In the context of the 3rd International Deleuze Studies Conference 2010, organized by the University of Amsterdam and the University of Utrecht, an exhibition and a debate with various researchers and artists reflected on the relationship between Deleuze’s thought and contemporary art and media practice, with a particular interest in Deleuze and Guattari’s chapter ‘The Smooth and the Striated’ from A Thousand Plateaus (See http://thesmoothandthestriated.wordpress.com). In continuation of this ongoing research and persistent interest in the meaning of ‘smooth and striated spaces’ in relation to Deleuze’s thoughts on art, we are very happy to invite scholars from various practices to contribute to a special issue of Deleuze Studies, dedicated to a variety of issues evoked by the essay and its interpretations.
In ‘The Smooth and the Striated’ a characterization of the ‘smooth’ and the ‘striated’ emerges from a look at various ‘models’ of interaction between these different kinds of space. While the nature of ‘smooth space’ is one of continuous development of form, ‘striated space’ produces an order and succession of distinct forms. ‘Smooth’ has a greater power of deterritoralization, whereas ‘striation’ for Deleuze and Guattari, seems to denote a certain tendency to measure, categorize and solidify a particular state or situation. Important, for the authors, is the continuous reciprocal and entwined relationship between the two spaces: a smooth space elicits the emergence of a striated space and vice versa.
We would like to invite scholars to send a proposal for papers on topics related to the central theme of this issue of Deleuze Studies. We encourage authors to ‘think with art’ and thus to think about Deleuze’s thought in relation to contemporary art and media practice. Topics for papers could include (but are not limited to) the following:
– How do artists reflect on the presence and representation of (historical) processes of smoothing and striation in our contemporary environment?
– What are the socio-political consequences of expanding striated spaces?
– How does memory relate to the ongoing interplay between the smooth and the striated?
– How do site specific art works integrate the smooth and the striated?
– How is art itself a way of smoothing (or striating) space?
Proposals (max. 500 words) can be send before February 15th 2011 to Patricia Pisters (p.pisters@uva.nl) and Flora Lysen (f.c.lysen@gmail.com).Deadline for full papers June 15th 2011.
