Aesthetics After the Postmodern Turn: Philosophy, Criticism, and Studio Culture Symposium

A select group of philosophers, art historians, cultural critics, and artists (composed of CCA students, faculty, and staff) examine the status of aesthetics in discussions of contemporary art. What can the discipline of aesthetics, with its roots in the 18th and 19th centuries, contribute to the analysis of contemporary art? What role do philosophical ideas play in creativity? What can reflection on feelings of beauty and sublimity contribute to studio culture?

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

9–9:30 a.m. | Coffee & Continental Breakfast

9:30–10 | Welcome & Opening Remarks

* Joseph J. Tanke
* Mark Breitenberg, Provost
* Rachel Schreiber, Director of Humanities and Sciences

10–11 | The Identification of Aesthetics and Politics in Rancière
Emiliano Battista, Jan van Eyck Academie

11–noon
The Case of the Aesthetic Regime
Joseph J. Tanke, California College of the Arts

Noon–1
World Modernisms: The Case from Indian Modern Art
Pradeep Dhillon, University of Illinois

1–2 | Lunch (held at the back of the Nave)

2–3
New Games
Pamela M. Lee, Stanford University

3–4
What Is Art?
Frederick M. Dolan, California College of the Arts

4–5
Aesthetic of the Cool: The Life and Times of an African Artist
Robert Farris Thompson, Yale University

5–5:30 | Short Break

5:30–6:30 | Keynote Address
Only a Promise of Happiness: The Place of Beauty in a World of Art
Alexander Nehamas, Princeton University