[artinfo] [transform] CASAzine #4 - Call for Papers --- Deadline Approaching

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** CASAzine #4: Drawing the Line **

Following the activity of the 2006 Cultural 
Analysis Summer Academy (CASA) international 
meeting in Amsterdam (June 23 – 25), the fourth 
CASAzine will explore the subject of art and 
direct action. In particular, the issue seeks to 
investigate the tension between hegemonic forms 
of knowledge concerning what constitutes art as 
it is embodied by the academy versus alternative 
forms of creative action and knowledge 
production. It is an enquiry into distinctions, 
limits and possibilities, and into the positions 
our actions occupy in relation to academic 
knowledge sets, institutions, and ultimately to other people.

"Drawing the Line" aims to examine the 
implications and potential of our actions. How do 
aesthetic concerns affect our politics and vice 
versa? Do actions utilizing mass media heighten 
awareness, or do they merely contribute 
additional imagery to the spectacle? More 
basically, to what extent is art as creative 
activism a productive way to work for social 
change? Can ‘radical aesthetics’ productively 
challenge distinctions drawn between art and 
activism in traditional academic knowledge systems?

"Drawing the Line" applies to our negotiation 
with institutionalization. What happens to 
creative forms of direct action when they are 
defined as art by public bodies or art markets? 
How can creative practices push agendas for 
political change in relation to, or even within, 
those contexts? How can we take critical action 
that is aware of its own position in a cultural 
climate of fashion, celebrity, and shopping? How 
do aspects of cultural life as it is currently 
conceived (i.e. the figure of a charismatic 
creator a.k.a. "the artist as genius") affect our 
goal for leaderless, equal, collaborative forms of art and action?

"Drawing the Line" is pertinent to how we relate 
to others. In all our forms of activism including 
research, art, and direct action, the nature of 
our engagement with others is crucial, be they 
involved, hostile, critical, or indifferent. How 
do our activities relate to those outside the 
group of people specifically engaged in this 
alternative practice? How do the microcosms of 
dissent created in our daily lives relate to wider social frameworks?

These questions are not new, but they are 
critical to framing the daily distinctions and 
decision making necessary to create awareness and 
change. As we move on to review, discuss, and 
share responses to these questions, we hope to 
arrive at better questions to ask, which will in 
turn create new answers in the struggle for 
social and political equity and environmental protection.


** Formats **
We are seeking contributions in both text and 
image form. Contributions may be a reflection on 
the subject of art and direct action as it was 
addressed during the meeting, or it can present 
an entirely perspective. Contributions may be 
offered by anyone, including those who have not 
attended CASA meetings in the past.

** Guidelines **
- 500-3000 words.
- Language: English preferred; German, French, and Spanish understood.

** Send **
- Email is preferred: casazine2006 at gmail.com. 
Please attach text in .doc or .rtf; and attach 
image samples in low resolution .jpg.
- Surface mail: Monika Vykoukal, Peacock Visual 
Arts, 21 Castle Street, AB11 5BQ, Aberdeen, 
Scotland. If you would like your materials 
returned, please include a stamped return envelope.

** Deadline **
- 1 February 2007

We, Milena Placentile and Monika Vykoukal, the 
editors of this year's zine, met at CASA Meeting 
2006. We live in Canada and Scotland 
respectively, and we are both curators of contemporary art.

The Cultural Analysis Summer Academy (CASA) came 
into existence in 2003 as an international forum 
that seeks to discuss the shifting functions of 
academia and the scholar in a globalized society. 
CASA offers a platform for people to combine 
efforts and information with a view towards social transformation.

To date, CASA has organized three meetings to 
provide a platform for these discussions. For 
more information about CASA 2004 "Acting and 
Spectating", CASA 2005 "Borders, Markets, 
Movements", and CASA 2006 "Constructing Social 
Change: Art, Direct Action, Knowledge, Utopia, 
and Desires", please visit: 
<http://www.casa.manifestor.org/>http://www.casa.manifestor.org.


Milena Placentile
<http://www.shintai-z.com>http://www.shintai-z.com