How to submit

ASPECT is a DVD publication, released twice a year. Each issue includes videos from 5-10 artists and a second commentary audio track for each video. The videos can be viewed with the original sound or with the commentary.

 

Any artist may submit their work at any time to ASPECT Magazine. Additionally, we put out regular open calls for work on specific topics. If your work fits with an upcoming issue, you will be contacted for potential inclusion in that issue.

We are looking for work of any genre, material or topic. ASPECT publishes in DVD format, so the work should be better represented in video documentation than in still images. The documentation must be a video or audio, but the original work can be in any format.

For a submission to be considered complete it must include:

• A video (DVD, VHS or miniDV)
• The artist’s name
• The artist’s contact information (phone, mail and email)
• The artist’s resume
• The commentator’s name
• The commentator’s contact information (phone, mail and email)
• A brief description of the potential commentary

Anyone familiar with the artist’s work and related work in the genre can provide commentary. The artist cannot, however, provide commentary on their own work. The goal of the commentary track is to provide another layer of content.

There are no hard rules about video length. The commentator should be able to comfortably talk over the length of the video, however. Since the commentary is a second audio track over the video, the commentary length will match the video length. Videos that are longer than 15 minutes may be too long for the commentary to fill, and those shorter than 4 minutes do not offer enough time to discuss the work.

If your work is selected for inclusion you will need to provide the following:

• A miniDV tape with your video
• A short artist’s bio
• A short artist’s statement about that work
• A photo of the artist
• A short commentator’s bio
• A photo of the commentator

ASPECT will then arrange for a recording session with the commentator. The recording will take place in a location that is easily accessible to the commentator. In most cases we find a studio in their same town. The recording and follow-up materials are usually required within a month of notification of inclusion.

ASPECT will return materials if you provide a self-addressed stamped envelope. However, we often find that submissions are of good quality but not necessarily appropriate for that issue. If possible we try to keep all submissions in an archive for future reference and possible inclusion. We suggest that if the postage is more than the cost of producing the materials, you let us keep them for possible future use.

ASPECT is available in university libraries in North America, Europe, and Asia. Museum bookstores such as MoMA in New York, SFMoMA, the ICA in London, and the Pompidou in Paris sell ASPECT. It is also available in the US to subscribers to Netflix, a DVD rental service.