Call for papers for Syn-Thèses 15: Intermedial Crossovers in Audiovisual and Interactive Arts

Guest Editors: Loukia Kostopoulou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) & Maria-Ilia Katsaridou (Ionian University)

Art expresses and highlights social problems; it is usually the case that filmmakers are influenced by other artists or media and these influences are reflected in their work. Bruhn and Gjelsvik (2008) stress the affinities of cinema with other media: “As cinema shares its basic material with photography (the exposure of an image on photographic film) it has sometimes been described as a mechanical, direct reproduction of reality, but early cinema borrowed heavily from traditional performing arts”. Moreover, the authors underline the influence of narrative forms such as literature—and more specifically the novel—on the structure of narrative cinema. Avant-garde artists have drawn heavily on the structure of literary texts, imitating parts of their structure in the filmic text. This imitation could take the form of incorporating chapters in the film with the respective intertitle which informs the audience about the theme of the chapter. By replicating some of the functions of literary texts in cinema, the filmmakers managed to create a distancing effect on the audience. Other important media such music, opera, architecture, photography and painting (ibid.) and, most recently, digital media, have highly influenced the medium of film throughout the years and led to the conception of cinema as a mixed medium.

Cinema also becomes more interactive, influenced by videogames and other interactive media, creating new ways to engage and immerse audiences.

Intermedial studies stem from an interest in “interaesthetic” phenomena (Bruhn and Gjelsvik 2018). The concept has a closer connection with aesthetics and “the idea of ‘sister arts’” (Pethö 2018). Pethö, drawing on the Renaissance concept of paragone, Lessing’s famous Laocoön essay (1767), and the Wagnerian ideal of Gesamtkunstwerk (1849)—that is, a total work of art—explains that this rivalry between different art forms is one of the precursors of intermediality. The idea of the mixing of art forms was also a necessary criterion for the so-called historical avant-gardes of the beginning of the twentieth century since it helped them “achieve the highest artistic and political/spiritual goals” (Bürger 1984, quoted in Bruhn and Gjelsvik 2018). As a matter of fact, avant-garde artists proclaimed that this mixing of art forms would be very beneficial for the advancement of art and thus were fervent in engaging in intermedial experiments (Kostopoulou 2023).

In the forthcoming issue of the journal Syn-Thèses, we propose to address issues of intermediality in audiovisual and interactive contexts. The following questions could be addressed:

- Theoretical issues of intermediality in audiovisual and interactive arts

- Synchronic and diachronic perspectives on intermediality

- Literary and theatrical influences on audiovisual and interactive media

- Media transformation and intermediality in audiovisual arts (cinema, television, animation, documentary film etc.)

- Media transformation and intermediality in interactive arts (videogames, interactive theater etc.)

- Experimentation and intermedial practices in avant-garde art

- The role of the spectator

Submission of abstracts: Please submit an abstract of 500 words and a short bio note (100 words) to both editors by April 30th, 2023.

Submission of articles: October 15th, 2023, Loukia Kostopoulou (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Maria-Ilia Katsaridou (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Language: French, English, Greek

Editorial standards:

https://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/syn-theses/about/submissions#authorGuidelines   

Syn-Thèses is a yearly, international, refereed academic e-journal, published by the School of French at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. A former print publication, from 2008 to2012, Syn-Thèses aspires to publish eminent quality papers in the fields of Linguistics, Literature and Translation.