Last month, the Faculty of Arts and the department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies hosted a visit from leading cultural theorist and journalist Marcus Boon, a Professor of English at York University in Toronto, Canada. As a Faculty of Arts Visiting Research Fellow for 2015, Professor Boon worked on research collaborations with the faculty. With his host Senior Lecturer Margie Borschke he delivered a masterclass, workshop and gave a number of public talks, including a well-received keynote at The Energies and the Arts Conference at the Museum of Contemporary Arts.
Professor Marcus Boon’s work is wide ranging and influential. He is the author of In Praise of Copying (Harvard University Press, 2010) and The Road of Excess (Harvard University Press, 2002) and is currently working on a new book, The Politics of Vibration.
Boon’s visit was bookended by two ground-breaking and complementary workshops. A masterclass on Boon’s research into copying practices and the work of Walter Benjamin, gathered Sydney’s top postgraduate students and early career researchers. Participants included postgraduate students from Macquarie, UNSW, University of Sydney and University of Wollongong as well as early career researchers and creative artists. Participants were able to discuss their research with Professor Boon and get valuable feedback and insights.
A scholarly workshop “The Pleasure of the the Copy” was led by Professor Boon in conjunction with Dr Borschke and Dr Lucas Ihein (Univesity of Wolongong) and attracted some of Australia’s most sophisticated thinkers and artists related to the aesthetics of copying practices and the material dimensions of reproduction. The workshop included media theorists, sound and music academics and specialists in contemporary art. Professor Boon and Dr Borschke are planning to edit a collection of essays based on the workshop’s themes.
Professor Marcus Boon’s work is wide ranging and influential. He is the author of In Praise of Copying (Harvard University Press, 2010) and The Road of Excess (Harvard University Press, 2002) and is currently working on a new book, The Politics of Vibration.
Boon’s visit was bookended by two ground-breaking and complementary workshops. A masterclass on Boon’s research into copying practices and the work of Walter Benjamin, gathered Sydney’s top postgraduate students and early career researchers. Participants included postgraduate students from Macquarie, UNSW, University of Sydney and University of Wollongong as well as early career researchers and creative artists. Participants were able to discuss their research with Professor Boon and get valuable feedback and insights.
A scholarly workshop “The Pleasure of the the Copy” was led by Professor Boon in conjunction with Dr Borschke and Dr Lucas Ihein (Univesity of Wolongong) and attracted some of Australia’s most sophisticated thinkers and artists related to the aesthetics of copying practices and the material dimensions of reproduction. The workshop included media theorists, sound and music academics and specialists in contemporary art. Professor Boon and Dr Borschke are planning to edit a collection of essays based on the workshop’s themes.
