In today's socio-political climate, where subjectivity is valorised and personal truths take precedence, there arises an urgent call for artists to transcend individual viewpoints and convey "universal feelings". This seminar proposes an embryonic project that confronts this imperative, delving into the potential of art to cultivate empathy and imagination by communicating emotions that resonate universally. Our aims encompass the exploration of artists' methodologies in transcending subjectivity, the evaluation of art's ability to forge connections that transcend individual experiences, and the examination of strategies to steer art discourse towards acknowledging universal emotions within diverse painting practices. We assert the relevance of universalism in contemporary painting and seek to substantiate this claim through a series of studio visits, interviews, and workshops involving selected artists. Stemming from the individual research practices of Lang and Bracey, Lang will unveil his painting project, The Truth in Painting 1993, which intertwines the concept of objective truth with investigative art. Bracey will present his ongoing series, Self-ish Portraits, wherein self-portraits by deceased artists are recreated using intuition and tacit knowledge, thereby exploring the agency inherent within paintings. These instances of practice research will be situated within the framework of Universal Subjectivity to incite discourse during the seminar and to chart the trajectory of our project's future directions.
Speaker biographies:
Martin Lang is Senior Lecturer in Fine Art (University of Lincoln) who trained as a painter before completing a PhD in History & Philosophy of Art, researching militant forms of art activism. He makes paintings, photographs, and activist actions that tackle themes of authenticity, science fiction, political imagination and post-truth. He has exhibited internationally (Cyprus, Portugal, and the USA). In the UK he has exhibited at Arcadia Missa, The Institute for Contemporary Arts and APT Gallery. He publishes research on art and politics and he writes for Trebuchet magazine. His book, 'Militant Aesthetics' (Bloomsbury 2024) has been described as "a significant remapping of activist and political art" (Karen van den Berg).
Andrew Bracey is also Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at The University of Lincoln. His current PhD by Practice is exploring how contemporary artists use historical paintings to initiate a dialogue between the past and the contemporary; through the metaphor of the parasite and mutualism. Bracey's solo exhibitions include: Usher Gallery, Lincoln; Nottingham Castle; Manchester Art Gallery; Transition Gallery, London and firstsite, Colchester. He has exhibited nationally and internationally in 150 group shows and has curated over 25 exhibitions. His recent solo-authored book 'Enough is Definitely Enough - on contemporary artists' interpretations of Velázquez's painting Las Meninas' - is published by Beam Editions.
This talk is part of the CRVC's research theme for 2023-2024 research theme …and painting continues.