For Immediate Release
October 11, 2023
CLARK ART INSTITUTE RESEARCH AND
ACADEMIC PROGRAM PRESENTS CONFERENCE
ON AFRICAN ART IN EUROPEAN DISCOURSE
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Thursday, October 19, and Friday, October 20, the Research and Academic Program at the Clark Art Institute hosts a Clark Conference, The Fetish A(r)t Work: African Objects in the Making of European Art History 1500–1900. The program begins at 9 am in the Clark’s auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center. The program is free and open to the public.
The conference brings together scholars across the humanities who examine the making and “invention” of African art in European discourse. Convened by scholar and former Clark Professor Anne Lafont (The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences [EHESS], Paris), this conference delves into diverse writings on African objects and interrogates various orientations that transformed these objects, from ritual artifacts and fetishes to works that circulated on the art market and were held in private collections and public museums. The discussion encompasses global art history, natural history, travel literature, ships’ inventories, African geography, comparative religion texts, sales and private collection catalogs, and technical treatises.
Participants include:
Anne Lafont (convener), professor
École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), Paris
Jean-Luc Aka-Evy, philosopher and art historian
Congo-Brazzaville
Alexander Bevilacqua, associate professor of history
Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Yaëlle Biro, independent scholar and curator
Paris
Justin Brown, Samuel H. Kress Predoctoral Fellow
Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, Washington, DC
Joshua I. Cohen, associate professor of art history
City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center, New York
Roberto Conduru, endowed distinguished professor of art history
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
Cécile Fromont, professor of history of art
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Gabriele Genge, professor
Institut für Kunst und Kunstwissenschaft, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Simon Gikandi, Robert Schirmer Professor and Chair of English
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Alexandre Girard-Muscagorry, curator
Musée de la Musique (Philharmonie de Paris)
Didier Houénoudé
Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Godomey, Benin
Daniel H. Leonard, assistant professor
College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia
Risham Majeed, associate professor of art, art history, and architecture
Ithaca College, South Hill, New York
Lionel Manga, writer and cultural critic
Douala, Cameroon
Matthew Francis Rarey, associate professor of African and Black Atlantic art history
Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
Free. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.
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 some 300,000 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 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday, from September through June, and daily in July and August. Admission is free January through March and is $20 from March through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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