The Audacity Issue 1 by The Audacity

THE AUDACITY SPRING 2016

THE AUDACITY ISSUE 1

Staff Creative Director...........................................................Erin Kuykendall Director of Photography.........................................................Moses Lee Photoshoot Coordinator.....................................................Melina Perez Makeup Artist..................................................................Christine Rafie Guests

Makeup Artist (Ophelia, The Body Electric)..................Whitney Chen Model (Tess)....................................................................Hillary Henrici Photographer (The Body Electric)..........................................Alexa Ray Model (The Body Electric)............................................Mariah Becerra Model (Evil Queens)..................................................Andrew Langman Model (Evil Queens).......................................................Nicholas Habel Model (Evil Queens)......................................................Brandon Weber Photographer (Evil Queens)......................................Bethony Harnden Model (Smoking Gun)......................................................Elias Hinojosa Model (Smoking Gun).....................................................Ian DeVoglaer Model (Smoking Gun).....................................................George Coello Acknowledgments The Audacity would like to gratefully acknowledge the generous patronage of The University of Texas’s Student Government and Senate of College Councils. We would also like to thank Frock On Vintage for their support in providing the majority of clothing and accessories pictured. Thank you, also, to UT student Alisha Contreras, the incredibly gifted creator of the white dress featured in “Tess.”

Contents A Letter of Thanks..................................................................................5 Ophelia....................................................................................................6 Tess........................................................................................................14 Ashes of Antiquities...............................................................................24 The Body Electric.................................................................................34 Storm.....................................................................................................42 Evil Queens...........................................................................................44 Smoking Gun........................................................................................52 3

A Letter of Thanks

“The soul never thinks without an image” – Aristotle Moses and I began to talk about creating The Audacity in the spring of 2015. We met on the set of a photo shoot we did for a different magazine, and quickly launched a plan to create a zine of our own. Christine joined us quite early on in our project, coming on as the head makeup artist. She has an unrelenting sense of creativity and communication skills that make our photo shoot concepts come to life. Melina, or as we now call her, “Ophelia”, amazed us with her expressive modeling abilities. We welcomed her on as photo shoot coordinator in the spring of 2016, and we have been all the better for her people skills and incredible dedication. We were all craving the creative space to truly explore, and sought aesthetics that didn’t abandon activism. Creatives are often thought of as non-political, but The Audacity sought to produce a space to defy that stereotype. We want to create a publication that is beautiful, but meaningful. We want to create a space for and composed of creatives, by continuously asking the question, “what do you care about?” We hope to create opportunities for those in our community (and beyond!) to not only express their passions in an original way, but to be a part of something that aspires to make a tremendous difference. We care about caring, and feeding that fire generates an un-ignorable heat. Erin Kuykendall, creative director

OPHELIA 6

Hamlet’s Ophelia is a character often chastised for her tragic role. Torn apart by a love unrequited, a dead father, and a brother gone mad, she realizes that her expression is best left in nonsensical rhythm; her body more suited to the soil. She finds respite in speaking illogically, offering flowers to passerbys—symbols of her fleeting beauty and imminent return to the earth. She is one of only two female characters in the play, and after her death, she is not mentioned again. Ophelia is tortured by a heart so capable of loving, but unloved in return. She is overwhelmed by this inescapable fate, and tormented by the societal pressures surrounding her virginity—Hamlet views her as a sexual object, while her father and brother view her as entirely chaste, and obligated to stay this way. Her madness drives her down to the river, where she falls into the current. The folds of her heavy dress drag her down into a sinking sleep. The shoot intended to explore Ophelia’s journey: her terrible splendor and love-worn desperation. We started with the idea that life cannot be separate from art, and must often imitate it. Ophelia’s story is a disastrous one, but one not without its resonance. Fascinated by her character and identifying with the pressures she faced, we sought a way to immortalize her crazed strength in resistance. This shoot was one aimed for beauty, yes, but also grief, power, and the art of storytelling.

“Did you say the stars were worlds, Tess?” “Yes.” “All like ours?” “I don’t know, but I think so. They sometimes seem to be like the apples on our stubbard-tree. Most of them splendid and sound — a few blighted.” “Which one do we live on–a splendid one or a blighted one?” “A blighted one.” Born into a proud, poor, family, Tess of the D’urbervilles was made a sacrifice from the start. In a desperate attempt to claim kin, Tess was sent to live with a man who would later rape and impregnate her; she gave birth to a child named Sorrow. The sexual double-standards of the day drove her, ashamed and rejected, from town to town working in manual labor. She marries, but upon learning of her “impurities,” is abandoned by her husband and left alone once again. Her husband, Angel, eventually realizes his error. When he returns to Tess, he finds that she has spent her days working, almost to death, in the fields. Tess, having never given up on love, murders her rapist and attempts to run away with the newly-restored Angel. When Tess finally sleeps, it is on the altar of Stonehenge. Upon her awakening, she is hanged. Like Ophelia, Tess is quite the heroine. If she is sacrifice, she is also altar. In her perish all ideals of modernity–she dies a victim of her times, refusing to beg for either the money or the decency she deserves. We remember Tess as a woman who took control: she toiled relentlessly rather than beg, murdered rather than be manipulated, and ultimately accepts her inevitable execution. Tess put up a fight for her existence, and shouldered a vision we still fight for today: independence, self-sovereignty and equality.

