CFP: Beckett, Contemporary Art and New Media (6/30/06; 11/9/06-11/10/06)

full name / name of organization: 
alison syme
contact email: 

18:Beckett
Symposium to be held 9-10 November 2006
Toronto, Canada

The prevalence of Beckettian references and formal strategies in =20
contemporary art, new media and theatre attests to the urgency felt =20
by cultural producers to negotiate his challenging legacy. This =20
symposium will explore recent reinventions of Beckettian themes or =20
strategies, such as repetition, fragmentation, abstraction, =20
absurdity, negativity and humour, in relation to contemporary issues. =20=

Speakers may address different projects by contemporary artists, =20
writers, art collectives and/or theatre groups, and will examine the =20
conceptual and philosophical frameworks that have compelled =20
engagement with the work of Samuel Beckett as a means of reactivating =20=

avant-garde production.

The symposium will accompany an exhibition of the work of thirteen =20
international contemporary artists who explore the legacy of Beckett =20
through new media and video. The artists represented in the =20
exhibition include Martin Arnold, Stan Douglas, Bruce Nauman, and =20
Hans Op de Beeck. The exhibition is scheduled to run from November =20
through December 2006 at the Blackwood Gallery, UTM, and the JM =20
Barnicke Art Gallery at Hart House on the St. George campus, =20
University of Toronto.

Call for Papers

  20-minute papers are invited on any aspect of the relation between =20
Beckett=92s work and new media and/or contemporary art production. =20
Possible topics include:

Hybrid, avant-garde reinventions of Beckettian themes in the visual =20
arts and theatre
Contextualizing Beckett=92s formal strategies for the contemporary =20
arts, especially in the intersection of new medias with fine art, =20
literature and theatre
The aftermath of avant-garde theatre and absurdist, atheistic =20
cultural criticism
Postmodern theories of contemporary art and cultural criticism
The procedural realities of working with Beckett=92s texts today (in =20
film and theatre productions) in relation to the copyright control of =20=

the Beckett Estate

If interested, please send an abstract of 300-500 words and a CV to =20
beckett_at_utm.utoronto.ca by June 30, 2006.

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Received on Sat May 27 2006 - 13:28:37 EDT