I will be presenting Representations of Imagery: An Analysis of Byung-Chul Han’s ‘Smooth Image’ and Hito Steyerl’s ‘Poor Image’ at UAAC 2021! The panel, Byung-Chul Han and Contemporary Art, is lead by Dr. Julian Haladyn and Maxwell Hyett.

"The smooth is the signature of the present time. It connects the sculptures of Jeff Koons, iPhones and Brazilian waxing" (Byung-Chul Han, Saving Beauty). Contemporary cultural theorist Byung-Chul Han is known for his concise and accessible books. Through the relatively recent influx of English translations, his ideas have become a significant part of recent inquiries about ideas and practices that define life in the digital world. Looking at the consequences of social and technological changes, Han questions basic assumptions about the choices we make and the type of world we believe we are living in. This panel invites papers that use Han's ideas to interrogate and explore aspects of contemporary art, understood globally. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, papers that take up his core concepts: the smooth, transparency, excess positivity, the achievement-subject, good entertainment.