsible for the politics of inclusion and exclusion of Southeast Asian art, as well as the forces which inform these politics.
From nationalism to global market demands, such forces have been vital to the presentation and representation of Southeast Asian art. It is thus important to untangle and examine the exertions of such forces as well as the agents enacting them for a clearer understanding of the culture of value and the value of culture embedded in the region’s contemporary and civilisational art forms.
In contrast to the vibrancy of contemporary Southeast Asian art or the civilisational importance of ancient Southeast Asian artifacts, very little scholarly work has been invested in the sociological and economic investigation into the production of the region’s art. This conference seeks to:
Define and understand the political economy within which contemporary and civilisational art forms are produced, presented, represented and consumed.
Examine the politics of inclusion and exclusion enacted by cultural intermediaries.
Provide fertile avenues for further research into Southeast Asian art.
Abstracts should fit into one of the conference themes below:
Conference Themes
1. Art and National Histories
Why and how are art works and civilisational artifacts presented as synonymous with national histories? How do their presentations privilege the interests of the ruling elite?
2. The Role of Cultural Intermediaries
The press, critics and academics are often key players in the ‘myth of discovery’ whereby previously unknown artists plucked from the abyss of obscurity by a discerning critic or patron, and presented to the appreciative world. What are the politics of inclusion and exclusion? What are the selection criteria?
3. The Economics of Art
Auction houses and art galleries are key players in the network of art production and distribution. What are the political and ideological forces which determine economic value? What sells, what doesn’t?
4. The Policies of Art
The cultural policies define the place and role of art in a nation’s trajectory. What roles have Southeast Asian governments accorded art in their nation-building projects, and have their policies been successful?
5. The Production of Art
Practitioners and artists are located in specific locations in the political economy. What are the power relations they face with the state and other cultural intermediaries? How do they negotiate these power contours?
6. The Consumption of Art
How does art challenge modes of consumption? How do artists and intermediaries question and challenge commonly held assumptions about commerce, mass media, consumer society and even art itself?
Abstracts of not more than 250 words should be submitted to the conference convenors below.
The deadline for abstract submission is 15 January 2010.
Conference convenors:
Mr Ben Loh, Research Associate: benloh@iseas.edu.sg
Dr Terence Chong, Fellow: terencechong@iseas.edu.sg
