Art and Text
A two-day conference at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, 6 – 7 February 2025
Call for Papers, deadline – 25 October 2024, 5pm
The Scottish Society for Art History in partnership with the National Library of Scotland will host a two-day in-person event exploring the relationship between art and the written word in Scotland. Scottish art has long been inspired by literature, while Scottish artists and publishers have made fundamental contributions in the fields of book and magazine illustration, advertising posters, comics, graphic novels and artists’ books. In turn, there has been a significant body of writings on Scottish art in both fiction and non-fiction, and many outstanding collaborations between artists and writers.
This conference will share current research and critical debate into the myriad relationships between art and text and we hope to engage with artists, writers, curators, archivists, art historians, literary and linguistic scholars and interdisciplinary researchers. Topics include (but are not limited to):
- Art inspired by literature
- Critical writing on art
- Fiction and poetry inspired by art
- Artists’ books
- Concrete poetry
- Posters and advertising
- Banners and protest art
- Illuminated manuscripts
- Comics, magazines and book illustration
- The relationship between art and text in theatre, performance art, video and multimedia art
- Collaborations between artists and writers
- Artists’ archives
- Crossovers between art history, literary history and Scottish Studies
- Art and art history relating to Scots, Gaelic and Doric
We welcome proposals for 20-minute papers or 10-minute case studies to be presented in person at the event. Speakers will be expected to provide a PowerPoint or some form of visual accompaniment to their presentation. Proposals should be in the form of 300-500 word abstracts, accompanied by brief biographical details and a supporting image. The deadline for proposals is 5pm on Friday 25 October 2024.
If you would like to discuss the CFP in greater detail or submit an abstract, please contact Matthew Jarron on m.h.jarron@dundee.ac.uk. The organisers are unable to provide speakers’ fees but all speakers will receive free entry to the event, promotion via social media as part of the event and publication opportunities. A selection of papers from the conference will be published in the Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History.