Art and Work

A great deal of life is spent in toil. It is therefore understandable that some of the most significant works in the history of art, including Jean-François Millet’s The Sower (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1850), Ford Madox Brown’s Work (Manchester Art Gallery, 1852-1865) and Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals (Detroit Institute of Arts, 1932-1933), depict people labouring. Whether to highlight struggles, virtues, injustices or triumphs, to satirise or glorify, to demand systemic change or defend the status quo, artists from a multitude of cultural and ideological backgrounds have been inspired by people working. The aim of this session, Art and Work is to provide an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to present their research or work and discuss interpretations of labour through art. Papers discussing art from any time period, genre and geographical location are welcome.

Expected topics include but are not limited to:

• Rural and urban labour
• Feminist critiques of labour
• Capitalist and Socialist Realism
• Working and middle class labour
• Affective labour
• Protest Art
• Performative practices of labour
• Environmental issues
• Immigration
• Artistic labour