"Contact Zones: Art History in a Global Network?”
No. 9 (2021-07-01)Author(s)
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Nuria Rodríguez-Ortega
Abstract
The idea of the contact zone is a productive concept for thinking about the configuration of the contemporary world as a space of heterogeneous and diverse dimensions that are in a continuous process of interaction and mutual production. As a contact zone in itself, the field of work we call digital art history prefigures itself as an interesting context in which to project this reflection, draw conclusions and formulate some ideas, especially in relation to the conditions that make possible (and limit) the existence of global networks and communities in a hyperconnected world. If we start from the conviction that the complex problems we must face today can only be tackled from cross-cutting perspectives that require collaboration and cooperation on a large scale in strong, horizontal and supportive structures, it is essential to investigate this issue. Throughout this editorial article, we reflect on some of the parameters that hinder the constitution of global networks in the field of digital art history and ask the question of what could be the common horizon that confers cohesion and a shared meaning on a global scale. Starting from a vision of digital art history as a political project, that is, as a key actor in the configuration and discussion of our hypertechnological present and future, we argued the need to confer it a mission (a question-problem) that cohesion us as a diverse community but articulated around a common project.
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