New Moderns?: The Showroom Conference 2005
Saturday 19 March 2005: 10.00-18.00 hrs

 

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New Moderns? will seek to define a moment in contemporary art practice that can be seen to be reflected in The Showroom's exhibition programme and in other recent shows in London. This moment has been described by Nicolas Bourriaud as being alter-modernist. Can we talk today of an alter-modernist movement, its points of convergence with and departure from the modernist aesthetic? The works embodying alter-modernism could be described as being modernist in form, but somehow have deeper resonances beyond their surface appearance.

This conference will aim to address the following questions:

• Considering the various discourses on globalisation, a term which was seen by many to replace the obsolete term of post-modernism, can we talk today of an alter-modernist moment or movement?
  
• Does contemporary art belong to this alter-modernist moment or movement?

While many contemporary artists have engaged with a wider social and political context in their practice, their work rests upon its aesthetic content, referring to and arguably unable to exist without its connection to modernist or avant-garde traditions. It would appear that artists are beginning to adopt a new post-ironic position that involves a clear statement of passionate belief (romanticism, spiritualism, aestheticism etc.) This new expressionism has its examples across all art forms painting, sculpture, film, video and performance.

In addition, we will aim to discuss:

• How new forms in contemporary art practice are developing to encompass expressive forms such as theatre, dance and performance;
  
• How these new form manifest themselves and can be presented within the context of the art gallery;
  
• How these new forms can reflect, and maybe effect the wider social and political context.

Speakers include:

Nicolas Bourriaud, Co-director Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Author of: Relational Aesthetics and Postproduction.

Annie Fletcher, Freelance Irish curator and critic based in Amsterdam. She is currently working on a three-year theatre festival that will take place in Holland.

Thomas Lawson, Artist, writer and Dean of the School of Fine Art, CalArts, Los Angeles. His recent article in Afterall, 'Desperate dreams', looks at the relationship between avant-gardism and contemporary art works.

Simon O'Sullivan, lecturer Art History and Visual Culture, Goldsmiths, London. He is currently writing a book on Deleuze and art.

For further information and tickets please contact:

The Showroom
44 Bonner Road
London
E2 9JS

T. 020 8983 4115

E. bridget@theshowroom.org (please include 'conference' in the subject-line)

W. http://www.theshowroom.org/