Aberystwyth University and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum ...

Aberystwyth University and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum
Wales
AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award Studentship
FURTHER PARTICULARS
“Do Networks Have Margins? Locating the Avant-­‐garde of the 1960s: The
performance works of Ivor Davies at Amgueddfa Cymru-­‐National Museum Wales”
Aberystwyth University and the National Museum of Art at Amgueddfa Cymru -­‐
National Museum Wales (AC-­‐NMW), are pleased to invite applications for a three-­‐
year doctoral studentship, fully funded by the AHRC (full fees; annual stipend of
£14,400; plus associated expenses of up to £1,000 per annum), to commence on 1
October 2013.
The research will be supervised by Professor Heike Roms (Theatre, Film and
Television Studies, Aberystwyth University) and Dr Jacqueline Yallop (English and
Creative Writing, Aberystwyth University) and Nicholas Thornton (Head of Modern &
Contemporary Art, AC-­‐NMW).
CLOSING DATE for applications: 5 July 2013
INTERVIEWS to be held: 19 July 2013
STARTING DATE: 1 October 2013 (a later start date of 1 January 2014 will also be
considered)
THE RESEARCH PROJECT
Keywords: destruction in art; performance art curatorship; re-­‐enactment
Painter, writer and activist Ivor Davies (b. 1935) is one of the foremost figures in
contemporary Welsh art. Always interested in the most radical art movements,
during the 1960s Davies was involved in so-­‐called Destruction in Art, creating a series
of performances involving explosives, which he showed in Durham, Bristol, Swansea
and Edinburgh, and at the seminal Destruction in Art Symposium (DIAS) in London in
1966. In 2016, in celebration of the 50 th anniversary of DIAS and Davies’ 80 th
birthday, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales will stage a major
retrospective of Davies’ work in Cardiff. The exhibition will centre on Davies’
performance output of the 1960s in the context of Destruction in Art and place
Davies’ work alongside that of fellow DIAS contributors such as Yoko Ono, Gustav
Metzger or John Latham, featuring selected archival material alongside original
artworks.

This associated research project, undertaken as a collaboration between Amgueddfa
Cymru – National Museum Wales and Aberystwyth University, will use the occasion
of the exhibition to explore the relationship between internationalism and localism
in the avant-­‐garde of the 1960s. The post-­‐war avant-­‐garde has been characterized as
a scene of truly international character: the experience of the Second World War, a
growing awareness of the global reach of issues such as nuclear threat and
environmental devastation, and enhanced transnational communication and travel
motivated artists engaged in the ‘countercultural’ practices of the late 1950s and
1960s to build international networks of exchange, solidarity and collaboration.
Whilst new approaches to making may have originated in particular places (New
York, Tokyo, London or Paris, say), they quickly circulated across national boundaries
with the help of specialist publications or through artists encountering each other’s
work in the context of exhibitions and festivals. But how exactly did such
transnational exchange take place? How did it influence the work of artists engaged
in this exchange? And how widely did such influence extend beyond the world’s art
metropolises?
The focus of the research will be on the period’s performance-­‐based approaches to
artistic experimentation such as "Happenings" and early performance art. However
international its influences, performance always possesses a local dimension as it is
generally realized in response to the circumstances of a specific context, making it an
ideal case study for the negotiation (and sometimes tension) between international
artistic influences and local conditions of making. The project will thus offer a
historical perspective on contemporary debates around issues such as globalisation,
transnationalism, localism and networking in art. It will approach these themes
through the lens of Ivor Davies’ performances in the context of Destruction in Art.
The work of Davies, who as an artist has been committed to both international
exchange and Welsh culture and politics, sheds light on how artistic practices of the
1960s were shaped by transnational aesthetic, social and political influences on the
one hand and local cultural and artistic concerns and conditions of making on the
other.
The project will provide a doctoral student with unprecedented access to Davies’
private collection, which includes the most comprehensive set of papers related to
the Destruction in Art Symposium in existence and as such a resource of major
international significance. It will also provide access to Davies himself and his
extensive memories of the period. Its close association with a major exhibition will
provide the student with a platform on which to combine their historical, archival
research on performance with a practical exploration into how to such research may
be visualized and embodied (through exhibition display, re-­‐enactments, etc) so that
it creates a rich opportunity for the public to learn about and engage with a major
aspect of Welsh and international art.

