Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2024

Practices and theory of anecdote in art and art history. Contemporary Perspectives

Résumé

In the continuum of a narrative, anecdotes creates an event, stops the gaze, surprises us and makes us think. Through them, something comes to us. It challenges us with its strangeness or its familiarity. Like Barthes's punctum, which describes the way in which an image points and ultimately seizes us, arousing intimate and often unconscious echoes, a successful anecdote takes us by the hand and leads us along. It is also a form of humility of thought. It does not offer a demonstration, a formed and to some extent closed thought, but a starting point that everyone can follow as they wish. As teachers, we all know how effective an anecdote can be when it comes to catching the attention of our students when it's about to drift away. On the other hand, an anecdote is often the starting point for new research. A detail stops us in our tracks, resonates with something we've been thinking about, or gives rise to unexpected ideas. It's more than a question of scale, in which the detail is gradually put into perspective and context: the anecdotal starting point of a work gives it direction and meaning. For the artist, the anecdote can shed light on the development or meaning of a work, for critics, dealers or the public. Finally, the freedom of tone that characterises the anecdote also allows new subjects to emerge from the margins of history, making themselves visible and reshaping the discipline itself and its objects of study. Our aim, then, is to embrace the upheaval of values at play in the anecdote: to see it as both a source and a tool for art history.
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Dates et versions

hal-04865485 , version 1 (06-01-2025)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04865485 , version 1

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Déborah Laks, Emmanuel Guy. Practices and theory of anecdote in art and art history. Contemporary Perspectives. Ringvorlesung, Feb 2024, Berlin, Germany. ⟨hal-04865485⟩
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