Interstitial art
Encyclopedia
Interstitial art is a term first coined in the 1990s, and increasingly popularized in the early 2000s, that refers to any work of art whose basic nature falls between, rather than within, the familiar boundaries of accepted genres or media, thus making the work difficult to easily categorize or describe within a single artistic discipline.
as an example: If a librarian isn't sure where to shelve a book, that may be because the material is interstitial in some way, not fitting comfortably into a single, conventional literary category. For instance, when novelist Laurell K. Hamilton
first began writing and publishing romances featuring vampires and fairies, bookstores faced a dilemma: How do you file these stories when you're working in a system that clearly labels one shelf for romances, a second shelf for fantasies, and a third shelf for tales of horror? There's no single, obvious answer, because such a novel is interstitial fiction, its essence residing somewhere in between the boundaries of these genres.
Or consider the performance artist Laurie Anderson
: She might go onstage and sing, tell a spoken-word story, project shadow puppets on a screen, and play a hacked violin whose bow is strung with audio tape. Is she a singer, a monologist, a puppeteer, or some kind of tinkering instrumentalist? Classifying such an act as interstitial performance art would be imprecise but efficient and accurate.
, Ellen Kushner
, Terri Windling
, Heinz Insu Fenkl
, Midori Snyder
, Kelly Link
, Gavin Grant
, Gregory Frost
, Theodora Goss
, Veronica Schanoes, Carolyn Dunn, Colson Whitehead, and other American writers interested in fantastic literature found themselves commiserating over the common perception that the genre-oriented publishing
industry found it difficult to market truly innovative fiction involving unusual, fantastical, or cross-genre elements—because the mainstream literary fiction
field demanded stories based in realism
, while the fantasy
field demanded stories that mostly followed the standard conventions of sword and sorcery
or high fantasy
. Yet it seemed to the authors that some of the best literature was that which didn't quite fit tidily into either category but instead was being discussed in terms of more amorphous, "in-between" descriptors such as "magic realism
", "mythic fiction
", or "the New Weird
". Further, the idea of interstitiality applied to other kinds of "in-between" fiction (unrelated to fantasy) and other "in-between" arts.
Over a period of several years, Kushner and Sherman prompted ongoing discussion about the importance of cultivating artistic "in-betweenness" led to the formulation of the broad concept of interstitial art. In 2002, literary scholar Heinz Insu Fenkl
founded ISIS: The Interstitial Studies Institute at the State University of New York at New Paltz
, and in 2003–04, Sherman & Kushner and some of their colleagues established the Interstitial Arts Foundation, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to developing community and support for artists, arts-industry professionals and audiences whose creative pursuits are interstitial in nature.
titled Interfictions. It features 19 stories from new and established writers in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK, and fiction translated from Spanish, Hungarian, and French. The anthology strives to "change your mind about what stories can and should do as they explore the imaginative space between conventional genres".
The anthology raised several questions and started many debates on the nature of interstitiality as applied to fiction. Reviewers raised the question of how important the definition, or lack thereof, was to understanding the anthology as a whole and the stories individually. "The 19 stories contained within Interfictions serve as examples but not as points of an argument that could lead to a listing in a Funk and Wagnalls."
Though many of the stories are written by science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers and contain fantastic or supernatural elements, Interfictions is not a genre anthology. "...interstitial fiction mixes and matches these precepts—ghost stories, science fiction, nursery rhymes, detective story, whatever may be handy—as part of a variegated prism to focus on the psychology of existence even while bending its collectively recognized state. ...each 'interfiction' shares this sense of disjointed narrative, but in very different ways that do not lend themselves to easy genre categorization."
The concept of interstitiality
The word interstitial means "between spaces", and is commonly used to denote "in-betweenness" in several different cultural contexts. Architects refer to the leftover gaps between building walls as "interstitial space", being neither inside any room nor outside the building. Medical doctors have used the term for hundreds of years to refer to a space within the human body that lies in between blood vessels and organs, or in between individual cells. Television station programmers refer to any short piece of content that is neither a show nor a commercial, but is sandwiched between them, as "an interstitial".How art can be interstitial
Take fictionFiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
as an example: If a librarian isn't sure where to shelve a book, that may be because the material is interstitial in some way, not fitting comfortably into a single, conventional literary category. For instance, when novelist Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is the author of two series of stories. Hamilton is known for her New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake series, featuring a professional zombie raiser/supernatural consultant for the police as the protagonist in a world where...
first began writing and publishing romances featuring vampires and fairies, bookstores faced a dilemma: How do you file these stories when you're working in a system that clearly labels one shelf for romances, a second shelf for fantasies, and a third shelf for tales of horror? There's no single, obvious answer, because such a novel is interstitial fiction, its essence residing somewhere in between the boundaries of these genres.
