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E VA N WA L S H FOUNDER: GAL SHWEIKI ART DIRECTOR: IAN FRIEDEL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: MARK STENBERG DIGITAL EDITOR: SHANNON HERLIHY SALES: GIL PETERS, AMANDA PATRICK GRAPHIC DESIGNER: BRYAN RAYNES MARKETING: RALPH CHAPLIN ACCOUNTING: ELONDA RUSS DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: MARCUS FLORES DISTRIBUTION: FRANK HARTFIELD, JOSE ESPINOZA, ERNEST WARD PRODUCTION: SHWEIKI MEDIA Study Breaks magazine is published twelve times per year by Shweiki Media, Inc. copyright 2012.
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CONTRIBUTORS
0 Student 4 Writers Study Breaks is written exclusively by a team of student interns from across the country. These writers work with the editorial team to pitch and submit one piece a week for the website, in addition to writing for the monthly print magazine. Spring internships run from January 28th to May 28th, and applications close January 14th. If interested, email editorial@ studybreaks.com with “Student Writing Internship” in the Subject. Introduce yourself in the body, making sure to include your name, school and major. Please attach at least two samples of your work. Ideal writers are intelligent, funny and talented, though no formal experience is necessary.
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ALEX CURRIE
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0 6 photography A NOTE FROM THE EDI TOR
Photography by Ian Friedel, Study Breaks Staff
issue
6
// JANUARY 2016
t
hough we emblazon our motto, “Written by Students,” on the front of every magazine, Study Breaks is equally indebted to the phenomenal talents of student photographers from across the country. Without beautiful, arresting imagery, even the best text falls short. As a result, we have chosen to dedicate this entire issue to showcasing the extraordinary ability of five student photographers. ¶ Though each artist has a distinct style, what they share in common is a rare breed of ambition. The students featured in these pages, outside of the normal rigors of school, are working for companies like HBO, Scholastic Press and Urban Outfitters, as well as coordinating photo shoots, compiling portfolios, travelling the world and collaborating with other luminaries. They are testament to the idea that talent without hard work is a tragedy. ¶ Alex Currie, a senior at USC studying Film, was called the “Peter Pan of Photographers” by “Wired,” and rightly so. His photos, many of which possess a dreamlike quality, are supersaturated with color and shot in alien, almost inhuman settings. Among others, Currie has worked with Complex Magazine, Refinery 29, HBO and Capitol Records, and he has been the recipient of a number of awards and exhibitions. ¶ Evan Blaise Walsh, a senior at Emerson College studying Creative Nonfiction and Photography, uses photography to ask questions about gender and sexual orientation, especially of young men. His latest project, “The Space Between Us,” portrays unvarnished young men posing, often with a scowl, in mundane, spartan surroundings. Male identity, especially as it is inf luenced by sexuality and class, is under the microscope. Walsh has been the recipient of numerous awards, and most recently his photo thesis “Paragons” was exhibited by the Boston Photo Resource. ¶ Shayna Colvin, a senior at the Savannah College
of Art and Design, shoots largely fashion photography, much of it with a vintage patina. High-waisted pants, jumpsuits, gap teeth, cigarettes, f lorals and the air of a distinctly 1970’s feminism imbue Colvin’s work, a collection so picturesque in its details that many of her photos seem to have been transported through time. Her personal work focuses more on the dull beauty of small town life, capturing beautiful, listless teens in scenes that could have been plucked from a Harmony Korine film set in Savannah. Colvin has an array of commercial clients and artistic collaborations, though she has most frequently worked with Urban Outfitters. ¶ Madison Neumann, a sophomore at Rowan College in New Jersey, photographs intensely dramatic, stylized portraits, mostly of women. Models in her shots smolder, sneer, stare and smoke in derelict greenhouses, turquoise bathhouses, withering barns and fields of baby’s breath. Neumann has received numerous awards for her photography, and was most recently featured in “Alwayz Therro.” ¶ Olivia Lim, a fourth-year Molecular Cell & Developmental Biology student at UCLA, plays with the intimacy and sensuality of the familiar. Many of her portraits feature girls posing with aplomb amidst the stark stucco of the Los Angeles cityscape, though they at times escape into gray beachfronts, blossoming trees and azure pools. Lim’s work has been featured in “Nasty Gal,” “Denizen,” “Tongue Tied” and “The Paper Mixtape.” As always, thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoy.
