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Greetings,
"KEEPING PACE: ART HISTORIES AND THE ART LIBRARIAN AS HISTORIOGRAPHER"
We hear precious little about the often neglected, seldom supported, role
of the librarian as subject specialist. For ARLIS members this has meant
something called "art history." But what is "art history" in the late
1990s? I will be proposing a session for the 1997 San Antonio conference
which will investigate the "newest" art histories, the old "new" art
history, and the place of other preceding traditions in today's academic
and curatorial environment (and perhaps elsewhere). Speakers will be
encouraged to link their discussions to the role of the librarian subject
specialist as collection manager, reference provider, and bibliographic
instructor. Speakers' topics might include:
1) A historiographic analysis of the literature and history of (some
medium/literature specific topic): mapping the changes in Aperture
magazine; the switch of the Ansel Adams Center from the Untitled series to
See magazine; the writing of (John Szarkowski); rise of Solomon-Godeau,
Krauss, et al. and their descendants.
2) An art history faculty member, or curator, who has experienced (at least
part of) the shift from connoiseurship to cultural history to current
studies in "material and visual culture," discussing the new ways recent
Ph.D.'s and graduate students perceive and write history [One of our grad
students just wrote a paper on the depiction of germs in illustrated
medical studies for an art history seminar].
3) Our students would love to get their hands on a complete run of Ladies
Home Journal or Vogue, yet no one seems too excited about the new Edward
Hopper catalog raisonne. Are our collection habits and selection vehicles
keeping pace with demands for different types of materials?
4) A local history, state history, special collection curator/archivist
discussing new ways to access materials by genre type rather than
traditional subject points of entry and other access or collection issues
pertaining to primary materials, what constitutes primary materials, and
contemporary research requirements.
5) Do our models for research methodology courses still work? Are we
locked into a methodological and literature type straight-jacket that will
not meet the needs of our students.
General discussion on this area should be directed to the list. More
specific questions regarding this proposal should be directed to me.
Regards,
Peter Blank
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Peter P. Blank 102 Cummings Art Bldg.
Assistant Librarian Stanford, CA 94305-2018
Art & Architecture Library 415-725-1038
Stanford University fax 415-725-0140
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