This talk mobilizes the long and intriguing history of the Object Biography to better understand the uses, attractions, and pitfalls of the concept today. After a brief recapitulation of the concept’s past, it will introduce three different examples – the long life story of flax, the forensic attraction of paint samples taken from famous artworks, and the relation of researchers with their research objects – to explore what art historians in particular may gain or lose when working with object-biographical approaches.
Professor Ann-Sophie Lehmann studied art history in Vienna and Utrecht and worked in the Department of Media & Culture at Utrecht University. Since 2015, she has held the chair for Art History & Material Culture at the University of Groningen. Her research and publications contribute to a historically informed, theoretical framework for the study of artistic practices and the materiality of art objects. Currently she works on human-material relations in making objects, caring for objects, and teaching with objects.
Organised by Dr Pia Gottschaller (The Courtauld)
