Week 12: 3rd – 9th December
This week I attended my first conference as a post graduate researcher. The title of the conference was Charming Intentions: Occultism, Magic and the History of Art and promised papers ‘ranging from the material culture of ‘primitive’ animism, through medieval and Renaissance depictions of witchcraft and demonology, to the contemporary fascination with the supernatural in popular culture.’
Attending conferences
The event had been organised by PhD candidates in the Department of the History of Art at Cambridge University. It’s worth noting that most graduate departments support their students in attending and organising conferences, as this is a good indicator of proving that the student is producing publishable work as part of awarding the PhD.
To this end, graduate departments also allocate pots of funding to each student to contribute towards travel, accommodation and conference fees. The procedure for applying is pretty straightforward and generally involves stating how the conference is relevant to your research. Although I didn’t know the specific papers that would be presented, the overall theme seemed so fitting to my project, and the fact that it was a presentation by art historians added a new element.
Interpretation and the History of Art
The thing I found interesting about talking to the art historians was their seemingly strict adherence to time periods, even choosing to ignore more recent methodologies of interpretation, in favour of the ones that were used at the time of making. On the one hand, it appeared to be a more accurate way of interpreting the meaning of an object, through relating it to the beliefs of its intended audience. However, I wondered if applying new ways of thinking about supposedly universal human traits would open up new avenues of research. In fact, a little more digging around after the conference produced just that evidence in the forms of Bruce Holsinger and Lacan’s Medievalism.
Thankfully, as an artist, I’m not bound by such restrictions, and as I wasn’t speaking at the event, I had chance to relax and take in all the amazing presentations. Despite its broad interests, the event was well structured, with papers arranged according to time periods and subject matter. It also managed to create a relaxed and informal ambience, which made me feel more at home, despite the new experience.
Alchemical imagery
The keynote speaker was Dr Urszula Szulakowska, who presented a paper on her research into alchemical imagery, particularly in relation to how images of the Virgin Mary had been subverted in order to progress an alchemist agenda. Although the premise seemed somewhat sinister, Szulakowska suggested that, in fact, the reappropriation of religious imagery was not heretical at all, but instead contributed to a new connection between science and religion.
The sessions continued in this manner, with strong links to myth making and symbolism through explorations of ritual, sacrifice and fetish. Despite earlier preconceptions about the interpretation methods used by the speakers, I was pleased to hear occasional references to philosophic and psychoanalytic theory such as Jacques Derrida’s Trace, Julia Kristeva’s Abjection and concepts of the ‘Fold’ by Giles Deleuze.
Inspiration
I found inspiration for my artwork from almost all of the presentations, but I particularly enjoyed the ones relating to text on objects designed to convey blessings through food, which led to an interesting thought process about eating words. I also enjoyed the Surrealism section, as it provided a more recent example of the way in which artists were reappropriating magical thinking and exploring the relationship between materiality and efficacy in ritual objects.
I also had the pleasure of meeting a lot of knowledgable and interesting people, not least of which were a specialist in Surrealist Artist Books based at the University of Cambridge, as well as the founder of The Cambridge Centre for the Study of Western Esotericism.