MARK STENBERG EDITOR IN CHIEF @MarkStenberg3
Photography by Evan Walsh
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MAJOR
YEAR
USC
Film
Senior
@alex.currie
Alex Currie
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Alex Currie By Daniel Wilcox, University of Texas San Antonio
U
pon first inspection, nearly everything about Alex Currie screams California: his sense of style, his penchant to dream big and his avant garde flair. ¶ So vibrant is his body of work, in fact, that you’d think he was a native of the West Coast. In reality, though, Currie is originally from Buffalo, New York, perhaps the antithesis of Southern California if there ever was one. So how does a kid from icy New York find himself attending school in the sunbathed mecca of American media? ¶ Considering his talent, Currie could’ve easily attended a visual art school in nearby NYC, but that wasn’t his plan. ¶ “I wasn’t really interested in going in an art school direction,”
Currie said over the phone. “I wanted to take a university approach. I’m a Film major, studying film production, doing photography on the side. USC just made the most sense to me.” ¶ Currie began making movies when he was around twelve-yearsold. “Just little stupid, goofy stuff with my friends,” he says. ¶ It could’ve ended there, but Currie always had the idea of being an artist in the back of his mind. Where most kids his age were content with sharing Vines and posting YouTube videos, at age fifteen, Currie was shooting weddings. As he built his portfolio, the offers started coming in from everywhere. HBO, most notably, commissioned Currie to shoot stills for the opening sequence of “The Leftovers.” ¶ In the bio on his personal website, Currie says that his aim is to “convey a story in a single frame,” and his early work appears to be a literal manifestation of this philosophy. ¶“I started doing 365 portraiture,” says Currie, “where you shoot a portrait of someone once every day [for one year]. Everything I shot had a person with a story or a concept or a set-up, but a lot of them wound up being my own self-portraits, a reflection of myself over the course of a year.” ¶ Eventually, Currie evolved into a more layered and ambitious storyteller, venturing into longer narratives. He conceived his short film, “If Man Were Meant to Fly,” in his junior year of high school. The film’s story offers dichotomous takes on the concept of human flight—one uplifting, the other heart wrenching. ¶ “The idea came to me from a dream,” says Currie. “I woke up at like three in the morning and wrote some gibberish like ‘bird, girl, fly.’ I shot it over the summer of 2014, and I remember sitting on my floor at midnight making, like, a million paper planes for one of the shots.” ¶ Though traditionally a oneman production crew (“It’s maybe a matter of trust,” he admits), Currie is always ready to collaborate with the photography community. ¶ “There are a lot of people on Flickr that have a similar style,” he says. “It’s been super cool to work with this other young talent. I love working with other photographers.” ¶ To Currie, other artists’ willingness to be each other’s subjects is what makes them such a joy. “They’re much more willing to do what it takes to get the shot than other models sometimes. It seems like they’re much more empathetic toward other photographers, knowing what we have to go through.”
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MAJOR
YEAR
Nutrition
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@mneumann.photography
Madison Neumann
1 8
SCHOOL
Rowan College
Madison Neumann By Terry Nguyen, USC
H
onest, feminine and personal — those are the words Madison Neumann, a sophomore at Rowan College, uses to describe her photography. ¶ “My images come from a place deep inside me,” she says. “Sometimes, I think of them sitting in the shower or driving home from a long day at work. They rarely come from anything other than myself.” ¶ Four years ago, Neumann took her first steps into the photography world with social media. “It was back when a lot of minimalist blogs on Instagram were really big,” she recalls. She began taking photos on her phone, mimicking the flat white composition of many minimalist photographers, and eventually invested
into her first DSLR camera. ¶ Eventually, it became Neumann’s own artistic journey — of self-realization and creativity — to discover her favorite photography styles, colors and photoshoots. Photography represents the range of emotions she has experienced in her life. For most of her portraits, Neumann edits them with dark, brooding tones to touch at a sense of intimacy. “[The colors] translate well with close portraits. It really pulls in a lot of emotion and evokes more feeling,” she says. Post-processing is a key part of her photography; the art is not only in capturing the image, but also in setting the mood of the photo to express its aura. ¶ Her favorite photo changes constantly, reflecting her dynamic personality and art style, though she feels strongly about a recent photo shoot she did with nudes in a cornfield, where she captured a girl clutching an opened cornhusk covering her breasts. “I don’t know how to describe it,” she says. “I like a lot of photos that people don’t understand.” ¶ Neumann is a feminist, and the principles of female empowerment and equality are evident in her work. The sophomore primarily works with women, she admits, and that consistency is a key element in her art. Whether through portraiture or fine nude photography, Neumann hopes her photos can strengthen a woman’s self-esteem or simply advocate for the cause. ¶ Although many of her prominent works are images of women, she also photographs weddings, landscapes and the occasional self-portrait. Her inspiration comes from surrounding artists and photographers, and she credits her artistic growth to the experienced photographers she has shot with. ¶ “I really enjoy seeing the work flow of other photographers,” she says, in regard to her artistic improvements. As a young photographer, networking was a key aspect of improving her work, she admits, and it helped her realize that her goal of being a professional photographer was attainable. ¶ Currently, Neumann is a sophomore studying Nutrition, but she remains adamant on a future in photography. “I was always someone who wanted to create multiple opportunities for myself,” she says. Regardless, Neumann says she can never see herself giving up photography. “When I picked up a camera, I felt the satisfaction in expressing myself. Photography has given me the ability to see things differently.”
