Systems of Value: Creating a Market for Photography 1950–1990
Universities Art Association of Canada / Deadline: 05/16/21
Molly Kalkstein, University of Arizona, mollykalkstein@gmail.com
Tal-Or K. Ben-Choreen, Concordia University, tbenchoreen@gmail.com
Until the 1950s, very few spaces existed in the United States or Canada for exhibiting and, in particular,
selling photographs. Throughout that decade, however, dedicated photography galleries began to open
in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and elsewhere. Over the next thirty years, photography gradually
emerged as a dynamic and eventually lucrative force in the market, culminating in the so-called Photo
Boom of the 1970s. At the same time, photography became increasingly pervasive in often divergent
ways within the contemporary art market at large. Key to these developments was an array of
institutions, individuals, strategies, and systems dedicated to cultivating new audiences and promoting
photography as a medium worthy of collection. These included museum and university departments,
auctions, galleries, publications, and symposia; and the activities of collectors, curators, dealers, critics,
educators, and photographers. This panel invites papers that explore the evolution of the market for
photographs, including its impact on establishing systems of power and prestige that continue to
operate to this day.
Keywords: photography, art market, art education, galleries, collections
Online Conference
N/A
Proposals are invited from permanent and
contractual faculty, independent scholars
and artists, and graduate students in
terminal degree programs (examples: PhD,
MFA, MDes, etc.) who are engaged in the
visual arts (studio practice, art history,
visual culture, material culture, museum
studies, art conservation, etc.). MA students
are not permitted to give papers at the
conference. Graduate students are invited
to participate in the "Graduate Student
Lightning Talks."
Submissions must include: The applicant's email address, the name of the applicant, the applicant's institutional affiliation, a brief biography, title of proposal, and a proposal (up to 300 words). Submissions must be submitted via the call for papers form included in the uploaded file.
Submissions should be sent directly to Molly Kalkstein [mollykalkstein@gmail.com] and Tal-Or K. Ben-Choreen [tbenchoreen@gmail.com].
Proposals may be submitted by current members or non-members of UAAC. Non-members must become members of UAAC and pay registration fees in order to present a paper at the conference. Membership
dues and registration fees must be received by September 20, 2021.
Further information may be accessed on UAAC's website: https://uaac-aauc.com/
Tal-Or Ben-Choreen
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