A leading international expert in film history and film studies will deliver The University of Queensland’s 2014 Daphne Mayo Lecture, ‘Cinema after Film: A Poetics of Obsolescence?’ on Wednesday 8 October.
Professor Emeritus Thomas Elsaesser from the University of Amsterdam is a pre-eminent figure and thinker in visual culture, with scholarly interests ranging across film, literature, television and art.
He will visit as part of the Daphne Mayo Visiting Professorship in Visual Culture.
This year’s Daphne Mayo Lecture focuses on cinema after film – the role of digital media in museums and art spaces.
UQ Art Museum Director Dr Campbell Gray said the Daphne Mayo Lecture attracted prominent scholars, who stimulated dialogue and debate across the breadth of visual culture.
“This year’s topic is of particular interest to scholars of film and television, as well as those studying, working and practicing in the visual arts,” Dr Gray said.
“Increasingly, art museums are seen as places where film media, intended as art, is presented.
“The quality and quantity of interesting video art work is also increasing, so having someone like Professor Elsaesser help us negotiate the space between the television in our lounge room and the art museum is a very exciting prospect.”
UQ School of English, Media Studies and Art History Head and Associate Professor in Film and Television Studies Jason Jacobs said Professor Elsaesser was a pioneer in the development of film studies and film theory from the early 1970s.
“In the 1990s Professor Elsaesser was already ahead of the curve, writing extensively about the future of digital media, and his work in the area anticipated so much of the debate that would ensue,” Associate Professor Jacobs said.
“As a leading scholar in film studies and visual culture, Professor Elsaesser has the ability to take a familiar topic and, through the lens of his thinking, provide a new vitality and freshness to the discussion.
UQ Film and Television students will also have the rare opportunity to hear from Professor Elsaesser as part of the visiting Professorship when he delivers a Lars Von Trier Masterclass and a special guest lecture with our undergraduates."
Daphne Mayo was one of Queensland’s most prominent artists, art educators and advocate for the arts.
Alumni Friends of The University of Queensland Inc. has joined with the School of English, Media Studies and Art History and UQ Art Museum to support the Visiting Professorship.
The Daphne Mayo Lecture will be held at the UQ St Lucia campus at 6pm, Wednesday 8 October, in the ICTE Auditorium, Sir Llew Edwards Building (Building # 14) on University Drive.
Admission is free but bookings are essential. Contact (07) 3365 3046 or artmuseum@uq.edu.au.
For more information, please visit www.artmuseum.uq.edu.au/2014-daphne-mayo-lecture
Contact: Sonia Uranishi, UQ Art Museum Media, Marketing and Communication officer 0409 387 623, sonia@soniauranishicommunication.com; Gillian Ridsdale, UQ Art Museum Curator of Public Programs (07) 3346 7793, g.ridsdale@uq.edu.au