Model: Celia Harris
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P{hotography by Madison Nuemann • Model: Marlee Neumann
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Model: Allie Lee Daisy
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Photography by Madison Neumann • Model: Colleen McCabe
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Photography by Madison Neumann • Model: Bella Polisi
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MAJOR
YEAR
Interdisciplinary Studies
Senior
@evanblaisewalsh
Evan Walsh
2 6
SCHOOL
Emerson College
Evan Walsh By Lindsey Davis, Iowa State University
E
van Walsh’s initiation into the world of photography happened in high school, when he bought a camera and began taking pictures of his friends for fun. ¶ As the one taking snapshots of others, Walsh became enamored with the ability to control how the subjects were portrayed, and he began toying with how individuals view themselves. Soon, a hobby that he picked up for entertainment had become his passion. ¶ Walsh now attends Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studies Photography and Creative Nonfiction. As Walsh moved through various photography courses and gained more experience, he became especially intrigued with
the concept of boyhood, which he now illuminates through both his landscape and narrative photography. ¶ This predilection prompted Walsh to create “The Space Between Us,” a body of work that focuses on the way his friends emulate masculinity, as well as how they experience manhood. The compendium showcases Walsh’s signature deadpan portraiture in order to comment on the male gender. Because he likes to photograph those he’s close with and wants to capture photos that illustrate identity, Walsh asks them, “Where is somewhere that signifies who you are?” When he shoots at those emotionally charged locations, the pictures doubly reflect how the individuals view themselves. ¶ “You relate to these experiences in a unique way,” Walsh says. “I think that every boy has that experience when you’re growing up, that you’re not into emotions.” ¶ Walsh notes that part of the reason he decided to create “The Space Between Us” was so that he could understand how he relates to the experiences and emotions of his subjects in his own way. ¶ Currently, the senior is working in New York City as both a photo intern at VH1 and an editorial intern at Scholastic. The internships allow him to build his photography acumen, as well as learn about the world of publishing, a field that combines his interests in writing and reading. ¶ “When you’re with people over a unified love, it’s cool to be around people who want to write and who love books,” says Walsh. ¶ Although he has yet to graduate, Walsh’s list of accomplishments are impressive. He shot the cover of the young adult novel “Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan, which was the first book to show two boys kissing on its jacket; he has also shot the covers for “Out of the Pocket” by Bill Konigsberg and “Anything Could Happen” by Will Walton. Walsh even assisted the creative director behind the iconic mockingjay symbol for “The Hunger Games.” ¶ The young photographer is adamant about keeping his mind visually focused, fixating on the kind of imagery behind ideas, and he plans to continue to view the world through a small machine. Walsh will spend his final semester at Emerson College in the spring, where he will continue working on “The Space Between Us,” as well as a collection of personal essays about masculinity and emotion.
