CALL FOR PAPERS: LIQUID BLACKNESS JOURNAL 1.3 (JULY 2014)
liquid blackness, a Research Project on Blackness and Aesthetics of the Department of Communication at Georgia State University is organizing a Symposium to be hosted by the Department of Communication on April 11-12, 2014. The purpose of the Symposium, which will bring together scholars, artists and curators, is to begin a conversation about liquidity as an aesthetic form in which blackness is encountered in our contemporary visual and sonic landscape. The idea of the liquidity of blackness emerges both from an observation of salient contemporary aesthetic forms as well as a sort of thought experiment. If, as Harry Elam has argued in his commentary to Blackness for Sale, blackness does indeed “travel on its own, separate and distinct from black people,” then what aesthetic arrangements have become possible as a result of that?
Coinciding with the Symposium liquid blackness is requesting proposals for artwork for exhibition, online publication, and panel discussions. We seek to exhibit new or adapted work that engages with aesthetic forms of black liquidity, and/or critical or creative writing.
Deadlines:
Window Project proposal: February 16, 2014; complete work: March 26, 2014
Submission of visual art for online issue: March 3, 2014
Submission of writing abstract: February 9, 2014; complete essay: March 3
The Window Project
Deadline for proposals: February 16, 2014
Notification of acceptance: February 28, 2014
The Window Project is a 6-channel new media, public art platform located on the southern end of Woodruff Park, exhibiting art from sundown to sunrise. Visuals in this space looks best when they are bright, high contrast and not overly detailed or busy. Audio is projected out to the streets and remotely through a streaming server accessible by all smart phones. The Window Project uses 6 Dell 1610HD Projectors plus a 7th for the signage. Videos will need to be submitted as 1280x720 h.264 Quicktime files. In addition to projecting six distinct images, you can have each screen show the same video at the same time, you can offset each screen to show the video at a different time, or break up the image to span multiple screens.
Proposals should include: artist statement and material that helps visualize the project. Further details on the platform’s specifications and assistance will be available. Final work will need to be completed by March 26, 2014.
Visual Art Submissions for the Online Issue
Deadline March 3, 2014
Submissions of visual art should also include an artist statement that directly addresses the idea of “liquid blackness.” Art can be new or adapted, and we encourage artists to consider how the online platform provides different opportunities to visualize various mediums, including video. Submissions should be high quality digital files to be sent via attachment or link to liquidblackness@gsu.edu
A number of artists will be asked to participate in a panel discussing their work during the symposium. Please indicate your availability to be present at Georgia State University on April 12, 2014. All contributors will be invited to the release party on April 12, 2014 at The Sound Table. Requests for panel discussion will be made by March 14, 2014. Please send all submissions and direct all questions to liquidblackness@gsu.edu
Writings Submissions for the Online Issue
Deadline for abstracts: February 9, 2014
Notification of acceptance: February 16, 2014
Deadline for completed essays: March 3, 2014
Submissions should to be sent via attachment to liquidblackness@gsu.edu Submissions of writing can include creative and critical writing. We encourage critical writing that contributes to the discourse of liquid blackness and/as aesthetics through diverse methods including art reviews, interviews, and investigations into theory.