Call for Papers: Masters-Students/Students-Masters

Edited by Federica Muzzarelli, Claudio Zambianchi, Giorgio Zanchetti. 

Download the call for paper (PDF)

 

For the next issue of piano b, the editorial team has identified a fertile ground for investigation: the relationship between teachers and students in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s.

In the 1970s, for the first time in our country, university chairs specifically dedicated to contemporary art were established; many 20th-century art historians also continued to teach at the Fine Arts Academies. Their students may therefore belong to either the creative world or to the fields of art criticism and art history.

The hope of piano b is to gather about ten contribution that examine the outcomes of the relationships between those who held teaching responsibilities – also those in less formally structured positions (as university or academy professors) – and the younger generations.

Figures such as Giulio Carlo Argan, Nello Ponente, Filiberto Menna, Enrico Crispolti, Luciano Caramel, Francesco Arcangeli, Anna Maria Brizio, Paolo Fossati, Alberto Boatto, Renato Barilli, Maurizio Calvesi, Mirella Bandini, Corrado Levi, Marisa Volpi, Tommaso Trini, Rossana Bossaglia, or even artists who, alongside their visual work, engaged in substantial critical-theoretical activity (such as Luciano Fabro in Milan or Toti Scialoja in Rome), had a significant influence on their students. The influence of these teachers is moderated by the fact that, precisely during the 1970s and 1980s, it became more difficult than before to find examples of “dogmatic” discipleship: the horizons of the new generations had broadened, and their critical references had expanded to the international scene. In many cases, however, the teacher’s initial imprint remains recognizable. There are also interesting cases of teachers who followed the work of younger colleagues with great interest, even though the latter had not been regular attendees of their university or academy classes. Given the decades under consideration, contributions may also reflect on other living figures, preferably among the students. Of equal interest are collaborations between teachers and students for publishing and exhibition projects. However, we would like to avoid personal or memoir-style contributions, including interviews.

A special section of the issue will be dedicated to contributions on Francesca Alinovi, stemming from the study day held in Bologna this past spring.

 

Submissions guidelines

The journal only accepts full contributions (30,000/40,000 characters, including footnotes and spaces) sent according to the terms below. The editors of each issue will evaluate the contributions and select those that will go to the double-blind peer-review process. Editorial staff will notify the authors of the outcome of the evaluation.

Authors must submit their articles via the journal’s platform using a 5-step proposal submission process.

The file containing the proposal text must not display author's name appearing below the title, in the notes, or in the bibliographic references (where it will be replaced with ***). The name of the author should not be made explicit in any way. References that would allow the author himself or herself to be traced should also be excluded, otherwise the proposal will not be considered. Moreover, file properties must be devoid of names or other personal details, using the anonymization functions provided by various word processing programs (see instructions on how to Ensure Double-Blind Review for more information).

The anonymized contribution file must be uploaded during step 2 of the submission process. The text must conform to the formatting guidelines.

Metadata entry will occur during step 3 of the process and must include the following information:

1. For each author: first name and last name, email, ORCiD identifier (if available), institutional affiliation, country, and a brief biography (maximum 1000 characters, including spaces);
2. Title;
3. Abstract (maximum 1500 characters, including spaces);
4. Five keywords separated by semicolons;

Contributions can be written in Italian, English, and French. When submitting a contribution in Italian or French, the title and abstract must also be provided in English using the "Language of Forms" function on the platform. Proposals submitted through other methods will not be considered.

 

Timeline

Proposals must be submitted by November 30, 2025. Each contribution will undergo a double-blind peer review process. If the judgments of the two referees are not aligned, the editors will decide (in dialogue with the curators) whether to proceed with the publication or to send it to a third referee. The editorial staff will reach out the authors to convey the outcome of the evaluation.

Vol. 10 No. 1 is scheduled for release January/February 2026.