Second Nature: Call for Papers and projects

Second Nature: The International Journal of Creative Media is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal auspiced by RMITâ??s School of Creative Media. Second Nature explores the distinctive particulars of and interconnections between textual, visual, aural and interactive creative research and practices.

The journalâ??s editorial board seeks papers and online projects for its first issue.

As the journal is multiple-media in focus we welcome contributions from across the field of creative media including creative writers, media and art historians, media practitioners and fine artists, architects and architectural theorists and historians, curators, museum professionals, scientists, cultural and media theorists, archivists, technologists, software developers, educationalists, philosophers and any others who have a stake in the understanding and future developments of creative media. Projects might include web-based interactives, net-art, games, suites of 2D imagery, video and sound works, fiction, critical and non-fiction writing. Both projects and papers will be peer-reviewed.

Deadline:
15th June, 2008: Expressions of interest
30th August, 2008: Papers and projects

Issue 1.
Role Models
The inaugural issue of Second Nature will examine creative practice as a contested site of inscription. It will challenge traditional concepts of the creatorâ??s role as one of â??writing' the world that, despite continual challenges to its hegemony, persists in the popular imagination. Whilst past challenges from cultural theorists have remained largely theoretical in approach, new developments in technologies and communications are rapidly changing the creative landscape. â??Creativityâ?? and â??innovationâ?? are seen as the drivers of future First World economies and the â??cultural industriesâ?? account for a substantial proportion of First world GNP. Ironically, less and less Government and corporate support is available for independent, creative research.

Papers and projects addressing, but not limited to, some or all of the following questions are invited:

â?¢ Can traditional views of â??the creatorâ?? withstand these new developments? What role/s will the creative practitioner play in this changing cultural, economic, social and environmental landscape?

â?¢ What kinds of creative spaces and practices are available in an increasingly corporatised brand-driven world?

â?¢ How has the globalization of labour and markets affected the cultural and geographical specificity of creative output.

â?¢ What role will the academy play as a site of creative research?

â?¢ How will the romantic notion of the artist be redefined in the new globalism of the 21st century?

â?¢ Is it all about the market? Are other values driving the development of media and practices?

â?¢ How are new distribution channels affecting what becomes public, how it is consumed and how it is understood?

â?¢ What is the affect of user-generated media on traditional practices and distribution?

â?¢ Can crowd-sourcing, folksonomies and the wisdom of crowds replace the roles of gatekeeper, editor, curator, director etc?

â?¢ What affect has rise of intellectual protectionism and particularly the extension of copyright, trademarking and patenting opportunities had on practitioners and practice?

â?¢ How do the ambitions of â??researchâ?? apply to creative practice? Can practice be said to generate â??newâ?? information (with its material overtones of quantifiablity and universality), or is the information and understanding generated through producing, consuming and/or interacting with creative works of a completely different order?

â?¢ What are the problems of a â??too useful artâ??? In the rush to claim a use value for art (research questions based on empirical models; claims of artâ??s/creativityâ??s economic benefits), is there a risk of denigrating the idea of culture for cultureâ??s sake and of stifling necessary uncertainty within the creative process.

â?¢ Does a culture of user-generated content and democratic dissemination of cultural products weaken traditional institutions such as universities and museums? Or can it lead to a justification for â??highâ?? or â??eliteâ?? cultures?

Please submit an initial expression of interest consisting of an abstract or project description of approximately 300 words, and a small number (i.e less than 15) of 72dpi .jpg or .png images if appropriate. Deadline: June 15, 2008

Completed papers should be no more than 10,000 words. Any images included must have Copyright clearance or be the intellectual property of the author/s. Deadline: August 30, 2008

Abstracts and papers should be submitted as Microsoft Word documents saved as .doc or .rtf.

Submitted projects must be formatted for viewing and interaction in a web browser. In exceptional cases projects may be presented to download (e.g as executable applications). Please contact the editor at the email address below if you would like to discuss suitable formats and file sizes.

Submissions and inquiries should be made to the editor Shiralee Saul shiralee.saul@rmit.edu.au
Forthcoming issues for 2009 include:
'Amnesiac Culture' will examine the complex issues surrounding personal and cultural memory.
'Code Breakers' will examine contemporary understandings of reality as embodied information structures.