CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS | 5th EDITION SAVVY JOURNAL

At The Shrine
Reflections, Reciprocalities and Reverberations: Fine Art and Music

The fifth edition of the SAVVY Journal for critical texts on
contemporary African art will explore the influence of music on
contemporary art practices and map interfaces between visual media,
fine art, and music in the African and African diaspora context. The
title of this collection, “At the Shrine” is a reference to Fela
Kuti‘s Shrine Nightclub and concert venue; a cultural space and an
epitome of a social sculpture. This music venue captures our vision of
the links between visual expression, music, and critical inquiry.

The mutual relationship between music and fine art, which goes back to
time immemorial, manifests itself on different levels. Both artistic
languages inform each other in diverse enriching ways. Some of these
points of intersection that have crystallized and proven to be
ground-breaking in a variety of disciplines in recent decades include,
but are not limited to: Performance/ Performativity - e.g. the
enigmatic blend of music and performance art, as in the case of Les
Têtes Brulées, or the socio-political vigour channelled through the
audio and visual of Fela Kuti’s music, which has since been an
important source of inspiration for many visual artists; Photography -
e.g. the presence of James Brown’s music in Malick Sidibe’s
photography, the synergy between Johannesburg’s jazz scene and a whole
generation of Drum photographers, or the field of music portraiture
championed by the likes of Samuel Nja Kwa; Video - ranging from video
art, as in the case of Goddy Leye’s “We Are The World”, to music video
clips featuring a variety of musical styles from Azonto, through Coupé
Decalé or Kwaito to Rai that have completely transformed the
production and consumption of popular culture in Africa; Illustration,
Patterning, and Painting - which have been essential in the making of
outstanding record covers and album posters; the interconnectedness
between music and fashion design; the influence of the likes of Sun Ra
on Afrofuturism; Experimental Composition and Sound Art as in the case
of Emeka Ogboh; Theatre/ Theatricality - the links in popular theatre
traditions between multimedia theatre groups that rely on popular
music bands and sign-board painters, such as in Ghanaian and Nigerian
Concert Party traditions; Electronica - artists, musicians are
creatively reusing music software, online resources, and mobile phone
technologies to refigure older styles of music, dance, communication
and visual imaging. Some of these forms are explicitly understood as
art while others are ephemeral forms of expression. Street Art –
graffiti, spoken word, poetry, street dance are forms that link
musical, political and counter-cultural expression.

This edition of SAVVY Journal is not intended as an anthology of music
and fine art. Instead, we ask contributors to investigate where
disciplines meet, how genres are demarcated, and what emerges from
their various encounters, as well as explore the nexus between
performativity, fine art, music and technology. Indeed we are
concerned with the ways in which ideas of genre and modality are
themselves made and unmade in artistic practice. We are interested in
articles on the role of sound appropriation in the conceptualisation
of art works and of visual aspects in the creation, performance and
consumption of sound and music. Furthermore, this edition will explore
and identify those artists who, using various textures and formats,
work on this crossroad of sound and vision. Also, from a more general
point of view, we are interested in reflections on how the encounter
of image and sound in popular music has influenced culture and
society. The impact of soundtracks on social and political movements
on and beyond the continent would be another fascinating topic.

For this edition, the SAVVY Journal editorial will be enriched by the
following guest-editors: Dr. Hauke Dorsch (African Music Archives,
Mainz), Ntone Edjabe (Chimurenga / Pan African Space Station, Cape
Town) and Prof. Jesse Weaver Shipley (Haverford College,
Philadelphia).

We invite essays from writers of all backgrounds - artists, curators,
art historians, and theoreticians, scholars - not exceeding 3500 words
in length, discussing the above mentioned or related issues.

Additionally, we are interested in more general articles such as
artist-features, exhibition reviews and previews of circa 1500 words.

For more information please visit www.savvy-journal.com Submissions
to: editorialsavvy-journal.com

Deadline: 15th August 2013

Modalities:

Manuscripts with max. 3500 words in length, as text document WITHOUT
formatting

Author's names and short biography of ca. 100 words at the end of the
article Texts must be accompanied by five keywords

Manuscripts must be submitted in English or German. All German texts
should also be accompanied by an English translation

All bibliographic references must be included in the document’s last
page VERY IMPORTANT: Do NOT use the footnote or endnote facility in
your word-processing program; just add the notes, numbered, at the end
of the main text

VERY IMPORTANT: please include the following info: - artist’s (or
author’s) name in CAPTIONS, title of work must be in italic, date of
work, media, dimensions, collection (or place of exhibition), photo
credits. e.g._: Jane Alexander, The Butcher Boys, 1985/86 (plaster
sculpture), National Gallery of Arts, Cape Town, South Africa.