[Report] Graduate Symposium: Techniques of the Image
On November 13, the graduate symposium “Techniques of the Image” was held at McGill University in Montreal.
This symposium was co-organized by UTCP and McGill University (the Department of Art History & Communication Studies and the Department of East Asian Studies). We are thankful to Professor Hajime Nakatani (the Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University) for organizing and moderating this valuable event.
Panel 1: Techniques of Form
Respondent: Professor Yuriko Furuhata (the Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University)
1. Tai van Toorn (the Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University), “Intimate Enclosures: Framing the English Portrait Limning, 1585-1610”
2. Aya Kawamura (UTCP), “Framed Image: Aleksandr Rodchenko's Abstract Paintings, Photographs and the Concept of Construction”
3. Toru Arakawa (UTCP), “Inflection and Inclusion: Perspectivism in Minimal Art”
Tai van Toorn focused on the tension between the miniature portrait and its frame, in the works of Nicholas Hilliard and Issac Oliver. Aya Kawamura discussed Aleksandr Rodchenko's concept of “construction,” through the analysis of his framed images. Toru Arakawa examined the experience of Donald Judd's works from the perspectivist approach. Each talk commonly addresses the problem of frame and perspective, along with the consideration of the specificity of medium.
Panel 2: Pictorial Constructs
Respondent: Professor Takahiro Nakajima (UTCP)
1. Misato Ido (UTCP), “Commemorating the Past: The Construction of Narrative and Image in the Screen Painting of Fuji no Makigari”
2. Gyewon Kim (the Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University), “Tracing the Emperor: Photography, Imperial Progresses and the Creation of Sacred Geographies”
Misato Ido analyzed the folding screen of Fuji no Makigari in its close relation to the text of Kowaka. Gyewon Kim examined the constitutive role of photography in the imperial tours of the Meiji emperor. In general, this panel focused on the interrelation between narrative and image, which governed by the representation of power.
In my view, we could share some aspects on the irreducible power of connectivity in images. There were many insightful comments that will help me in my research, especially on the aesthetics of Alfred North Whitehead. I hope that we can continue this cooperation further.
(Toru Arakawa)