Bodies Re-formed: Materiality, Transformation and the Performative
The body, along with its visual representations, has been a central communicative vessel throughout history. The fluidity of bodily movement allows for instant transformative changes from one pose to the next, which can be interpreted according to a specific set of meanings. This highly constructed performance articulates cultural understandings of the Self and society at large.
The interaction of the body with clothing or other materials complicates the dynamic visual language of physical movement. Entwined in careful choreography, the two elements merge into a third entity. Separately, the body and its materials invoke certain associations, but together the two combine to form a distinct set of meanings. Devoid of familiar postures and orientations, the body’s new movements and dimensionality are suggestive of something beyond the mundane. This interaction is crucial to the creation of a performative act, a representation that is dependent on the relationship between both components.
A Call for Papers for this conference is avaliable here.
Call for Papers: Visual Intersections 3
The Centre for Visual Arts and Culture, Durham University and Leverhulme Durham Doctoral Training Programme in Visual Culture invites scholars and early career researchers to submit their papers for Visual Intersections 3
11-13 of July 2018 in Durham, United Kingdom
The Centre for Visual Arts and Culture presents the third in a series of Summer Schools which brings scholars together to explore the interdisciplinary nature of visual culture and exchange current ideas and approaches in the field.
We welcome proposals from researchers working in a wide range of disciplines, including art, history, anthropology, philosophy, archaeology, sociology, management, business, economy, computer science, chemistry, physics, and psychology, among others.
We invite proposals for short contributions (maximum of 20 minutes in the form of presentations, demonstrations, participatory engagements or other presentation styles) on any aspect of visual culture pertaining to the following:
- Constructions of Knowledge, Identity and Memories
- The Sacred and the Profane
- Politics of Visual Culture
- Materiality of Vision
- Landscapes and Experiences
- Visual Methodologies and Interdisciplinarity
- Critical Approaches to Visual Evidence
The summer school provides an open and welcoming intellectual space in which postgraduate and early career researchers can explore current issues in visual culture. Invited speakers include Professor Michael Crang (Durham University); Dr. Mark Westgarth (Director of the Centre for the Study of the Art and Antiques Market, University of Leeds) and Neil Taylor (TAP Architects, Edinburgh). Presentations will be complemented by workshops aimed at enhancing visual research methodology skills. The event will also include tours of Durham architecture, Durham Castle, Ushaw College and a drinks reception at the Oriental Museum.
Application process
The closing date for proposals is 28.02.2018. Please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words, including 5 keywords, and a one-page CV. Submissions and queries should be directed to visualintersections@gmail.com. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission within two weeks of the closing date.
For more information on the Centre for Visual Arts and Culture, please refer to our website https://www.dur.ac.uk/cvac
CVAC@DURHAM 
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