Tracing the Transfer of Cultural Objects/Challenging the Burdens of the Past

Art history as a discipline came into being as an instrument of interpreting and praising national artistic and cultural heritage, thus devising national identity. This model of promotion of national patrimony is still prevalent in Europe, and it remains a heavy burden for any transnational endeavor. In order to come to terms with this concept, the recently launched collaborative research project "Transfer of Cultural Objects in the Alpe Adria Region in the 20th Century (TransCultAA), " funded by the Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) in third joint research program, “Uses of the Past 2016-2017, ” deals with a heavily charged common past. This occurs both on a general theoretical level and through interdisciplinary investigation of the very material dimensions of transfer and translocation of individual objects into larger cultural, political, and geostrategic contexts. As a member of the research consortium of the TransCultAA project, my intention is to present the initial conception of the project and to analyze its effectiveness in overcoming national and disciplinary boundaries.