We are seeking approximately seven papers for a proposal for the 2018 special edition of Ars Orientalis. Our proposed edition will address, over a vast chronological and geographical spectrum, the representation and visualization of body parts in the material cultures of Asia, and will investigate their role in the formation of symbols, relics, and objects of ritual in architecture, painting, sculpture, film, print media, manuscripts, photography, arms and armor, and fashion.
Art historical studies on the body have been dominated by the discussion of figural representation, or lack thereof, and the iconic versus aniconic in relation to religious practices and belief systems across Asia. We believe that by moving away from the body as a whole, and focusing on body parts in isolation, this journal edition will contribute to understudied aspects of the body. Thus, the aim of this special edition of Ars Orientalis will be to provide, and promote, an interdisciplinary and transregional forum for scholars investigating issues that may include, but are not limited to:
- Body parts as symbols in societal and cultural practices
- Art historical theories relating to body parts and their representations
- Relics and rituals; the role of the body in the invention and appropriation of religious traditions
- History and evolution of representations of body parts
- Body parts that evoke and/or embody saints and deities
- Presence or lack of body parts, dismemberment
- Erotic representations of body parts
- Disfigurement, body marks and tattoos
- Illustration of body parts in scientific treatises
- War, violence, and the fragmentation of the body
Please send your abstracts of no more than 500 words, a few sample images, selected bibliography, and your CV to: fragmentedbodies2018[at]gmail.com