The State of the Real



An Interdisciplinary Conference



Glasgow School of Art, UK



21-22 November 2003



Keynote address: Prof. Linda Nochlin, New York University *



"How real can you get?"

The conference organisers propose a debate on the subject of 'the real' in
aesthetic philosophy, criticism and practice.

"When is representation not real?"

Recent years have seen notions of reality discussed in the open. What
relationship do current views developed by this discourse have with those
tenets of realism and representation that once provided the foundation for
aesthetic study? What are the philosophical consequences of the introduction
of technologies that increasingly blur the boundaries between art and
popular culture? What is the effect of aesthetic culture on Realpolitik?
What has happened to the notions of social realism, verisimilitude, and the
imaginary? Are they still relevant, and how have they been changed, if at
all?

"Reclaiming the real."

The organizers are also interested in how notions of reality are affected
by, and continue to affect, aesthetic practice in the fields of art, design,
and media production. With the popularity of haptic technologies, what has
happened to ^real haptics? How do practitioners and academics view older
technologies in the light of their electronic avatars? With the development
of notions of virtual space, what has happened to our understanding of the
body, the mind, and corporeal space?

The organisers particularly welcome proposals on, or dealing with, the
following related subjects:

Reality and realism in Art & Design History; New media technologies
Virtual Reality, CGI photography and cinema, the Internet, haptic
technologies; Modernity and Post-modernity/Modernism and Post-modernism;
Philosophies on ^the real in popular culture; Philosophy and art/design and
cultural practice; Reality television, realism in film.

Proposals for panels (no more than three papers) and workshops are also

welcomed.



Deadline for abstracts: 22 April 2003



Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words to:

'The State of the Real',

Dept. of Historical and Critical Studies,

Glasgow School of Art,

167 Renfrew St,

Glasgow,

Scotland, UK.

G3 6RQ.



Abstracts may be sent by email to real@gsa.ac.uk.