Photography by Evan Walsh
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MAJOR
YEAR
UCLA
Molecular Cell & Developmental Biology
Fourth Year
@livvlim
Olivia Lim
3 4
SCHOOL
Olivia Lim By Crissonna Tennison, UCLA
O
ne Sunday evening in November, Olivia Lim sat at a coffee shop in Denver, where she has been thinking about settling down for a few months. “It’s way cheaper than LA,” she says. ¶ If her Instagram is any indication, settling down anywhere would be a change of pace, as the last seven months have seen the budding photographer and UCLA student volunteering at a medical clinic in Nepal, touring Europe and driving from the East Coast to Los Angeles. ¶ “And then I really want to go to med school,” she says, “but also I’m not going to do it in the U.S. One of my big plans is that I am going to move, probably to Chile, which is more Spanish-speak-
ing, cause I think that would be amazing.” ¶ When she’s not taking breathlessly vibrant photos around the world, Lim studies Art History and Molecular Cell & Developmental Biology. Rather than distracting from her artistic pursuits, however, her studies enrich them. “When you’re studying bio, physics, chemistry, math—all these classes—you really want to take them out in a way. A lot of the things that I study are not very concrete, although they seem that way.” ¶ Lim’s craving for dynamism and diversity drove her to leave her hometown of Charleston, West Virginia, to attend college in Los Angeles. Once there, she hit the ground running, taking photographs for UCLA Student Government, UCLA Radio, UCLA Campus Events Commission, “The Paper Mixtape,” “Tongue Tied” and “Denizen.” But a number of challenges, financial and otherwise, have complicated her college trajectory. ¶ “I’ve taken off so much school,” she explains, “just because…a lot of different things that have happened in my life. My dad died two years ago, and that just kind of made shit go into a very precise perspective for me. And once stuff like that starts to happen, you just have to focus your energy somewhere else. ¶ “A lot of my portrait photography I either do because I’m in a really terrible mood or a really terrible state. I’ll be like, ‘Yo, let’s take some photos.’ I’ll be really inspired by some artists that I see, and I’ll just want make a really pretty photo, but also make it have something interesting that people can relate to in a way.” ¶ Lim deliberately chooses subjects who, like herself, are difficult to contain. Her energetic rappers, smoldering young women and fresh-faced college boys jump out of the frame, wrapped in lushly contrasting colors and shadows. ¶ “I want the energy to be in all the pictures I take,” she says. “I usually try to shoot stuff where I know people are going to be moving around more. I really like to shoot rap shows, shows that aren’t so laid back. DJ sets are never very good, because they’re just going to stand there. You always have to be on your toes when you’re shooting a rock band or rap music.” ¶ In the future, Lim hopes to tap into a different kind of energy. ¶ “I really want to get into more political photography too, because of all the stuff happening right now—if I’m already travelling, why am I not down at these riots, down capturing all this shit that’s actually happening every day? And so I would really like to get into photojournalism. That’s a big thing.”
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MAJOR
YEAR
Photography
Senior
@shaynacolvin
Shayna Colvin
4 2
SCHOOL
Savannah College of Art and Design
Shayna Colvin By Aliyah Thomas, Mount Saint Mary College
T
hough she was born and raised in Southern California, Shayna Colvin’s pursuit of the fine arts led her to the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. ¶ It was Savannah’s charm and SCAD’s equestrian team—which was essential for Colvin, being that horse riding has always been a favored pastime—that cemented her decision to pack up and pursue photography in the south. Even though she chose to work toward a degree in Photography, Colvin says that her path wasn’t always so plainly outlined. ¶ “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a photographer,” says Colvin, “but after spending a couple months here, I declared it [as my major].” She credits fashion photography, which became a serious endeavor
in her freshman year, with helping to make the decision clearer. ¶ Life for Colvin behind the lens has been one of active observing, and her shots prove that photography can turn an ordinary day into something remarkable. “I think a lot of my inspiration comes from who I surround myself with and what’s going on with my life.” ¶ With a client base ranging from Urban Outfitters to Mint Clothing Company, Colvin has had her fair share of work experience, which, although demanding, has been equally as gratifying, and by no means a dull process. ¶ “A shoot that really sticks out—the one that was the most fun—was when I shot a Lookbook for Urban Outfitters,” says Colvin. “It was in Laguna Beach, I remember. I was already friends with the models, so everything was really easy and fun, especially with the beach house we stayed in.” ¶ Though the need for her work oftentimes keeps her close to school in Savannah, Colvin’s client base has taken her across the country, to places like California and New York. ¶ In spite of the success she’s found working for a strong, solid base of clients for the past three years, Colvin isn’t looking to make that her defining characteristic. Aside from photography, the senior has dabbled in an array of visual art forms, such as drawing, printmaking and ceramics, which have all come as the result of her “taking a step back” and trying other creative arenas. ¶ These other hobbies, while not so unlike one another, have all occasioned different experiences and new lessons learned. Filmmaking—another artistic pursuit undertaken by the SCAD student—doesn’t remove her from digital imaging like drawing and ceramics do, but Colvin has discovered that despite the same material experience of being behind the camera, filmmaking is a different visceral experience than photography. ¶ Her video collection, naturally shot and textured from her Super 8mm camera, reflects her love of informal, un-posed photography. “I try to keep everything raw and real,” she says. “I like candid photos. Nothing super posed. I shoot a lot of my friends and my everyday life.” ¶ Although photography comprises a great deal of her visual art, Colvin keeps an open mind about continuing to explore filmmaking after graduation. “Honestly, I’m not too sure,” she says, when considering the prospect of a career in filmmaking. “I like fashion photography, and I can definitely see myself doing that after school ends, but I definitely like filming documentaries. I like the mix of it.”
Photography by Shayna Colvin
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