Event Details
Kurt Schwitters in England - Authenticity, Reproduction, Simulation
University of Chester in conjunction with the Littoral Arts Trust
July 10 - 11 2009
As part of a wider discourse this conference will draw artists and scholars into a discourse and stimulate new areas of research into the legacy of Kurt Schwitters in England. The conference will be accompanied by an exhibition of international artists which references the authenticity and authorship of artworks which reference political and ethical considerations, conservation and curation.
In 1966 Richard Hamilton took the initiative to save Kurt Schwitters Merzbarn, which was Schwitters final work prior to his untimely death in 1947. This work was the final manifestation of processes of construction, collage, assemblage and collection, and ultimately exile, following his escape from Germany and subsequent internment. The Merzbarn relief wall was in danger of deterioration and loss in the damp conditions of the studio-barn wherein it was constructed at Elterwater in the Langdale Valley. The interior relief wall in the gable end of the building is now housed at the Hatton Gallery at the University of Newcastle.
At the Littoral Arts Trust convened conference “Kurt Schwitters in England” in 2004 Richard Hamilton proclaimed his desire to remake the Merzbarn relief in a similar way to how he had refabricted Marcel Duchamp’s The Bride Stripped Bare by her Batchelors, Even or The Large Glass (1915 - 1923), the original was damaged in transit to New York. Duchamp subsequently sanctioned replicas in 1961 and 1966. Hamilton’s replica work was completed with the blessing, guidance and close-collaboration of Duchamp himself. Duchamp’s practice since he abandoned painting and signed a urinal ‘R. Mutt’ and titled it Fountain followed the first ready made in 1915. These were editioned as reproductions themselves. Ever since this subversive act notions of authorship and authenticity have been problematised.
The invention of photography and its emergence as an art-form, itself a form of appropriation of people, places and objects, has opened the way for further debates related to authenticity, reproduction and simulation. The painter Ed Ruscha has referred to his bookworks since 1962 with the publication of Twentysix Gasoline Stations as ‘readymades in photographic form’.
Since the time of the Renaissance the artist was supported by apprentices who worked on their paintings and sculptures – a tradition which continues with the ‘fabrication’ of artworks which are too well known to name.
Call for Papers and selected artworks
This conference invites calls for papers and selected artworks for an associated exhibition, which address and challenge the above issues directly or as a point of departure. The Schwitters orientated strand moves away-from and back to Hamilton’s proposition to refabricate the Merzbarn relief. Academic papers and artist talks are welcomed which challenge and question the above propositions. Contributions are invited for: panel topics to be confirmed according to submissions (2-4 speakers) & individual papers (20 minutes + 10 minutes for discussion)
Send us your abstract before the deadline if you require an early response. We strongly recommend this option for overseas participants who may need to book flights.
Please send proposals (500 word abstract) by Friday May 15th 2009 to:-
Dr Cian Quayle
email: cquayle@chester.ac.uk
We prefer email submissions but you can also post your abstract to:
Dr Cian Quayle
Re: Conference
Department of Fine Art
University of Chester
Kingsway Buildings
Chester CH2 2LB
Spadeadam, UNITED KINGDOM