CONTEMPORARY PREHISTORIES–MOTHERS, VENUSSES, GODDESSES
Reconstituting and rewriting the legacy of the “prehistorical” female figurines
13 - 15 September 2019 | MAMUZ Museum Mistelbach, Aspern an der Zaya
The international symposia convene an interdisciplinary body of researchers, scholars and artists to explore and update the legacy of prehistoric female figurines.
CONTEMPORARY PREHISTORIES – MOTHERS, VENUSSES, GODDESSES‘ lines of flight, fusion, discussion and appraisal are outlines as, but not limited to, the following: Does the concept of “prehistory”, coined in the nineteenth century, converge and collude with a femininely favored/flavored/impacted history? How do archaeological research and finding of female figurines affect and shape, if at all, the modern/contemporary self-perception of the “European” cultures and genders, specifically and generally? What type of identification and desidentification can be drawn from the archaeological findings of the female figurines? And concurrently, how does the knowledge archaeology generates intersect with artistic production and procedures, fantasy, geopolitics and ecology? Could the excavation of the female figurines enable the process of empowerment of contemporary women in the regions where the figurines were found? What hopes and projections, of contemporary women, can these figurines match and meet? Do the figurines allow us to create a new narrative for ourselves?
With
Walpurga Antl-Weiser, Valeska Becker, Ute Burkhardt-Bodenwinkler, Claudine Cohen, Ida-Marie Corell, Heide Göttner-Abendroth, Federica Matta, Angela Melitopoulos, Christine Neugebauer-Maresch, Franz Pieler, Ebadur Rahman, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Elisabeth von Samsonow, Arantzazu Saratxaga, Romana Schuler, Maria Stavrinaki, Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein
Admission free, followed by a reception
Please register by 3 September 2019 at: anmeldung@tdgn.at
FRIDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER
10.00 am – 6.00 pm
Welcome
10.00 Franz Pieler, Director of the MAMUZ Museum of prehistory, ancient history and mediaeval archaeology in Asparn an der Zaya and Head of the Department
Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Project Director
Section I
Moderator: Angela Melitopoulos, The Royal Danish Academy of Copenhagen
10.45 Elisabeth von Samsonow, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna: Assignment from Below. Making Important Finds in Lower Austria Present. Weaving A Transdisciplinary Research Proposal
11.45 Heide Göttner-Abendroth, HAGIA International Academy: Modern matriarchy studies – cultural history – politics. What do they have to do with each other?
12.45 Le Théatre des Imaginaires. An experimental art video by Federica Matta, artist Paris
Lunch break
Section II
Moderator: Franz Pieler, Director of the MAMUZ Museum of prehistory, ancient history and mediaeval archaeology in Asparn an der Zaya and Head of the Department
14.30 Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, University of Vienna: Is Motherhood divine? Looking at the Social Status of Motherhood in European Prehistory
15.30 Valeska Becker, University of Münster: Fertility and death. On the interpretation of Female Figurines of the Neolithic Age
16.45 Performance Plastic and Water Concerto for Piano and Voice by Ida-Marie Corell
17.30 Goddesses’ Get-Together with Stefania Pia, DJANE Naples (food & drinks)
SATURDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER
10.00 am – 6.00 pm
Section III
Moderator: Elisabeth von Samsonow, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
10.00 Claudine Cohen, École des hautes études en sciences sociales Paris: Gender in Prehistory. Interpreting Women’s Roles through Palaeolithic art
11.00 Maria Stavrinaki, Université Paris 1: A Monstrous Origin: Art History’s Techniques of Normalisation of the Palaeolithic Art
12.15 V For Venus/Venezia, A filmic essay by Ebadur Rahman, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Lunch Break
Section IV
Moderator: Ebadur Rahman, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
14.30 Christine Neugebauer Maresch, Austrian Academy of Sciences: Fanny: Who are You? Female likeness – Idol – Goddess. A Quest to Prehistoric Statuettes from an archaeological View
15.30 Project introduction/film by Angela Melitopoulos, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts: Matri-Linear B
Coffee Break
16.30 Presentation of the first Goddesses Book: The Venus of Willendorf
18.00 Tour to MAMUZ Schloss Asparn/Zaya with guided tour by director Franz Pieler
Followed by a reception in the Hall of the Castle of Asparn a.d.Zaya, with kind support of the Society of Friends of MAMUZ
(A free shuttle-service is available, departure at MAMUZ Mistelbach at 17.30)
SUNDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER
10.00 am – 1.00 pm
Section V
Moderator: Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
10.00 Walpurga Antl-Weiser, Museum of Natural History Vienna: Venus of Willendorf
11.00 short presentations of research formats within the project:
11.00 Romana Schuler, University of Applied Arts Vienna: Interviews with Women in the Weinviertel. A Field Report
11:45 Ebadur Rahman, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna: Dakini Sutra. The Muted Matrix of Seven Godly Mothers
12:45 Aranzatzu Saratxaga, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna: The Genus of Goddess Figurines and Their Characteristics. A Reading/Interpretation
13.00 Ute Burkhardt-Bodenwinkler, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna: The Idea of a Digital Data Set for a Pop-up Temple—A Suggestion for Lower Austria; Performance by Valentin Postlmayr, Dame Etna
Farewell snack