The goal of this interdisciplinary conference is to examine the presence of geometrical volumes and forms in fiction films, not just for the narrative or aesthetic role they play, but also in terms of their connection with the history of art. Grids and polyhedrons are, of course, integral to the study of space, whether in relation to the discovery of perspective in the Renaissance, or the destruction of illusionism in the twentieth century. When found embedded in fiction films, these forms engage a discourse on the image which this conference seeks to analyze.
A wide variety of films and film sequences are relevant to this approach. The numerous visual grids which imprison the characters of Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Woman Prisoner, 1968) and Dario Argento (Deep Red, 1975), as well as the enigmatic checkerboards in The Night (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961) and Agnès Varda’s Les Créatures (1966) all come to mind. Then there is the equally haunting inscrutability of the silent monolith in 2001 A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) and the horror inspired by the cube which figures in the film of this name by Vincenzo Natali (1997).
Lines of enquiry: All forms of fictional film are relevant, regardless of era or geographic context:
- A variety of approaches to these patterns and forms are possible: as objects (setting, accessories, costumes) and architectural elements. Or from the point of view of the effects of the image.
- Proposals must address the connections between the fictional uses of these patterns in film and in art theory.
- Particularly welcome are methodological studies of the ways in which cinema provides a commentary on the telling of art history: how can these narrative film sequences be related to the theoretical discourses whose designs they share? Conversely, do we find representations within the theoretical and historical texts which treat the same patterns?
- One problematic which could be illuminated by this interdisciplinary discussion of fiction films and art history is the relationship between the mutism of modernism and the loquaciousness of cinematic fiction.
The conference will take place in Lille from 28th to 30th November 2019, partly at the LaM (Lille Métropole, musée d’art moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut).
Organizing committee: Jessie Martin et Joséphine Jibokji, Université de Lille, Centre d’étude des arts contemporains (CEAC), Barbara Le Maître, Université Paris Nanterre (HAR).
Scientific committee:
- Bruno Nassim Aboudrar (Pr. Sciences de l’art, Paris 3, LIRA) ;
- Valérie Boudier (Mcf. Arts plastiques, Lille, CEAC) ;
- Joséphine Jibokji (Mcf. Études cinématographiques, Université de Lille, CEAC) ;
- Jeanne-Bathilde Lacourt (Conservatrice Art moderne et contemporain, LaM) ;
- Barbara Le Maître (Pr. Études cinématographiques, Paris Nanterre, HAR) ;
- Jessie Martin (Mcf. Études cinématographiques , Université de Lille, CEAC) ;
- Valérie Mavridorakis (Pr. Histoire de l’art, Paris-Sorbonne, Centre Chastel);
- José Moure (Pr. Études cinématographiques, Paris I, ACTE) ;
- Chang Ming Peng (Pr. Histoire de l’art contemporain, IRHiS) ;
- Arnauld Pierre (Pr. Histoire de l’art, Paris-Sorbonne, Centre Chastel) ;
- Luc Vancheri (Pr. Études cinématographiques, Lyon 2, Passages XX-XXI) ;
- Caroline Zeau (Mcf. Études cinématographiques, Picardie-Jules-Verne, CRAE) ;
- Serge Cardinal (Pr. Agrégé Études cinématographiques, Université de Montréal, La Création sonore).
With the support of:
- Centre d’Etudes des Arts Contemporains (CEAC, EA 3587, Université de Lille),
- Centre Histoire des Arts et des Représentations (HAR, EA 4414, Université Paris Nanterre),
- Institut de Recherches Historiques du Septentrion (IRHiS, UMR 8529, Université de Lille, CNRS),
- LaM (Lille Métropole, musée d’art moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut).
Proposals (title and 500-600 word abstract) along with a brief bio-bibliography (name, institution affiliation and important publications) should be sent by 20 May 2019 to [email protected].
Papers may be in French or in English.