‘RESONANT OBJECT’ SYMPOSIUM TO BE HELD AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE
May 3, 2018
[Digital image available upon request]
Williamstown, Massachusetts—The Research and Academic Program of the Clark Art Institute presents “The Resonant Object: A Symposium to Honor Charles W. Haxthausen” on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19, 2018. The event is sponsored by the Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art.
Nearly twenty years after the landmark Clark Conference “The Two Art Histories,” graduates from the Williams-Clark program gather to honor its former director, Charles W. “Mark” Haxthausen (Robert Sterling Clark Professor of Art History, Emeritus), and to consider with fresh eyes the intellectual, vocational, and pedagogical challenges posed by the art object.
The symposium kicks off with a reception on Friday, May 18 at 5 pm in the reading room of the Manton Research Center, followed by a keynote talk at 5:30 pm in the auditorium. Olivier Meslay, Felda and Dena Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute, and Robin Schuldenfrei, Williams Graduate Program alumnus, introduce Haxthausen, who presents the talk “The Cathedral of Cinema: Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.”
On Saturday, May 19, the day-long symposium begins at 9:15 am in the Clark’s auditorium with welcoming remarks by Lisa Saltzman, Starr Director of the Research and Academic Program. Throughout the day, graduates of the Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art present topics of discussion, including “Art History’s Sites,” Art History’s Times,” and “Art History’s Anxieties,” followed by a roundtable discussion called “Beyond the Binary.” Marc Gotlieb, director of the Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art and Class of 1955 Memorial Professor of Art, provides closing remarks at approximately 4:30 pm.
For a detailed listing of topics and participants, please visit clarkart.edu/events.
About Charles W. “Mark” Haxthausen
Charles W. “Mark” Haxthausen received his BA degree from the University of St. Thomas (Houston) and his MA and PhD degrees from Columbia University. After teaching at Indiana University, Harvard University (where he was also curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum), and the University of Minnesota, he joined the Williams faculty in 1993, serving as director of the Graduate Program until 2007. His teaching focuses on European modern and contemporary art and on art-historical method. He is editor of The Two Art Histories: The Museum and the University (2002) and co-editor of Berlin: Culture and Metropolis (1990). Current research interests include: the theory and criticism of Carl Einstein; the Bauhaus; Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; Paul Klee; Sigmar Polke; and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 270,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; EBT Card to Culture; Bank of America Museums on Us; and Blue Star Museums. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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