CLARK ART INSTITUTE RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC PROGRAM FELLOW PRESENTS LECTURE ON MONOGRAPHS IN THE DIGITAL ERA

September 18, 2019

Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Tuesday, October 1, at 5:30 pm, Mellon Network Fellow and Assistant Professor of Art History at Emory University Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi presents “Mapping Senufo: Rethinking the Scholarly Monograph in the Era of Digital Publication.” The lecture will be held in the Clark’s auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center, and is free and open to the public.

The lecture explores what published research on African arts once considered “traditional” might look like if scholars integrated theories about the construction of identities and the politics of knowledge production into their work. Mapping Senufo—an in-progress, collaborative, born-digital publication project that Gagliardi initiated and now co-directs with Constantine Petridis—offers a model for joining such theories with research and publication practice. The contingent nature of identities, art style labeling, and knowledge production are exemplified in its form.

Gagliardi’s scholarship draws on extensive fieldwork in West Africa as well as archival research and object-focused study in Africa, Europe, and North America. Her first book, Senufo Unbound: Dynamics of Art and Identity in West Africa (2015), accompanied a major international exhibition on West African arts also called Senufo.

The next Research and Academic Program lecture is Jessica Horton’s “Earth Diplomacy: Diné Arts of Reciprocity, 1966–1968” on Tuesday, October 29, at 5:30 pm.

ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 275,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm; open daily in July and August. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; EBT Card to Culture; and Blue Star Museums. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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