call for submissions

>From Jonathan Penton & Dan Waber:

We at www.UnlikelyStories.org would like to observe:

1. All creativity comes from the same stream. The distinctions between visual art, literature, music, film, performance art, and technologically-assisted art are artificial.

2. Although these distinctions are artificial, they are often practical. It is extremely expensive to bind many pieces of visual art in a book, and often greatly reduces the emotional impact of such works. It is rarely convenient to view the original manuscript of a well-loved novel.

3. Although some practical distinctions are still valid, recent technological changes have greatly reduced their necessity. With the advent of consumer-level laser printers, visual art can be reproduced much less expensively. Similar technologies have reduced the cost of short printing runs. The television, the VCR, and most importantly the Internet, have allowed for vastly greater distribution of artworks of all types. Although problems of finance and location are still acute, the opportunities to distribute a wide variety of artistic works to a larger audience are greatly increased.

4. Unfortunately, the mindset of artists, and to a lesser degree art appreciators, has not caught up with these changes. We still see a photographer as different from a painter and a filmmaker as different from a poet to a degree which is not justified by the differing technical skills. Worse, photography is considered inherently different from painting, and poetry inherently different from film, despite the fact that all four are often given quite similar electronic treatments to enhance their presentation, especially on the Internet.

We at www.UnlikelyStories.org will proudly present our Cross-Media Issue in the hopes of working to alter these prejudices in both our own minds and the culture. Under the guiding vision of experimental artist and guest editor Dan Waber, we are looking to publish creative works which push the boundaries of not simply genre, but medium. We are looking for works that destroy the boundaries between poetry and visual art, between music and essay, between storytelling and programming. We are looking to dance about literature.

We are especially interested in works which would not be possible without the World Wide Web, or that otherwise are designed to specifically take advantage of the medium in which they will be presented. We are looking for essays and reviews of any cross-media work, as well as essays that explore current changes in art as our technology and culture change. We are looking for experiments – music videography and prose poetry are too well established to be considered cross-media, unless, of course, you've painted a music video or photographed a prose poem.

The bulk of this issue will remain at www.UnlikelyStories.org in perpetuity, although large files might be taken down after one year. It should be noted that cross-media works are also accepted in regular issues of Unlikely 2.0, though the considerations for acceptance are drastically different. Please see http://www.unlikelystories.org/mission.shtml for our Mission Statement, and the guidelines that pertain to unthemed issues.

Considerations for interested artists:

1. Please take the time to check out www.UnlikelyStories.org and see what we normally do at Unlikely 2.0.
2. Please send your work, or links to your work, directly to Dan Waber at unlikelystories(at)gmail.com. Submissions must be received by Friday, December 22, 2006. The issue should go live in mid-January.
3. Please assume that all work will be viewed in Internet Explorer or Firefox at 1024x768 pixels. The sidebars that normally exist on Unlikely 2.0 will be removed when appropriate.
4. Please create works that can be reasonably viewed by users running Windows 2000 on a Pentium III, Windows XP on a Pentium 4, or Mac OS 8.x. Movie formats that are viewable on the Web are unfortunately harder on computers than are DVDs. Realistically, a movie file shouldn't be larger than 400x300 pixels, and an animated file shouldn't be larger than 600x400 pixels.
5. Previously published works are accepted, with appropriate notation. Simultaneously submitted materials are not appropriate for this issue.

Dan Waber's bio is being constantly updated by the search engine of your choice. Please enter: "dan waber" into the search box to begin.

www.UnlikelyStories.org