ASHES OF ANTIQUITIES

If you're reading this, you are a creature of modernity. You are awoken each morning by an electronic alarm, you travel from place to place in fast moving vehicles, and you are surrounded by buildings of glass, metal, and steel. It can be difficult to remember the importance of ancient technology and architecture when we are surrounded by so much modernity. The creators of antiquities had an infinitesimal amount of information at their fingertips compared to what we have access to today, but somehow these objects have lasted millennia. They serve as educational landmarks and important artistic artifacts.

Somehow now, we find ourselves facing a catastrophe parallel to the burning of the Library of Alexandria. When we think about the havoc wreaked in parts of the Middle East, we are rightfully concerned about the many lives lost at the hands of war, and the deep scars the fighting will leave for years to come. But the destruction is not limited to lives lost--countless statues, architectural monuments, important tombs, and other artistic relics are being destroyed by the hands of men. Whether crumbled by sledgehammers or blown up by dynamite, DAESH is proudly spreading their destruction through Iraq and Syria, posting videos and images of their disturbing actions. It’s easy to forget about the centuries of artistic legacy in an area the media depicts as war-ravaged since inception. Mesopotamia, the

area now encompassing Syria and Iraq, as well as parts of Kuwait and Turkey, are the cradle of civilization. It was here where the first written language was created, here where the first known author wrote her poetry, here where one of the first set of codified laws was written. Intricate records of religious procedures and conquests, votive statues dedicated to the gods, and giant towers topped with temples are some of the many legacies left behind by Mesopotamian civilizations, some dating as far back as 3000 BCE. These now destroyed statues, tombs, and mosques from Syria and Iraq are as important to our shared artistic heritage as the first human artwork in the caves of Chauvet, the deeply telling hieroglyphics of the Egyptians, and the monumental temples of Greece and Macedonia. They illuminate the scope of human creativity, our desire to create beautiful things, and the infinite human desire to record and be remembered. The destruction of art and architecture is no accident. It is the intentional dismemberment of a world once connected, an affront on the combined strength of the many. These issues are of the utmost importance, for the scope of the physical atrocities in Syria and Iraq do not stop there—the damage is iterated to all and every man and nation. Renée Johnson, art historian

Cultural Heritage: The “Landmark of Memory” In the midst of the Islamic State’s devastating and destructive sweep across Iraq in the summer of 2014, ISIS took control of the ancient city of Mosul, reducing most of the area and its venerated shrines to rubble in a matter of days. According to the Associated Press, when ISIS militants set their sights on the final target, Mosul’s 840-year old al-Hadba minaret, locals rushed to the tower and linked arms to form a human chain around their beloved shrine. Witnesses reported that local women sat in solidarity around the structure, telling IS fighters that if they wanted to blow up the minaret, they would have to kill the protesters as well. Amazingly, the tower was spared and remains standing today as a result of the desperate efforts made by citizens determined to preserve their cultural heritage.

Since 2014, hundreds of storied sites have been demolished or looted by radicals in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. The destruction of cultural heritage, however, is not a problem isolated to war-torn areas of the Middle East; rather, it is an issue that has plagued historic and archaeological sites across the globe for decades. The destruction of heritage encompasses a variety of acts, from intentional damage for ideological purposes to the systematic looting and illicit sale of cultural items for monetary gain. Stories such as the skirmish in Mosul inevitably lead to a slew of questions, most notably, what is “cultural heritage” and why does it matter if it is preserved? Moreover, is human patrimony worth saving if lives are at risk?

Over the years, scholars, archaeologists, historians, and art historians have struggled to articulate what exactly constitutes “cultural heritage.” One widely accepted definition comes from the Penn Cultural Heritage Center, which defines cultural heritage as “all the elements that a community uses to construct its identity and its sense of the past, present, and the future.” These elements include, but are not limited to, “artifacts, decorations, art, traditional crafts, buildings, physical spaces, mythological or religious locations, the natural environment, plants and animals, memories, stories, dances, songs, symbols, rituals, games, traditions, language, music, performances and people.” When elements of a culture’s heritage are targeted, damaged, looted, or destroyed, vital pieces of history are lost forever. In many cases, material culture such as manuscripts, architectural decoration, or ancient inscriptions are the only remaining sources of information on a certain place or community, and thus, must be carefully preserved. Cultural heritage is the manifestation of a unique communal identity, and when it is destructed, that particular sense of identity cannot be passed to the next generation. Debora Trein, a Ph.D. student in Anthropology at the University of Texas, put it best when she stated that cultural heritage should be considered “landmarks for memories.” In any and every community, it is important to preserve, conserve, and promote education about cultural heritage, for if not shared, the landmarks of our memories and histories will be gone forever. Katie Hooker, M.A. Candidate, Art History

