brycewang-stanford Art Bulletin Workflow Router (artbull-workflow)
The orchestrator for an Art Bulletin submission. Figure out the stage and send the user to the matching skill. The Art Bulletin is the leading English-language journal of art history (College Art Association); a paper turns on an original art-historical argument carried by close visual analysis and documentary evidence — and on a heavy image-permissions workflow that, unlike in the social sciences, must start early.
When to trigger
- Starting a new Art Bulletin article and unsure where to begin
- Mid-project and unsure which skill applies next
- Worried that image rights / reproduction costs will not clear in time
- Returning with a decision letter (route to
artbull-revision-and-response)
First instinct: start the image clearance early
Permissions and high-resolution image supply are the author's responsibility and are slow and
costly. The router's recurring reminder: run artbull-images-and-permissions in parallel with
the intellectual work — do not leave it until submission.
Routing map (stage → skill)
Is the topic a fit / a contribution? → artbull-topic-selection
Where does it sit in the field? → artbull-scholarly-positioning
What is the argument? → artbull-argument-development
How do the objects look / mean? → artbull-visual-analysis
What is the evidence (archives etc.)? → artbull-evidence-and-sources
Can I get / afford the images? → artbull-images-and-permissions
How is it organized on the page? → artbull-structure-and-exposition
Is the prose & citation Chicago-clean?→ artbull-writing-style-and-citation
How will it be judged? → artbull-review-process
Ready to submit? → artbull-submission
Got an R&R / decision? → artbull-revision-and-response
Default order
topic-selection → scholarly-positioning → argument-development → visual-analysis → evidence-and-sources → images-and-permissions → structure-and-exposition → writing-style-and-citation → review-process → submission → revision-and-response
Iterate: most articles loop argument ↔ visual-analysis ↔ evidence several times, while images-and-permissions runs continuously in the background.
Anti-patterns
- Leaving rights clearance until the end — it is the slowest, costliest step and can sink a paper
- Treating the journal like a social-science venue (no datasets/statistics/replication here)
- Description without argument — cataloguing objects is not an art-historical contribution
- Choosing illustrations the budget or rights will never allow
Symptom-to-skill dispatch table
Most users arrive with a symptom, not a stage name. Match what they say to the right sub-skill for the College Art Association's quarterly, and check the image-clearance clock every time.
| What the user says | Route to |
|---|---|
| "Is this even right for the journal?" | artbull-topic-selection |
| "A reviewer said I ignore key scholarship" | artbull-scholarly-positioning |
| "Reviewers can't find my argument" | artbull-argument-development |
| "My looking was called thin" | artbull-visual-analysis |
| "A source / provenance was questioned" | artbull-evidence-and-sources |
| "I'm worried about image rights / costs" | artbull-images-and-permissions |
| "The draft wanders / is front-loaded" | artbull-structure-and-exposition |
| "I'm submitting this week" | artbull-submission |
| "I got an R&R / decision letter" | artbull-revision-and-response |
Worked vignette: routing a project from idea to submission
Suppose a scholar arrives with "I found an amazing unpublished drawing and want to write it up." The
router does not jump to drafting. First it tests fit (artbull-topic-selection) — is there a
contribution beyond "this drawing is new"? — and, in the same breath, asks whether the drawing and its
comparanda can be cleared, flagging that the image-permissions clock starts now. Once a
contribution emerges, it routes to positioning, then argument, looping argument ↔ visual-analysis ↔
evidence as the reading firms up, with artbull-images-and-permissions running continuously in the
background, before structure, style, review-process, and finally submission.
Routing pitfalls and the dispatch correction
- Treating it like a social-science venue. There are no datasets, statistics, or replication here; route evidence work to archival, provenance, and technical sources, not data analysis.
- Leaving image clearance for the end. Send the user to
artbull-images-and-permissionsearly and in parallel; it is the slowest, costliest step and can sink a finished paper.
Calibration anchor (hedge where uncertain)
- The default order is a guide, not a rail: most articles loop argument, looking, and evidence several
times while the image-and-permissions workload — what most distinguishes this lifecycle from
social-science venues — runs continuously underneath; volatile caps and formats belong to
artbull-submissionand should be confirmed against the journal's current submission guidelines.
Output format
【Stage】topic / positioning / argument / visual / evidence / images / structure / writing / review / submit / revise
【Route to】artbull-<skill>
【Image clearance started?】Y/N (start now if N)
【Why】one line
【Then】the next skill after that
Supplementary resources
../../resources/external_tools.md— image sources, rights agencies, archives, Chicago tooling../../resources/official-source-map.md— official Art Bulletin / CAA URLs behind every fact in this pack