Final lecture in the Graduate Research Seminar Series: 'Art and the Senses' (Cambridge, January - March 2018)

History of Art Graduate Centre
4a Trumpington Street, CB2 1QA Cambridge (UK)
Refreshments provided, all welcome

The work of art is more than a visual object. It has surface, texture that can be touched, and emits or evokes sounds, smells and tastes. Recently, academic studies on the Senses have flourished, especially in the context of the material approach to visual studies; meanwhile, museums and art institutions have been considering new ways to augment visitor experience through the Senses, and better engage with visitors who have sensory impairments; and in contemporary art, performance, video and sound can incorporate more than one Sense at a time, and calls into question the primacy of the visual. This Graduate Seminar Series, 'Art and the Senses', seeks to appreciate the roles of the Senses in visual culture, explore the Senses’ problematic and pleasurable qualities, and ultimately offer participants the opportunity to engage with their own Senses.