Master Class: Accelerazione

Dans le cadre de l’exposition actuelle Accelerazione, Herbert Foundation organise une Master Class en anglais du 2 au 6 novembre 2015 en collaboration avec Wouter Davidts (Ghent University, BE) et Robert Slifkin (New York University, US).

Veuillez trouver ci-dessous plus d’information ainsi que les conditions d’inscription. Le nombre de participant est limité à 16.

 
Master Class Accelerazione

Taking its clue from Mario Merz’s installation Accelerazione = sogno, numeri di Fibonacci al neon e motocicletta fantasma, the motorcycle shown in 1972 on the curving walls of the vestibule of the Fredericianum in Kassel at the Documenta 5, the exhibition Accelerazione presents 9 works of eight pivotal artists in the collection of the Herbert Foundation: Carl Andre, Gilbert & George, Jannis Kounellis, Richard Long, Mario Merz, Bruce Nauman, Giulio Paolini and Gerhard Richter. The exhibition advances these eight artists as key protagonists in the swift changes in art and art practice in the second half of the 20th century at both sides of the Atlantic. Rearticulating the role and meaning of the artwork and the artist, as well as questioning the function and significance of the studio and the museum, each radically fuelled new modes of understanding of the aesthetic and societal status art. During an era deeply marked by social upheaval and political turmoil and by major economical and industrial shifts, they deployed their respective practices in different media and with a wide array of forms, materials and tools.

Participants to the Master Class are invited to explore the art historical and critical comprehension that can be gained from a sustained focus on a single artwork. Taking the agency of the artwork as the main point of departure, participants will be encouraged to develop new ways of enhancing the historical and critical reading of an artwork by adopting different perspectives and methodologies. If an artwork potentially signals a decisive moment in (art) history or, as Merz’s title seems to suggest, even speeds up historical change, the critical task then is to map and register the effects in the distinctive domains that it was and maybe still is operative in. To this end three particular frames of reference will be brought into play, that is, of work (oeuvre), publicness (exhibition) and discourse (criticism) respectively.

Eligibility
The Master Class is open to graduate and postgraduate students, as well as PhD researchers in art, art history and related fields. The number of available places is limited: 16 participants are selected on the basis of a cover letter explaining their research interests and motivation (in English, 700 words maximum), a CV and a letter of reference. Applications need to be submitted by email by July 1 the latest to laura.hanssens@herbertfoundation.org Notification of participation will be sent by August 15. A syllabus and program will be provided upon registration.

Participation
The fee for participation in the Master Class is 150,- €, covering lunch and research logistics during the week. Lodging is to be found by participants themselves, while assistance can be provided. An advance payment of 50,- € will be requested upon registration, the remaining 100,- € to be paid at the start of the Master Class.

Team
Wouter Davidts, Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture & Urban Planning, Ghent University (UGent) wouter.davidts@ugent.be
Robert Slifkin, Associate Professor of Fine Arts at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University (NYU) rs3513@nyu.edu

 
The Master Class is generously supported by Terra Foundation and Duvel Moortgat