The art history department will welcome a diverse group of talented scholars to SCAD for the fourth biennial symposium. The symposium "Madness of Photography" and the assembled panels promise a vigorous dialogue. The ideas presented will inform discussion in art history courses and across the SCAD curriculum. We look forward to students engaging with current scholarship by attending Fred Gross' book signing on Thursday evening, the keynote by Abelardo Morell on Friday evening, or the two-day symposium. For additional information regarding the schedule please consult www.scad.edu/arthsymposium.
On-line registration remains open until the morning of the symposium on Friday, February 10. Registration will be possible at the SCAD Museum of Art during the symposium. The symposium is open to the public, requires registration, and there is a $15 fee. Fred's book signing and Abelardo Morell's keynote are free and open to the public.
This symposium will examine new perspectives on the many implications of madness in photography's history, theory, and practice. The symposium will explore a wide range of topics: the historiography of the medium, including writings on photography and madness, death, time, or memory; photo-manias; new modes of dissemination; the place of photography in social networking; artists or movements interested in achieving or documenting states of madness; photography's participation in the definition and construction of madness; the medium's connections to scientific and pseudo-scientific fields; and photography and madness outside of the Western tradition. "The Madness of Photography" panels address themes including trauma, poetry, portraiture, memory, and exhibitions. I encourage you to use the symposium and other events as required field trip opportunities.
The symposium will again benefit from amazing experiences outside of the lecture hall, including the exhibition "Room In My Head: Staging Psychological Spaces" curated by Melissa Messina at Gutstein Gallery.
