CALL FOR PAPERS - Round Table on Public Art in the Balkans
American Research Center in Sofia and Institute of Balkan Studies/Center of Thracology
CALL FOR PAPERS
ROUND TABLE: Public Art in the Balkans from the Roman Empire until Yesterday: intentions, interpretations, controversy.
The Balkans are filled with displays of Public Art, displays and expressions of the deeds, accomplishments, sorrows, identity, and values of leaders, cities, nations and empires. Displays of Public art in the Balkans were introduced by the Romans and their Byzantine, Medieval, Ottoman heirs continued to embellish cities and countryside alike with the "art of empires". In the 19th and 20th centuries, Public Art reflects nation-building, political alliances and ideology, while art installed after 1989 ranges from explicitly anti-Socialist sentiment to experiments in an uncertain world. Public art in the Balkans does not go unnoticed and is frequently the subject of controversy.
The ARCS/IBS-CT organizing committee seeks papers that address the theme of Public Art in the Balkans globally or locally, synchronically or diachronically. Papers may address any aspect of this broad subject, including but not limited to:
- Original context and meaning – agents, historical background, setting, style and iconography
- Regional comparison (from city to city, province to province, country to country)
- Links between exemplars of Public Art from different periods
- Role and re-interpretation of Public Art in later periods
Please send an abstract of no more than 300 words in English to:
Eric C. De Sena, Director
American Research Center in Sofia
Abstract deadline is January 31, 2013 with notification of a decision shortly thereafter. The Round Table, scheduled for March 14, 2013, is open to senior and junior scholars, including PhD students.
