Victoria Burge, Island, 2013. Collograph, screenprint, inkjet, and chine collé. Image: 20 1/4 x 15 1/2 in., sheet: 26 1/2 x 20 3/4 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Patricia Tobacco Forrester Endowment © 2013 Victoria Burge
October 16–17, 2015
The increasing internationalization of the study of American art has altered the topography of the discipline in ways that are widely acknowledged but not yet clearly defined. This two-day event mapped out the changes that are occurring in the field of American art as it becomes enmeshed in a global art history. How is an emphasis on transnationalism shaping the questions we ask of American art and the topics we investigate? How is our approach to American art different than it was ten years ago? What is the future of American art history? Sessions examined current trends of inquiry and suggested new directions for scholarship.
Shifting Terrain was the capstone event in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s five-part series Terra Symposia on American Art in a Global Context, initiated in 2006 with support from the Terra Foundation for American Art. The Terra Foundation is dedicated to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States for national and international audiences. To further cross-cultural dialogue on American art, the foundation supports and collaborates on innovative exhibitions, research, and educational programs. Implicit in such activities is the belief that art has the potential both to distinguish cultures and to unite them.
Symposium Webcast Playlist
Watch all six videos from our symposium by clicking on the menu icon in the upper left corner of the video.
9:30-9:45 a.m., Welcome
Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Elizabeth Glassman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Terra Foundation for American Art
9:45-10:15 a.m., Introduction
Cécile Whiting, Chancellor's Professor of Art History and Professor of Visual Studies, University of California, Irvine "The Transnational Turn in American Art History"
10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Things
Chair: Jennifer L. Roberts, Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University
Jennifer Van Horn, Assistant Professor of Art History, George Mason University "Re-membering War: Prostheses and Citizenship in Revolutionary America"
Jennifer Jane Marshall, Associate Professor of North American Art, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities "Nashville, New York, Paris, and Nashville: William Edmondson, Mobilized and Unmoved"
Ethan W. Lasser, Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr. Curator of American Art and Head of the Division of European and American Art, Harvard Art Museums "The End of the 'American Gallery': Integrated Collections and the Future of American Art History"
Contact Us
For symposium information, email AmericanArtSymposium@si.edu or telephone Amelia Goerlitz at +1 (202) 633-8353. Faxes may be sent to +1 (202) 633-8372.
