Synartesis: An Experiment in Inter­Chronological and Trans­Historical Teaching and Research

Abstract

Art objects hold a special place in the historical order because of their unique ability to exist both in and out of the time of their making. Drawing on what has often been pejoratively referred to as anachronistic, ahistorical, or philosophical art history; this talk explores new theoretical potentials for understanding works of art outside the bounds of traditional linear narrative. The idea of synartesis – the act of fastening or knitting together to produce union even among disparate kinds of knowledge and materials has the potential to create new meanings across a number of disciplines and inter­related fields. In experimenting with how inter­chronological and thematic comparisons of artworks might allow us to develop new understandings, this talk seeks to develop the potential of interdisciplinary thinking by making art history “other” to itself – unmooring the discipline’s reliance on time itself.