Or consider the performance artist Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
: She might go onstage and sing, tell a spoken-word story, project shadow puppets on a screen, and play a hacked violin whose bow is strung with audio tape. Is she a singer, a monologist, a puppeteer, or some kind of tinkering instrumentalist? Classifying such an act as interstitial performance art would be imprecise but efficient and accurate.
The interstitial arts movement
In the mid-1990s, Delia ShermanDelia Sherman
Cordelia Caroline Sherman , known professionally as Delia Sherman, is a fantasy writer and editor. Her novel The Porcelain Dove won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award...
, Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner is an American writer of fantasy novels, who for many years was the host of the radio program Sound & Spirit, produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International.- Background and personal life :...
, Terri Windling
Terri Windling
Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...
, Heinz Insu Fenkl
Heinz Insu Fenkl
- Academic work :Fenkl is an associate professor of English and Asian Studies at SUNY New Paltz. He previously served as coordinator of the school's Creative Writing Program and was director of the now-defunct ISIS: The Interstitial Studies Institute .Before his appointment to his current position...
, Midori Snyder
Midori Snyder
Midori Snyder is an American writer of fantasy, mythic fiction, and nonfiction on myth and folklore. She has published eight novels for children and adults, winning the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati...
, Kelly Link
Kelly Link
Kelly Link is an American editor and author of short stories. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many of her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism: a combination of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and realism...
, Gavin Grant
Gavin Grant
Gavin J. Grant is a science fiction editor and writer. He runs Small Beer Press along with his wife Kelly Link. In addition, he has been the editor of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet since 1996 and, from 2003 to 2008, was co-editor of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology series along with...
, Gregory Frost
Gregory Frost
Gregory Frost is an American author of science fiction and fantasy, and directs a fiction writing workshop at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa...
, Theodora Goss
Theodora Goss
Theodora Goss is a Hungarian American writer of fantasy short stories. Her stories have been nominated for major awards, including the 2007 Nebula Award for "Pip and the Fairies," and the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction for "The Wings of Meister Wilhelm." She won the 2004...
, Veronica Schanoes, Carolyn Dunn, Colson Whitehead, and other American writers interested in fantastic literature found themselves commiserating over the common perception that the genre-oriented publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
industry found it difficult to market truly innovative fiction involving unusual, fantastical, or cross-genre elements—because the mainstream literary fiction
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
field demanded stories based in realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
, while the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
field demanded stories that mostly followed the standard conventions of sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
or high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
. Yet it seemed to the authors that some of the best literature was that which didn't quite fit tidily into either category but instead was being discussed in terms of more amorphous, "in-between" descriptors such as "magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
", "mythic fiction
Mythic fiction
Mythic fiction is literature that is rooted in, inspired by, or that in some way draws from the tropes, themes and symbolism of myth, folklore, and fairy tales. The term is widely credited to Charles de Lint and Terri Windling...
", or "the New Weird
New Weird
The New Weird is a literary genre that began in the 1990s and developed in a series of novels and stories published from 2001 to 2005. The writers involved are mostly novelists who are considered to be parts of the horror and/or speculative fiction genres but who often cross genre boundaries...
". Further, the idea of interstitiality applied to other kinds of "in-between" fiction (unrelated to fantasy) and other "in-between" arts.
Over a period of several years, Kushner and Sherman prompted ongoing discussion about the importance of cultivating artistic "in-betweenness" led to the formulation of the broad concept of interstitial art. In 2002, literary scholar Heinz Insu Fenkl
Heinz Insu Fenkl
- Academic work :Fenkl is an associate professor of English and Asian Studies at SUNY New Paltz. He previously served as coordinator of the school's Creative Writing Program and was director of the now-defunct ISIS: The Interstitial Studies Institute .Before his appointment to his current position...
founded ISIS: The Interstitial Studies Institute at the State University of New York at New Paltz
State University of New York at New Paltz
The State University of New York at New Paltz, known as SUNY New Paltz for short, is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It was founded in 1828 as the School for teaching of classics. In 1885, the New Paltz Normal and Training School was established as a school to prepare teachers for the...
, and in 2003–04, Sherman & Kushner and some of their colleagues established the Interstitial Arts Foundation, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to developing community and support for artists, arts-industry professionals and audiences whose creative pursuits are interstitial in nature.
