BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Sabre//Sabre VObject 4.5.8//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Zurich X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/Zurich TZURL:http://tzurl.org/zoneinfo/Europe/Zurich BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:19810329T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=-1SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:19961027T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10;BYDAY=-1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news562@kunstgeschichte.philhist.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260415T102309 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260611T000000 SUMMARY:Aesthetics of Facts and the Medieval Image DESCRIPTION:The age of artificial intelligence with its dissemination of sy nthetic visual media forces those who are exposed to them to question the truth value of the visible. Consequent discussions concerning images and t heir authenticity\, authority and potential as frauds are being catalyzed among regulators\, image theorists\, artists and the general public. What often goes unnoticed in these deliberations is that similar discussions we re flaring up at different points in the global past\, certainly during th e Western Middle Ages - then\, for example\, debates concerning the realit y of the sacred presence claimed to be contained in certain material thing s\, were common. At the same time\, visual objects were often forged to at test to an individual’s or a group’s - not always legitimate - claims for privilege. The capacity of an image to be perceived as representing tr uth is subject to cultural norms\; medieval and contemporary norms are sig nificantly different. But much like in our times\, in the Middle Ages thos e who understood that truths could have predictable visual forms employed this knowledge to fabricate images claiming to represent theological\, sci entific\, legal or historical “facts.”\\r\\nThe conference Aesthetics of Facts and the Medieval Image is designed as an exploration of both the conditions due to which certain images claimed their viewer’s trust\, an d their manipulation. We seek to examine approaches to truth in images in the pre-photographic\, pre-industrial Middle Ages\, expressed in images\, texts and practices. Nevertheless\, speakers are encouraged to think with ideas\, questions and terms prompted by the current discourse on AI-genera ted imagery\, which allow us to rethink medieval evaluations of the “rea l” in the visual. The conference will address such questions as: What co nditions conferred a factual status upon certain medieval images or their contents? What about the appearance of such images shaped their efficacy\, and perception as sacred images\, material historic or legal evidence\, a nd other visual embodiments of proclaimed truth? What were the limits of t he representable in the Middle Ages? And how was the production of images regulated\, given their potential to deceive\, confuse and persuade?\\r\\n Detailed program to follow. X-ALT-DESC:

The age of artificial intelligence with its dissemination of synthetic visual media forces those who are exposed to them to question th e truth value of the visible. Consequent discussions concerning images and their authenticity\, authority and potential as frauds are being catalyze d among regulators\, image theorists\, artists and the general public. Wha t often goes unnoticed in these deliberations is that similar discussions were flaring up at different points in the global past\, certainly during the Western Middle Ages - then\, for example\, debates concerning the real ity of the sacred presence claimed to be contained in certain material thi ngs\, were common. At the same time\, visual objects were often forged to attest to an individual’s or a group’s - not always legitimate - claim s for privilege. The capacity of an image to be perceived as representing truth is subject to cultural norms\; medieval and contemporary norms are s ignificantly different. But much like in our times\, in the Middle Ages th ose who understood that truths could have predictable visual forms employe d this knowledge to fabricate images claiming to represent theological\, s cientific\, legal or historical “facts.”

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The conference Aesthe tics of Facts and the Medieval Image is designed as an exploration of both the conditions due to which certain images claimed their viewer’s trust \, and their manipulation. We seek to examine approaches to truth in image s in the pre-photographic\, pre-industrial Middle Ages\, expressed in imag es\, texts and practices. Nevertheless\, speakers are encouraged to think with ideas\, questions and terms prompted by the current discourse on AI-g enerated imagery\, which allow us to rethink medieval evaluations of the “real” in the visual. The conference will address such questions as: W hat conditions conferred a factual status upon certain medieval images or their contents? What about the appearance of such images shaped their effi cacy\, and perception as sacred images\, material historic or legal eviden ce\, and other visual embodiments of proclaimed truth? What were the limit s of the representable in the Middle Ages? And how was the production of i mages regulated\, given their potential to deceive\, confuse and persuade?

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Detailed program to follow.

DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260612T000000 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR