Luisa Lorenza Corna Presents at Association for Art History Conference: Parallel Withdrawals

Luisa Lorenza Corna will present a paper at the Association for Art History Annual Conference, as part of a panel titled 'Resistance Through Absence: Strategies of deculturalization, separatism, refusal and withdrawal'. Please see details of Luisa's paper below.

Abstract:

Parallel Withdrawals

In 1973, architect Marta Lonzi, sister of feminist art historian Carla, wrote a letter to her professor and colleague Ludovico Quaroni, informing him of her decision to resign from her university position and leave academia entirely. Marta’s choice and her words resonate strongly with a similarly significant departure close to home: Carla Lonzi’s exit from the art world in 1970. This paper explores the little-known parallel trajectories of the two Lonzis, highlighting key moments that led to their decisions to abandon their professional circles. Central to this examination are the ‘final’ documents that marked each departure—Marta’s letter to Quaroni and Carla’s essay The Critique is Power. In the second part, I will consider the recipients of their letters and messages, specifically the figures of the art critic and the architect. I will analyze how both sisters deploy Roland Barthes’ concept of myth to question the critic’s and architect’s social personas and their complicity with patriarchal value systems.

For more information about the event, click here.

For more information about VAMP member, Dr. Luisa Lorenza Corna, click here.