Interfictions
In 2007, the Interstitial Arts Foundation published an anthology of interstitial fiction through Small Beer PressSmall Beer Press
Small Beer Press is a publisher of fantasy and literary fiction, based in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link in 2000 and publishes novels, collections, and anthologies. It also publishes the zine Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, chapbooks, the Peapod Classics...
titled Interfictions. It features 19 stories from new and established writers in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK, and fiction translated from Spanish, Hungarian, and French. The anthology strives to "change your mind about what stories can and should do as they explore the imaginative space between conventional genres".
The anthology raised several questions and started many debates on the nature of interstitiality as applied to fiction. Reviewers raised the question of how important the definition, or lack thereof, was to understanding the anthology as a whole and the stories individually. "The 19 stories contained within Interfictions serve as examples but not as points of an argument that could lead to a listing in a Funk and Wagnalls."
Though many of the stories are written by science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers and contain fantastic or supernatural elements, Interfictions is not a genre anthology. "...interstitial fiction mixes and matches these precepts—ghost stories, science fiction, nursery rhymes, detective story, whatever may be handy—as part of a variegated prism to focus on the psychology of existence even while bending its collectively recognized state. ...each 'interfiction' shares this sense of disjointed narrative, but in very different ways that do not lend themselves to easy genre categorization."
Table of Contents
- Heinz Insu FenklHeinz Insu Fenkl- Academic work :Fenkl is an associate professor of English and Asian Studies at SUNY New Paltz. He previously served as coordinator of the school's Creative Writing Program and was director of the now-defunct ISIS: The Interstitial Studies Institute .Before his appointment to his current position...
, Introduction - Karen Jordan Allen, "Alternate Anxieties"
- Christopher BarzakChristopher BarzakChristopher Barzak is an American author. He has published many short stories, beginning with "A Mad Tea Party" in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet in 1999. In 2007 he published his debut novel, One for Sorrow, which has won the 2008 Crawford Award, and was a nominee for the 2008 Great Lakes Book...
, "What We Know About the Lost Families of ---- House" - K. Tempest BradfordK. Tempest BradfordK. Tempest Bradford is an African-American science fiction and fantasy author and editor. She was a non-fiction and managing editor with Fantasy Magazine from 2007 to 2009 and has edited fiction for Peridot Books, The Fortean Bureau and Sybil's Garage.,Bradford is an activist for racial and gender...
, "Black Feather" - Matthew Cheney, "A Map of the Everywhere"
- Michael DeLuca, "The Utter Proximity of God"
- Adrián Ferrero, "When It Rains, You'd Better Get Out of Ulga" (translated from the Spanish by Edo Mor)
- Colin Greenland, "Timothy"
- Csilla Kleinheincz, "A Drop of Raspberry" (translated from the Hungarian by Noémi Szelényi))
- Holly Phillips, "Queen of the Butterfly Kingdom"
- Rachel PollackRachel PollackRachel Pollack is an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot...
, "Burning Beard: The Dreams and Visions of Joseph Ben Jacob, Lord Viceroy of Egypt" - Joy Remy, "Pallas at Noon"
- Anna TambourAnna TambourAnna Tambour is an author of satire, fable and other strange and hard-to-categorize fiction and poetry.In 2009, her story "The Age of Fish, Post-flowers" was in the anthology Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy, Ekaterina Sedia, ed. that won the Anthology World Fantasy Award...
, "The Shoe in SHOES' Window" - Veronica Schanoes, "Rats"
- Léa Silhol, "Emblemata" (translated from the French by Sarah Smith)
- Jon Singer, "Willow Pattern"
- Vandana SinghVandana SinghVandana Singh is an Indian science fiction writer. She currently works at Framingham State College in Massachusetts.-Short Fiction:* The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet and other stories includes two previously unpublished stories: "Conservation Laws" and "Infinities" * "The Room on the Roof"...
, "Hunger" - Mikal Trimm, "Climbing Redemption Mountain"
- Catherynne Valente, "A Dirge for Prester John"
- Leslie WhatLeslie WhatLeslie What is a writer of fantasy and literary fiction and nonfiction. She grew up in Southern California and attended Santa Ana College, and earned a certificate in Vocational Nursing...
, "Post hoc" - Delia ShermanDelia ShermanCordelia Caroline Sherman , known professionally as Delia Sherman, is a fantasy writer and editor. Her novel The Porcelain Dove won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award...
and Theodora GossTheodora GossTheodora Goss is a Hungarian American writer of fantasy short stories. Her stories have been nominated for major awards, including the 2007 Nebula Award for "Pip and the Fairies," and the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction for "The Wings of Meister Wilhelm." She won the 2004...
, "Afterword: The Space Between"