Short Design Studies Forum Session at College Art Association Annual Meeting, New York, NY 2011

Chair: Amy F. Ogata, Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture

As the material embodiment of attitudes about play and work, as well as experimental aesthetics, national and personal identity, toys are a productive site for exploring the social and cultural implications of design, and material and visual culture. Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of Brian Sutton-Smith’s influential book Toys as Culture, this session will explore how toys (broadly defined) constitute a unique aspect of historical and contemporary human culture. In addition to educators and psychologists concerned with play, writers as diverse as Roland Barthes, Johan Huizinga, Gary Cross, and Daniel Tiffany have explored the implications of toys. This session invites scholars and designers in all fields to play with toys. Antique toys, handmade toys, artists’ toys, automata, mass-produced objects, designer toys, collectibles, toy advertising and graphics, websites and digital toys, and the representation and practice of toy culture are all possible areas of inquiry. Papers might address aesthetics, materials, production, use and disposal, in addition to questions about the role of pedagogy, fantasy, historical memory, and globalization.

Send abstracts to: Amy F. Ogata, Bard Graduate Center, 18 West 86th Street, New York, NY 10024 or ogata@bgc.bard.edu

Proposals should include the following:

1. Completed session participation proposal form, available as a pdf on page 23 of the Call for Participation: http://www.collegeart.org/proposals/
2. Preliminary abstract of one to two double-spaced, typed pages.
3. Letter explaining speaker’s interest, expertise in the topic, and CAA membership status.
4. CV with home and office mailing addresses, email address, and phone and fax numbers. Include summer address and telephone number, if applicable.
5. Documentation of work when appropriate, especially for sessions in which artists might discuss their own work.
6. If mailing internationally, it is recommended that proposals be sent via certified mail.

DEADLINE: May 3, 2010. All applicants will be notified by June 1, 2010.