CFP: The political portrait, 1914 to present: propaganda and counter-propaganda

Message re-posted from Luciano Cheles, University of Poitiers
*______________________*
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*CALL FOR PAPERS** *

*The political portrait, from 1914 to the present:*

*propaganda and counter-propaganda** *

*International conference** *

*29-30 November 2013*

*Maison d’Italie, Cité Universitaire, Paris*

* *

The portrait is a figurative genre that has always played an important role
in political communication. Its potential effectiveness resides in its
ability to “make absent people present” (to quote the Renaissance art
theorist Leon Battista Alberti), which confers politicians the gift of
ubiquity. The commonplace view is that an image faithfully reproduces the
subject it refers to (“photography never lies”); however, pose, facial
expression, sartorial style, colours, props and background are all carriers
of meaning which can subliminally influence the onlooker. Graphic artists
and spin doctors all too readily exploit these features to mythologize
their subjects. The portrait was one of the key instruments of the
propaganda of totalitarian regimes. The effigies of dictators invaded
public spaces and also penetrated the private sphere in the pursuit of
personality cults and liturgical approaches to politics. The portrait was
equally privileged by regimes whose ideologies, as remarked by George L.
Mosse, could be reduced to a confrontation between types and
counter-types:  emblematic figures such as the industrialist, the soldier,
the activist, the new man and the “Arian” on one hand, and the figures of
the enemy on the other. In democratic contexts, as well as for propaganda
purposes, the portrait is used to inform and educate. Suffice it to recall
the allegorical images modelled on the iconography of Marianne, which
Maurice Agulhon has studied, the official portraits of heads of state, the
photographs of parliamentarians reproduced on the official registers, and
the effigies of exemplary personalities (leaders, victims or social types)
featuring on posters and other media.

________

To investigate this topic, an international conference is being organized
by GERCI, Groupe d’études et de recherche  sur la civilisation italienne
(Université de Grenoble 3), HISPOSS, Histoire des pouvoirs, savoirs et
sociétés (Université de Paris 8), CHCSC, Centre d’histoire culturelle des
sociétés contemporaines (Université de Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines)
and the Maison d’Italie (Cité Universitaire, Paris). It will focus mostly
on France and Italy, but proposals of papers of a comparative nature
dealing with other European countries and of the United States are also
welcome.

The conference will take place over two days, the first of which will be
devoted to the official portrait and the second to the counter-portrait
(caricatures, parodies…). It is hoped that a wide variety of disciplines
and critical approaches (historical, sociological, art-historical,
semiological, gender studies, juridical, anthropological…) will be
mobilised to analyse the rhetorical strategies and mechanisms of production
and circulation of the portraits.

To coincide with the conference, an exhibition of original posters will be
mounted at the Maison d’Italie to illustrate the propaganda of the French
presidential election of 2012 and the Italian parliamentary election of
2013 comparatively.

The papers may deal with the following themes (the list is not exhaustive):

- the official portraits of heads of state****

- the group portrait (the king/queen and his/her family, the leader and
his/her close ****

  associates, the Prime Minister and his/her ministers…)****

- the representation of the First Lady****

- the depiction of the candidates in primary, parliamentary, local and
presidential  ****

  elections****

- the portrayal of female politicians****

- the depiction of minorities (disabled, gypsies, BME, LGBT…) in visual
propaganda****

- the contemporary political portrait and artistic traditions (classical,
Renaissance…)****

- the representation of the head of state in war-time****

- the Americanisation of European political portraiture****

- the supports: poster, stamp, brochure, postcard, website etc.****

- the legislation regulating the use of political portraits (locations,
manner of display...)****

- the role of spin doctors

ORGANISING COMMITTEE:

Luciano Cheles, Université de Poitiers / GERCI (
[email protected])****

Christian Delporte, Université de Versailles / CHCSC (
[email protected])****

Alessandro Giacone, Université de Grenoble 3 / GERCI (
[email protected])****

Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci, Université de Paris 8 / HISPOS (
[email protected]) ****

** **

COMMITTEE OF ADVISORS****

** **

Christian Brandle, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich ****

Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle, Université de Paris I.****

Maurizio Ridolfi, Università di Viterbo****

Pierre Sorlin, Université de Paris 3****

** **

*Submissions should include a 500-700 word proposal and a short CV (maximum
two pages). They should be sent to the organisers by e-mail (see addresses
above), in the form of attachments, by 30 July.  The conference programme
will be finalised in September. Papers may be presented in French, Italian
or English. *

* *

*Speakers will not be charged registration fees, however they will be
responsible for their travel and accommodation expenses. *

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