This June, renowned film scholars and art historians will join together for the international conference The Mediatization of the Artist. The aim of this event is to investigate the presence of the visual artist in a variety of (popular) media from the nineteenth century to today. With the rise of notions of artistic autonomy and the simultaneous demise of old systems of patronage, artists increasingly found themselves confronted with the necessity of developing a public image. Simultaneously, new audiences for art discovered their fascination for the life and work of the artist. The rise of new media – the illustrated press, photography and film – meant that the needs of both parties could be easily satisfied with both words and images. This led to a transformation of the artist from a mere producer of works of art into a widely recognized celebrity. The mechanisms of this transformation and its consequences for the both the popular image and self-understanding of the artist will be the focus of the papers, discussions and screenings that will take place over two days at two spectacular locations in Amsterdam.

Program

Thursday, 19 June – EYE Film Institute

9:30 Registration

10:00 Introduction Rachel Esner / Sandra Kisters

(1) The Artist on Film

10:15 Screening: Schaffende Hände: Drahtplastiken. Alexander Calder (Hans Cürlis, 1929)

10:35 Pierre Saurisse, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London

Creative Process and Magic: Artists on Screen in the 1940s

10:55 Steven Jacobs, Ghent University

Things, Paintings, Artists, and Films: Magritte by Luc de Heusch

11:15 Discussion

11:30 Coffee / tea break

12:00 Screening: De Werkelijkheid van Karel Appel (Jan Vrijman, 1962)

12:20 Angela Dalle Vacche, Georgia Institute of Technology

Alain Resnais’ Life-Like Van Gogh versus Vincente Minnelli’s Vivification

12:40 Marcel Bleuler, University of Bern

In Bed with Marina Abramović. Mediatizing Women’s Art as a Personal Drama

13:00 Discussion

13:15 Lunch

(2) The Artist in the Popular Media

14:15 Screening: Traum des Bildhauers (c. 1907-1910)

14:30 Joke de Wolf, Groningen University

Laughing with Nadar: Caricatures on Photography and the Arts in the Journal Amusant (1856-65)

14:50 Laura Bravo, University of Puerto Rico

The Myth of the Artist in Children’s Illustrated Literature

15:10 Discussion

15:30 Coffee/ tea break

16:00 Screening: (Fragment) Love is the Devil. Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (John Maybury, 1998)

16:15 Marco de Waard, Amsterdam University College

Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio and the Aesthetic Regime of Art

16:35 Niharika Dinkar, Boise State University / Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin

Mythologies of the Artist in Modern India: The Many Lives of Raja Ravi Varma

16:55 Discussion

17:15 drinks

Friday, 20 June – Bethaniënklooster

9:30 Registration

10:00 Introduction Rachel Esner / Sandra Kisters

(3) The Artist in the (Illustrated) Press

10:15 Screening: Ceux de Chez Nous (Sacha Guitry, 1915)

10:35 Alain Bonnet, Université Pierre Mendès France (Grenoble 2) / LAHRA

Art and Artists in the Magasin Pittoresque (1833-1914)

10:55 Lieske Tibbe, Radboud University Nijmegen

Success Stories and Martyrologies: Images of Artists in Elsevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandschrift around 1900

11:15 Discussion

11:35 Coffee / tea break

12:05 Poppy Sfakianaki, University of Crete

Artists’ Confessions to Tériade in L’intransigeant, 1928-29: The Construction of the Public Image of the Artist through Illustrated Interviews

12:25 Elise Noyez, VU University Amsterdam

With the Artist’s Blessing: Photographs of Artists as Publicity Material

12:45 Discussion

13:00 Lunch

(4) Artists’ Self-Mediatization

14:00 Beatrice von Bismarck, Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig

Be on Show! Publicity’s Imperative and Artistic Self-Representation

14:20 Tutta Palin, University of Turku

Media Strategies of Female Artists in Inter-War Finland

14:40 Discussion

15:00 Coffee / tea break

15:30 Herwig Todts, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

“Les épisodes de la vie d'artiste intéressent beaucoup. Ensor and Artistic Identity

15:50 Stephanie Marchal, Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Gustave Courbet’s Self-Mediatization

16:10 Discussion

16:30 Closing remarks

Practical Information

When: 19-20 June 2014

Where:

Thursday, 19 June – EYE Film Institute, IJpromenade 1, Amsterdam

Friday, 20 June – Het Bethaniënklooster, Barndesteeg 6b, Amsterdam

Costs:

€ 50 regular / € 25 students (includes lunch, coffee/tea, drinks)

The number of places is limited and a pre-paid reservation is required.Payment method: Please make your payment to: University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Humanities, Deutsche Bank, De Entree 99, 1101 HE Amsterdam,

IBAN: NL75DEUT0446604208 / BIC DEUTNL2N, mentioning R.2023.0008: Conference Mediatization

The registration fee includes admission to all sessions, coffee, lunch and afternoon refreshments

All participants are kindly requested to register by sending an e-mail to icg-fgw@uva.nl mentioning Registration Conference Mediatization.