IAS Seminar: Feminist Art History and the legacy of the avant-garde

IAS Residential Fellow Dr Andrea Pérez Fernández delivers a seminar on their research.

This seminar explores three intersections between the normative contributions of 1980s British feminist art historiography and the insights of interwar avant-garde women artists and thinkers in Germany. The focus is on the work of Hannah Höch and Lu Märten. The first intersection concerns the critique of the genius, while the second addresses how the distinction between art and crafts can result in the precariousness (both metaphysical and economic) of creative activities more commonly undertaken by women. The third intersection concerns the social function of the arts and how art can expand the political imagination. This approach is based on Rosa Luxemburg's reflections on culture and considers how the emancipatory potential of the arts is defined more by their status as a social practice than by the creator’s intention. Drawing on recently recovered or untranslated primary sources, the seminar will facilitate discussion on the relevance of these insights in the context of contemporary debates in feminist theory and visual culture.

Arrivals from 11.45am for a 12pm start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the seminar from 1pm.