THE BODY ELECTRIC 34

Storm

I saw your reflection, I saw the affection, The neglecting, You had in your eyes, Your wonder, The thunder, Of your thighs, The curves of your structure, The hands of your mother, I saw things I wish you could, Things you should, The bad, the “ugly”, the good, I saw fear, strength, and power, Time lost itself in your glass of hours, Clouds parted, lands beckoned, A cost to be reckoned, Once a gentle puddle, to a rocking sea, A mystery, Now overtaking every waiting breath, Overflowing what was left, Washing away the mistruths, Of your youth, The constant voices shouting: “Too big, too little” “Change, change, change” And you rained. SquidVishuss

EVIL QUEENS 45

Who really owns the gaze? How does one study feminist film culture without leaning on the theories of Laura Mulvey? Her article from 1975 titled to look for answers when it comes to the so-called “male gaze” of the cinema. Mulvey states that the male gaze is the term given to define the way a film is viewed, through heterosexual male eyes. But can we continue to reference theories that are over 40 years old while looking at contemporary film-making dealing with feminist or queer topics? There is an obvious need for a reexamination of how we define the male gaze as well as how can we define a female gaze that is equal to but also independent of the male gaze. Contemporary filmmakers have the unique power to rework our understanding of the male/female gaze in cinema, and to incorporate more than two identities into our way of seeing.

When I first began to study visual culture I was drawn to this idea of the male gaze in cinema and why there is still a struggle to address the imbalance that exists between the gendered gazes. Simply put, the male gaze tends to sexualize women. It is the focus on the aspects of the female body and the persona that acts as a magnet for me. As a woman, how do I fit into this idea of viewership? What about female filmmakers, actresses, and viewers? And the roles of nonbinary identities? We must ask why mainstream filmmakers continue to play into this archaic concept. This is by no means a new issue in the history of filmmaking. Female filmmakers as far back as the 1920s tried to subtly address the restricting views of women and come up with a new idea of women through film that was not objectifying and negative. To some, the female gaze means having sexual freedom, but I believe it is much more than that. Take the evil queen personaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;she is powerful, allknowing, and cunning. She can fend for herself, while the princessvictim needs to rely on a father and/or future spouse to get her out of trouble. It seems as though there have to be two extreme female roles, on opposite sides of the spectrum, because there cannot be a woman both beautiful and powerful. These stories are all legends, but it is time to create a world in which there are superb, leading women who are neither purely evil nor in need of a manly crutch. Shelly Lay, Art Historian

SMOKING

Here is our smoking gun, our corpus of evidence: there is space in the in-between. Our world is made up of rigid lines, and nowhere is this clearer than with the aggressive gendering of daily life. Somehow pink and blue have replaced personalities and self-presentation has taken a back seat to which boxes we fill on someone else’s chart. Surrounded by an ethereal fog, the models dance in the intermittence of the tangible and the felt, in between two states of matter. We believe this is the space that counts. We asked the models to shake, and watched as the dust of these fences fell. There is very rarely room for haze in the world, for reassessments or re-imaginings; for the indistinguishable yet mesmerizing qualities of life.

GUN

These pictures are intended to force a visual reconsideration of the need to label “masculine” or “feminine.” They are intended to provide a moment of arrest in which labels do not matter. We hope, in creating these moments, to present a beautiful person—regardless of gender.

After Jackson Kicks the Life Out of the Living Room Table

It could be simpler, it could be Kristeva, redemption- a doctorate in maternal performance: that womb, that bosom that collarbone pacify, bloom-bleached from exposure. Jackson kicks the life out of the living room table, drunk, while I am on a phone call home. I refuse to flinch, all-night riveted by letters I wrote to myself in reproach, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;til dawn rolled over Hubei Province in a glistening heap. I save beauty for a day it may be more welcome: when I am biking through a highway tunnel at noon, helmetlessup shit-creek and paddleless, perhaps when I am on the train, sewing ballet slippers for a child who, if I did not know better, I would claim as my own Sebastian is nursing a cold, but I have no medicine. We walk around the lake. He asks me to tell him the story of Baby Jesus. I tell him the story of Baby Jesus. This is to say: I try to love so granite, match and flint stone, that some days I still taste the marrow; when it rains, and it does rain, the ache syncopates my heart in empathy. Alexus Erin

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