Richard Bell in Conversation with Andrew McNamara
Richard Bell’s current exhibition RELINKING at Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven (25 Jun – 4 Dec 2022), features statement paintings accompanied by two essays by the artist on the position of Aboriginal art and artists in the art world.
The first essay, Bell’s Theorem: Aboriginal Art – It’s a White Thing!, was a landmark text originally published in 2002. The second essay, Bell’s Theorem (Reductio ad Infinitum): Contemporary Art – It’s a White Thing, was written by Bell in April 2022, shortly before the opening of documenta fifteen in which Bell was a participating artist.
In a special event, art historian and writer Andrew McNamara speaks with Bell about his most recent essay, published in e-flux in September 2022.
SPEAKERS
Richard Bell is a member of the Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Goreng Goreng communities and is one of Australia’s most significant artists and activists who explores the complex artistic and political problems of Western, colonial and Indigenous art production.
Andrew McNamara is an art historian and writer, whose work largely focuses on the modernist legacy for contemporary art and culture. Another enduring topic of research interest is the question of how the arts and humanities are evaluated in modern and contemporary societies. Recent works include Undesign (2018); Surpassing Modernity (2018/19); Bauhaus Diaspora and Beyond (2019) and the exhibition Bauhaus Now (2020–2021). He curated Bauhaus Now at the Museum of Brisbane, September 2020 – April 2021 and is Emeritus Professor at QUT.
This event is part of the 2022 AAANZ Annual Conference and is supported by The Australian Institute of Art History (AIAH).
About the 2022 AAANZ Annual Conference
The AAANZ conference of the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) takes place annually in either Australia or New Zealand. The conference brings together scholars from Australia, New Zealand, and further afield. The conference attracts around 500 delegates for a two-to-three day program, which typically includes over 150 papers, keynote lectures, graduate masterclasses, networking, round-tables on publishing, funding and other events. The annual conference is an important event for scholars working within art history, art theory, curatorship, art education and arts practice. Each year the program features a range of speakers, from students to established academics. Our aim is to support research into art and to draw together the diverse range of people working in universities, museums, libraries and independently.
The 2022 AAANZ Conference ‘DEMONSTRATIONS’ is co-hosted by the Centre of Visual Arts, University of Melbourne, and the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Monash University. More information about this Conference can be found here.
