Call for submissions: Common Measure Vol.1

Submit writing or visual art by July 1st.

August 2nd, 2023: open call for submissions is now closed.

You are invited to contribute to Common Measure Vol. 1, to be printed in Fall 2023. Common Measure will be an amalgam of various visual and written works, exploring the core theme of presence and print and what they mean against today's hypercharged digital content netscape.

What is the role of print today? While the contest of print and digital has raged for decades, digital media has lately dominated. This has led people to seek out older, more material forms like polaroid photos or vinyl. As we stand at this tipping point for our focus and attention, Common Measure invites you to dive into the debate by considering the following:

• Print vs. digital media: how they each shape our focus and attention.  

• The transient nature of contemporary media: viral but quickly forgotten content. 

• Corporate content algorithms: how art is shaped to serve the mechanical attention economy.

• How engaging with physical art and writing (galleries, print books) shapes our attention.

• The rapidity of modern digital content production and pacing, contrasted with traditional forms.

• Media via smartphone, and the myriad distractions this brings; contrasted with print media, in which the object generally has one function. 

• What does presence mean to you today?

Please submit: 

• An article, short story, poem, creative nonfiction, or other form of writing;

• A painting, photograph, illustration, or other form of visual art;

• Of roughly five pages or fewer;

To commonmeasurepress@gmail.com by August 1st, 2023. We look forward to working together on this project.

Focused on you,

Torben Robertson, Editor

Tom Moss, Art Director