w/k - Zwischen Wissenschaft & Kunst
Press "Enter" to skip to content

Notes for Contributors

Notes for Contributors is for those who are interested in making a contribution to w/k, and builds on w/k in 5 minutes. Paragraphs 1 – 6 apply to all types of contributions. Paragraphs 7 and 8 address the specific features of individual studies and theoretical texts.

1. Contact us

If you are interested in publishing in the German and/or the English section, please submit a maximum one-page proposal to w/k publisher Peter Tepe: tepe@wissenschaft-kunst.de. For articles to be published in English please contact Anna-Sophie Jürgens: anna-sophie.jurgens@anu.edu.au.

We ask you to please not submit finished papers. If you do send us a finished article we will ask you to hand in a one-page proposal retrospectively, to ensure consistency in our editorial work and supervision.

Based on the proposal, our editors evaluate the project’s fit to w/k. With respect to sections 1 and 3 this means that the editorial team decides, for example, whether a particular artist is relevant or interesting to the journal. Artists relevant to w/k are “border-crossers” between the (visual) arts and science, and/or science-related artists, and/or artists who collaborate with scientists or engineers on specific projects. If the artist in question does not fulfill these criteria, their submission will not be considered. The same applies to the other sections of the journal.

If your proposal is accepted based on its content and fit within one of w/k’s specific sections, the editorial team will assist you in addressing the particular w/k questions to be focused on in each of the journal’s sections.

2. Working on your contribution

2.1 Text length

Your text should not exceed 2500 words including possible footnotes and literary references. This corresponds to six A4 pages in Times New Roman, with a font size of 12 and a line spacing of 1.5.

2.2 Format

Please refer to published w/k contributions for the formatting of the text. This mainly applies to typographical emphases:

  • Titles of artworks, books, films etc. are highlighted in italics; for example 1984 rather than “1984”
  • You should otherwise use italics sparingly
  • Only use bold text for headers and titles; avoid them in the main body

3. Short biography

Before publishing your paper, we will ask you for some biographical information for the Contributors page (bio blurb). For this, w/k likes to remain flexible: we do not prescribe a fixed format, thus welcoming different individual styles, even if this leads to a certain heterogeneity in appearance. See existing formats used thus far, or introduce a new one. We also list all contributors on the Supporters page. Next to your name there will be a link to “more information can be found in Contributors”.

4. Abstract

Each article published in w/k is accompanied by an abstract which should inform the reader about the paper. It should highlight the central elements of the article, and be accessible to all readers. It is intended to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper’s purpose. The abstract should consist of 50-70 words.

Abstracts should be submitted in English and, if possible, German. The publication of one or both versions will be discussed by the editorial team. If you publish your paper only in the German section of w/k, please send us an brief summary in English (50 to 77 words).

5. Cover image

Each article – and theoretical text – requires a cover image. You may suggest an image or ask Till Bödeker for advice: boedeker@wissenschaft-kunst.de.

6. Translations

w/k has a German and an English section. In October 2016 all 13 German articles were translated into English. They were published simultaneously in German and English. This was only made possible through a sponsor. The online-journal currently has no external funding; it is privately funded by the publisher. Against this background we cannot continue to offer free translations. We are currently looking for a sponsor for the future, and will update the w/k community when a translating service becomes available. Thus, since 2017, we have the following rules: w/k can only publish a German translation of an English article if the contributor provides the translation to the journal themselves. It is the contributor’s responsibility to find someone who can do the translation, check with their gallerist about possible funding, etc.

7. Individual studies

Pictures, captions, and image attachments

Contributors are responsible for securing the necessary image rights for any images they use. At the end of the editorial process, once a version of the article in Word has been approved of by all participants, you must indicate where to place your chosen images. Do not insert the images yourself – only mark their place.

The image(s) you use should be no larger than 4MB and be generally consistent in format (e.g. 1920 x 1080 pixels), without falling below the minimum size of 800 x 600 pixels. Send us the pictures separately in a common file format (e.g. JPG) in the highest possible resolution. Get in touch with Till Bödeker if you have any questions: boedeker@wissenschaft-kunst.de.

7.1 Image file names in (Windows) file manager

Please name your images for the article. As most file managers do not allow more than 27 characters, save your document in the following format:
Image number – name of author – name of article. The image number should correspond to its order of appearance in the article.

Example: 02 – Malatsion – labour-fantasies.jpg: “02” indicates this is Figure 2. Please tag the cover image with “00”.

7.2 Inserting captions and image attachments

w/k distinguishes between the image caption, directly visible and embedded in the article, and the image attachment, which can be opened by clicking on the respective picture, revealing further detailed information.

For image captions, please format them as follows:

Artist’s first and last name: Work title (year of origin). Photo: Photographer’s first and last name. Example:

  • Thomas Schönauer: Himmelskreuz im Luthergarten [Heaven’s Cross in Luther Garden] (2016). Photo: Ralph Richter.

If, for example, a museum took the photos, enter the name of the museum. The same applies to other institutions. Should your photographic credits not fit into this pattern, please contact the editors in order to determine an appropriate format; for example, if we are dealing with the portrait of a philosopher:

  • Ludwig Wittgenstein (1929). Photo: Clara Sjörgen.

For image attachments we do not have strict guidelines; however to ensure consistency we reserve the right to make minor formal and linguistic changes. Here you may add any additional relevant information, for example size measurements, materials used, techniques, exhibition location.

Example of an image caption with attachment information:

Cordula Hesselbarth: Fließbilder (Flow patterns; 2016) Photos: Cordula Hesselbarth.

To see the attachment for this example, click on the image.

In short, insert the respective image caption (or “IC”) into your Word document, as well as the text for the corresponding image attachment (label this as “IA”):

  • IC: Cordula Hesselbarth: Fließbilder (2016). Photos: Cordula Hesselbarth.
  • AT: Cordula Hesselbarth: Fließbilder (Flow patterns; 2016), iron gall ink and Indian ink on stone paper, each 30 x 21 cm. Photos taken continuously as the work developed: Cordula Hesselbarth.
  • If a particular image does not require an attachment, please label it “IA: -” in your text.

8. Theoretical texts

8.1 Images

Theoretical articles often do not use any images beside the cover image. If you do want to integrate one or more images, our editorial staff will advise you on how to format the captions.

8.2 Footnotes and bibliographies

Theoretical articles often have footnotes. w/k does not have any specific guidelines for footnotes. This means we allow multiple systems commonly used in scholarly literature – we do not, however, allow self-made systems. You may refrain from using a bibliography if all bibliographic information is included in the footnotes.