“Dès qu’un support présente une surface inscriptible, l’homme semble désirer la recouvrir pour l’embellir, c’est-à-dire l’orner. L’ornement est potentiellement infini, rien ne lui échappe”.

 (Thomas Golsenne, “L’ornement aujourd’hui”, Images re-Vues. Histoire, Anthropologie et Théorie de l’Art, 10, 2012).

Argument

The omnipresence of the ornament as a cultural expression is transversal to all civilizations, and to all periods in history. A combination of pleasure and power, prestige and hierarchy, the ornament defines socio-cultural patterns and allows interpretations and specific views to be formed of each society and period.

 At a time when studies of the ornament are on the rise, as demonstrated in the most diverse disciplines from architecture to anthropology, including art history and gender studies, it is imperative to think about its place in the contemporary world, somewhere between tradition and the influence of new technologies.

 In this conference we intend to debate not only case studies, but theoretical and critical approaches regarding the place and permanence of the ornament, its multiple manifestations and moments of valorization in certain contexts and geographies.

The role played by the connection between globalism and localism, a consequence of the migration of objects that are easily transported, disseminated, reproduced and reinvented, will also be one of the key questions discussed.

 Finally, the aim is to establish an open and meaningful dialogue between different fields of study that have the ornament as an object of reflection; its place in history, its intervention in the present, and its perspective for the future.

Main topics

 The topics suggested for proposals for participating in this Conference are generically the following, although others may be considered if they are deemed pertinent and relevant:

1. Contemplating the ornament our days: meaning, tendencies and paths.
2. Ornament and Portuguese decorative arts;
3. Revivalism, exoticism and ornament;
4. Ornamentalists and engravers: creation, reception and dissemination;
5. Ornament and architecture: historiography, theory and present times;
6. Mobility and transcontinentality: the migration of forms;
7. Between the sacred and the profane: appropriations, reinventions and coexistence;
8. Intersection, union and dissonance: literature, music and visual arts..

Submission guidelines

Abstracts (of no more than 500 words), accompanied by a short bio (250 words), in English or Portuguese, should be sent to the members of the organizing committee, at iha.ornament2017@gmail.com by April 30, 2016. Participants will be notified by the end of May, and the conference program will be published in June. The languages of the conference are English, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

A selection of papers from the conference will be published in Revista de História da Arte - Série W, an annual peer-reviewed digital journal.

For all questions regarding administration and practical matters, as well as the payment of the conference inscription, please send an email to iha.ornament2017@gmail.com

Important dates

• Deadline for abstract submission: 30 April 2017

• Notification of acceptance of abstract: 31 May 2017
• Provisional Programme: 30 June 2017
• Deadline for registration: 31 August 2017
• Conference: 23, 24 and 25 November 2017

Registration

CLICK HERE FOR FORM

Conference registration (until 31 August)

• 50,00 euros – Speakers (students and non-students)
•  40,00 euros – Attendants (non-students)
•  20,00 euros – Attendants (students)*
•  Free of charge - Students of FCSH/NOVA*

Conference inscription (after31 August):

• 75,00 euros – Speakers
•  60,00 euros – Participants
•  20,00 euros – Students*
•  Free of charge –Students of FCSH/NOVA*

In order to complete your registration, please fill the registration form below and send it to iha.ornament2017@gmail.com along with the copy of bank transfer confirmation or the copy of Paypal transfer. All the data must be legible and should state the number of the account from which the payment is made and the name of the holder of that account.

When doing the transfer, please indicate the following code: 410008 Ornament.

* Please attach a copy of your ID student card to the registration form

Organizing committee

• Gonçalo Vasconcelos e Sousa | CITAR, UCP
• Isabel Mendonça | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• Maria João Pereira Coutinho | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• Sílvia Ferreira | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

Scientific committee

• Alexandra Curvelo | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• António Nunes Pereira | Parques de Sintra - Monte da Lua, SA; IADE / Universidade Europeia, Lisboa
• Audrey Gay-Mazuel | Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
• Doretta Davanzo Poli | Library of Fabrics at Palazzo Grassi; University of Udine
• Elizabeth Miller | V&A Museum, Londres
• Femke Speelberg | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Fernando Quiles | Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilha
• Filomena Limão | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• Giuseppe Dardanello | Facoltà di Lettere, Torino
• Helder Carita | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• José Ferrão Afonso | CITAR, UCP
• Marize Malta | Escola de Belas Artes da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
• Michael Snodin | Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham
• Pedro Flor | Universidade Aberta; IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• Sabina de Cavi | Universidad de Córdoba, Departamento de Historia del Arte, Arqueología y Música
• Sofía Rodríguez Bernis | Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas, Madrid
• Susana Varela Flor | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• Teresa Vale | Artis, IHA, FLUL
• Vítor Serrão | Artis, IHA, FLUL

Executive committee

Raquel Seixas | IHA, FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

Organization

Instituto de História da Arte, FCSH/NOVA

Centro de Investigação em Ciência e Tecnologia das Artes, UCP

Sponsor

Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

Parques de Sintra - Monte da Lua

Fundação Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva