Call for submissions - Working Title, 2012 special issue of Stripburger

Gather all, ye scurvy comic scribblers, scratchers and drawers!


This year's special edition of Stripburger is dedicated to work in all its forms. Yes, the W-word.

In these turbulent times we're witnessing changes to the paradigm of work. Once it used to be a part of a daily survival strategy, then a way of expressing oneself, nowadays we cannot distinguish it from leisure time anymore. How can we define work in the first place? Is it a rational guided process aimed at some tangible goal, or is it any human activity where new things are created? Is it only paid labour, remunerated by a wage or salary, what about voluntary work? Is it the work that made the human species, or is it the other way around, that we as humans tend to put significance into our creative activities and call that work? What about art? Is an artist creating or working? What's the difference between these two terms in his or her case?

Many questions can be asked about the nature of work in our contemporary society. Due to the fleeting nature of its definitions we've assembled a list of terms, clues and starting points, all somehow connected to the concept of work, which could serve as sources of inspiration for you, dear artists, when you try to tackle this heavy issue. We're expecting socially engaged comics, but also intimate meditations on the issue of work, status and rights of workers, on the artist as a worker, then humorous submissions as well, even mischievous are most welcome! Let them not be politically correct, PC is for pussies, we're expecting full-blooded comics that will become often quoted referential material in the future, or at least fun to read!

Here are some starting ideas, feel free to (ab)use them:

- means of survival
- effort, toil
- a characteristic human need
- a necessary evil
- joke, fun, goofing-off
- »He who does not work, shall not eat as well!« - a Slovenian proverb
- work as godly activity – »creatio ex nihilo«
- work vs. Rest
- waiting for work: Unemployment office
- work vs. antiwork
- working at home
- manual vs. intellectual work
- taboo of work/banned work
- »a Sunday kind of work«
- »precarious, temporary, part-time, seasonal work
- workoholism
- internship
- strike/denial of work
- legal vs. illegal work (moonlighting, etc)
- voluntary work
- trade unions
- history of work
- exploitation of workers: sweatshops, slavery, forced/compulsory work
- gyms: "working out"
- the division of work/labour
- work and gender
- work and age
- work and sexuality (prostitutes and man-whores, etc)
- work today vs. work in the past (manufactories, guilds, etc)
- »Work less, create more!«
- stigmatisation of the non-working
- »gastarbeit« work: work by more or less temporary immigrant workers and
- whatever works for you

You're also kindly invited to work on some other related ideas as well.


A travelling exhibition is planned at the release of the anthology along with some other things like workshops etc …


Deadline for submissions: 31st May 


TECHNICAL DETAILS:
the book will be sized: 235x170 mm
So send the works no smaller then A4 format(21x29,7 cm)
print: black and white
Length: up to 12 pages

Files should be:
- lineart: at least 600 dpi resolution, 240 mm height
- grayscale: at least 300 dpi resolution, 240 mm height


TO BE SENT TO:
burger@mail.ljudmila.org
Stripburger / Forum Ljubljana, Metelkova 6, SI – 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Europe