Research Questions. The central questions this research seeks to pose are as
follows:
-­‐ How did the international avant-­‐garde art movements of the post-­‐war period –
especially Happenings and performance art – develop through practices of
networking?
-­‐ To what extent were the artistic practices of the 1960s shaped by transnational
aesthetic influences and by local political, cultural and artistic concerns and
conditions?
Within the frame of these overarching questions, it is expected that the research
student will be seeking to answer questions such as the following:
-­‐ How did Welsh artists contribute to the international neo-­‐avant-­‐garde and vice
versa?
-­‐ How does tracking a specific artistic network (eg. DiA) allow new insights into
notions of ‘stylistic development’ and ‘movements’ in relation to performance
art? And how may such network connections be displayed in an exhibition?
-­‐ Can performance strategies of re-­‐enactment and process-­‐based exhibition design
constitute a performative mode of historiography in relation to performance
history?
-­‐ What are the forms of public engagement that such strategies enable with regard
to art historical materials, especially with the archival remains of performance
events?
Methods. The student will be grounded in and encouraged to select (in consultation
with supervisors) from the most appropriate methods for the project, which are
likely to include: archival research (extensive research into Ivor Davies’s personal
collection, complemented by research in the archives of AC-­‐NMW, Arts Council of
Wales, National Library Wales, National Screen & Sound Archive Wales, and Tate
Archive); oral history interviews; and performance-­‐based display (distinctive
curatorial approaches to the display of performance art materials).
Outcomes: Depending on the interests of the students, the final submission can take
either the form of a written dissertation (80,000 – 100,000 words); or be a practice-­‐
led submission, comprising written dissertation (40,000-­‐50,000 words) and as a
practice component a distinct contribution to the Ivor Davies: Destruction in Art
exhibition and accompanying outreach programme (to be identified with
supervisors).
WHAT WE ARE OFFERING
1. The award pays tuition fees at the Home/EU rate and a maintenance grant each
year (£14,400) plus associated expenses (up to £1,000 per annum), for a maximum
of three years of full-­‐time doctoral study, subject to evidence of satisfactory
progress.
2. The student will benefit from the lively research culture at the Department of
Theatre, Film and Television Studies, one of the largest departments of its kind in the
UK, which currently has some 40 PhD research students working on a wide range of
projects. The student will receive full research training at Aberystwyth University
during the first semester of the studentship. Additional Oral History training will also

e provided.
Further details about postgraduate research in the Department of Theatre, Film and
Television Studies are available on the following website:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/tfts/prospective-­‐students/prosp-­‐pg/
3. The student will be provided with access to office space.
4. The student will be given unprecedented access to Davies’s personal collection,
which includes the most comprehensive set of papers related to the Destruction in
Art Symposium in existence. The project will also provide access to Davies himself
and his extensive memories of the period. Furthermore, the student will benefit
from the unique opportunity afforded by the partnership with AC-­‐NMW and its staff,
resources and in-­‐house training to gain general experience of a working museum
environment, curatorial expertise, conservation and archival expertise, and expertise
in outreach work.
5. The student will be based initially in Aberystwyth, with extended periods of
fieldwork to be undertaken in Cardiff during the second and third year of the PhD.
Supervision
The research will be supervised by Professor Heike Roms (Theatre, Film and
Television Studies, Aberystwyth University) and Dr Jacqueline Yallop (English and
Creative Writing, Aberystwyth University) and Nicholas Thornton (Head of Modern &
Contemporary Art, AC-­‐NMW).
For more information on Professor Roms: http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/tfts/staff/hhp/
For more information on Dr Yallop: http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/english/staff/jay4/
Individual and joint supervisions will take place at dates to be agreed with the
student on at least a monthly basis. An annual progress review will take place at
Aberystwyth University.
START DATE
The preferred start date is 1 October 2013, although a later start date of 1 January
2014 can also be considered in exceptional cases.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The successful candidate will choose the specific topic of their own doctoral research
within the project's general remit. We are looking for a highly promising student
who will value the opportunity of combining academic research in this area with
involvement with a leading cultural sector organisation.
The person appointed will meet the following criteria:
1. S/he will have an appropriate good undergraduate degree, and a successfully
completed or to be completed MA, ideally in an area of performance studies, art
history, theatre history, cultural studies or curatorial studies.
2. S/he will show the potential to develop a range of advanced research skills,
particularly in the area of curatorial practice, archival research and oral history
research.
3. S/he will have an enthusiasm for the subject area and, ideally, some knowledge of
recent British performance or art history and performance theory.
4. S/he will demonstrate the ability to work effectively in academic and non-­‐

academic environment and a willingness to work on the project in a manner that is
consonant with its requirements.
Candidates must meet the AHRC's academic criteria and because of funding
regulations, must be either a UK national, or a non-­‐UK national who satisfies AHRC
eligibility criteria. Applicants are advised to consult ‘Student Funding Guide 2012-­‐13’
on the AHRC website
http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Student-­‐Funding-­‐Guide.pdf
or to contact the AHRC directly to establish whether or not they meet these
requirements.
HOW TO APPLY
1. You can apply online or offline using Aberystwyth’s standard PhD application
FORM
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/postgrad/howtoapply/
2. You must include two academic REFERENCES and academic transcripts. Please
inform your referees about the distinct nature of the CDA project so that they may
take this into account when writing letters of reference.
3. Please include a STATEMENT (max 500 words) outlining:
* how your previous experience will equip you to undertake the proposed research
* how you envisage the collaborative nature of the project being of benefit to your
research
* how you consider the research will further your future career plans.
4. Please also include a research PROPOSAL (max 1000 words) outlining:
* how you will refine the project as laid out in the project description in order to
achieve your own research aims
Closing Date for formal applications: Friday 5 July 2013. Interviews will take place
on the 19 July 2013 at National Museum Wales, Cardiff.
Interviewees will be asked to make a 10-­‐minute presentation based on their
proposed topic or initial ideas for this PhD research project.
For informal enquiries and further information please contact Professor Heike Roms,
Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, Aberystwyth University, SY23
3AJ (hhp@aber.ac.uk).