21 Feb 2012

Symposium Rethinking Robert Smithson, The Hague

On the occasion of the new publication Robert Smithson: Art in Continual Movement Alauda Publications proudly presents the symposium Rethinking Robert Smithson about the legacy of the artist Robert Smithson (1938–1973) and its relevance for contemporary artistic practices. Along the line of two thematic approaches related to Smithson's practice, Art and Ecology and The Cinematic Condition, topical concerns in artistic practice are reconsidered by internationally renowned theorists and artists.

In many ways, the artistic debates prevalent in the 1970s are recurring in our time: the relation between art and ecology, the position of the artist within a information and media society and the crisis of (neo)liberalism. Although the societal context and diameters of these discussions have changed profoundly, their basis can be found in the period from 1965 to 1975, considered a paradigmatic shift in art and society. But how well do we actually know our immediate past and what can we learn from it? Smithson's artistic heritage provides an interesting and relevant case study in this respect. Rethinking Robert Smithson aims to open up a discussion about current concerns in art and theory at the intersection of art historical debate and contemporary art practice.

Contributors: Ann Reynolds (Associate Professor, Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas, Austin, author of Robert Smithson: Learning from New Jersey and Elsewhere, 2003), T.J. Demos (art historian, UCL, London), Sabeth Buchmann (Professor of the History of Modern and Postmodern Art, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna), Ian White (curator and artist, London), Nils Norman (artist, London), Maja and Reuben Fowkes (curators and art historians, Budapest/London), Gail Whiteman (Professor of Sustainability, Management and Climate Change, Erasmus University, Rotterdam), among others.

The symposium is organized by Alauda Publications (Ingrid Commandeur) in cooperation with Leiden University Institute for Cultural Disciplines (LUICD).

Partners:
Department of Artists' Theories and Artistic Practice, Royal Academy of Art (KABK)
Lectoraat Art & Public Space, Gerrit Rietveld Academie

The symposium is generously supported by Leiden University Institute for Cultural Disciplines (LUICD), Leiden University Fund (LUF) and Mondriaan Fund.

For the complete program and registration, please visit www.alaudapublications.nl/

Book Presentation at the symposium
Robert Smithson: Art in Continual Movement
Alauda Publications, 2012
Edited by Ingrid Commandeur and Trudy van Riemsdijk-Zandee
ISBN: 9789081531481 | Price: € 39,95
Authors: Max Andrews, Eric C.H. de Bruyn, Stefan Heidenreich, Sven Lütticken, Anja Novak, Vivian van Saaze
Design: Esther Krop

This book deals with the contemporary relevance of Robert Smithson's oeuvre. His seminal Land Art work Broken Circle/Spiral Hill (Emmen, The Netherlands, 1971) is treated as a case study which opens up to a number of topics, still relevant in contemporary art: 'Models of Spectatorship', 'Art and Ecology', 'Documentation', 'Museum, Media, Society' and 'The Cinematic'. The theoretical part is being completed with 'A Living Archive', which brings together for the first time a complete selection of archival material related to the work – ranging from photographs, film scripts and drawings to original manuscripts and letters – spread over different archives in the Netherlands and the US.

Available in bookshops from mid-March or order online.