SEDIMENT
JAC 2024 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
For our ninth issue, the Journal of Art Criticism (JAC) seeks essays and original artworks that
interrogate the notion of sediment in the changing world of contemporary art. Some questions
that might guide this exploration include—but are certainly not limited to—the following:
➢ Palimpsest can be a form of sedimentation in art. How do meanings for contemporary
art get buried, uncovered or layered? What is the effect of sedimentation on memory
(generational, collective, etc.)?
➢ How do contemporary artists negotiate permanence and ephemerality within a single
work? Can sediment be a dynamic, ever-changing entity? How does the idea of
sedimentation simultaneously reflect change and stagnancy?
➢ How do contemporary artists envision the relationship between humans and the natural
world? How do we intentionally or unintentionally traverse the process of
sedimentation?
➢ What is the temporality of decay? How do restoration efforts contribute to preserving
but also eroding the nature of an object? Are there sustainable practices artists are
taking up to reconcile the ecological ironies of art production?
➢ What are some ways contemporary art reflects the sedimentation and layering of social
life? How do our experiences/knowledge/histories pile on each other?
➢ In what ways have contemporary artists engaged with themes of the residual and left
over?
We welcome written submissions discussing any work of contemporary art—from painting to
performance, relational aesthetics to sculptural installation—so long as it engages critically
with some dimension of what it means for art to interrogate sediment. Essays should be
1,000-3,000 words and previously unpublished.
In addition to written submissions, we accept submissions of original visual art in any
medium. Artist statements are accepted, but not required. Priority will be given to artworks
that engage with the notion of sediment either formally or thematically.
Undergraduate students from any institution are encouraged to submit. Please note that
JAC is a strictly undergraduate journal. As such, we are regrettably unable to consider
submissions from postgraduates.
Submissions are due by Sunday, January 28th, 2024.
Please visit https://journalofartcriticism.cargo.site/Submit
for full submission guidelines.