spring/summer 2016
contributors
Ariel Bersh Ursula Cedillo-Johnson Frances Cocksedge Spencer Cohen Luna de Buretel Anna Demidova Jamie Grimstad Zachary Hendrickson Mara Elise Koval Sophie Kovel William Laird Anna Lochte Marley Marius Louisa Mascuch Alexis McCarthy Ficara McDoom Zia Ahmed Osman Sam Piland Alexandra Prado Rani Rachavelpula Ava Ravich Denis Rosenberg Maddie Shepherd ChloĂŠ Slazas Charlotte Spritz Ella Viscardi Caroline Wallis Kiera Wood Helena Youhanna
additional thanks to
Denise Boneta Alima Pure Jane Iredale Juice Beauty Milk Makeup Rituel de Fille Studio Lucien Vapour Organic Beauty What Goes Around Comes Aroumd
Sponsored in part by the Arts Initiative at Columbia University. This funding is made possible through a generous gift from The Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
masthead Editor-in-Chief Anisa Tavangar Logistics Director Paris Parker-Loan Photo Director Phoebe Jones Fashion Director Sloane Gustafson Features Director Jacqueline Klein Design Director Luna Rey Copy Chief Najet Fazai PR and Marketing Director Alicia Schleifman Web Director Sneha Silwal
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letter from the editor Identity is a hot topic on campus. Our experiences shape our identities, but how others see us is informed by the nature of their own backgrounds. We make strides to relate to one another but it is impossible to fully understand an unfamiliar perspective. In this way, identities become refracted when interpreted by others. Refraction— the distortion of an image or idea not out of ill will but out of the uniqueness of distinct perspectives— inspires the content in this semester’s issue. While envisioning this edition of Hoot, the editorial team discussed how interests, physical characteristics, digital selves and other points of identity shape how our view of ourselves is not always what others see. Earlier this year, Hoot was recognized by issuu.com out of more than twenty-three million publications as one of the top millennial-produced magazines published on their site. This tremendous honor took me to San Francisco in February, where I met with other young editors who publish on issuu. We discussed what it means for us as individuals with varying identities to produce content viewed around the world. With this diverse group, we emphasized the importance of representing a range of perspectives. These crossing identities that we reflect and others refract are vital to the relatability and success of our content. Collectively, through the representation of an increasing number of identities, what we produce can continue to improve. To highlight the outstanding talents and far-reaching impact of our peers, this issue features powerful individuals and striking pairs, artists and athletes, delicate depictions and bold representations. We hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed making it.
Anisa Tavangar
bound
photographer Phoebe Jones models Defne Erdinc
Yasemin Erdinc
stylist Charlotte Spritz makeup Anisa Tavangar assistant Alexandra Prado
jewelry Denis Rosenberger for Denrose
Denrose is a fine jewelry start-up, which produces high quality designs made of real gold and diamonds at a more affordable cost than high profile brands. Denis Rosenberger, a senior majoring in history and economics, founded the start-up in March 2016. The project emerged from her passion for visual arts and design and her background in the fine jewelry world after studying for a year in Central Saint Martins and learning goldsmithing.
Maximizing Budget writer Mara Elise Koval New York City is synonymous with fashion. Here, Instagram famous bloggers take the subway, elite fashion designers hail cabs, high-end models strut the streets, and I find myself in the midst of it all. Attending a university in one of the largest fashion centers in the world is exciting; starting out, it meant the opportunity to revamp my closet to be #streetstyle worthy. Yet, this access also became intimidating. My modest college student budget paled in comparison to the exorbitant price tags that walk the New York Fashion Week runway, and my wardrobe seemed inferior to many other students’ that boast designer name brands. This contrast felt daunting. Along with asking myself whether I was going to make Raman or order pizza for dinner and study another hour or call it a night in favor of Netflix, I also had to ask myself how I could possibly finance the New York closet that I had so long coveted. Although the disparity between my wallet and the costs of the clothing goals that now surrounded me initially made me feel insecure, I quickly learned how to maximize my budget, while minimizing the contrast between my personal style and New York’s fashion elite. No matter where your budget falls on the spectrum of student allowances, following these savvy shopping techniques will help you to build a wardrobe that stands out amidst the city’s bustling fashion scene without spending your tuition in the process. While New York City is home to nearly every upscale brand and boutique, it is also a mecca for sample sales. The first time I stumbled upon a sample sale I was in awe. Last season’s designer lines for more than half off? Yes, please. Patrolling sample sales is ideal for purchasing timeless designer staples that can be paired with less expensive, trendy outfits. Although still high, the prices are often reduced to a fraction of the original costs. If you’re up for this exhilarating retail experience, a quick Google search will alert you to when and where your favorite brands are hosting sample sales in Manhattan.
Secondhand shopping is an even savvier way to find unique pieces for affordable prices. New York offers a wide variety of thrift and consignment options, ranging in styles, designers, and price points. My go-to secondhand stop is Williamsburg, a hip haven for multiple thrift and consignment shops. AuH20 Thriftique, which offers items for thirty dollars or less, and Beacon’s Closet, boasting similarly great deals, have become two of my favorites. While some shops are carefully curated to create a particular second-hand experience, others offer an assortment collection of vintage and modern clothing. Exploring the diverse array of thrift shops and consignment stores is an adventure in itself, but nothing compares to the moment you find that perfect five-dollar vintage belt after sifting through piles of clothing. Your closet gets an upgrade, while you get the thrill of a treasure hunt. Embracing more reasonably priced brands – such as H&M, Topshop, and Forever 21 – has also helped me build my closet and remain financially conscious. Although the price tags on their lines still range from single digits to more expensive pieces, shopping the sale section and digging through their racks can score you some great deals. Because what’s in vogue heavily influences these stores, purchasing their fashionable yet less expensive items is a great way to stay on top of the trends without having to worry about your pricey lace-up shirt falling out of style next season. Utilizing these shopping tips has allowed me to create a wardrobe that both fits in with my budget and the fashion-clad streets of New York. By sensibly cultivating a closet based on reduced, timeless pieces and inexpensive, trendy outfits, you can create ensembles that reflect your personal fashion and contribute to the heterogeneity of the city’s style. One of the most alluring aspects of New York is its diversity, reflected by the varying backgrounds of the students that attend school here. So, whether you are able to afford designer pieces off the runway or pride yourself on your thrifting skills, your shopping habits reduce the contrast between price tags and help establish a collective, diverse, fashion scene.
going home p ho t ographer Sam Piland sty list Sloane Gust afson m odel Lila Livingst on a ssist ant P ho ebe J o ne s collages A ni s a Ta vang a r
Coat by Studio Lucien
c ohe s iv e
writer Maddie Shepherd
I think it is funny how often I look in the mirror. I blame my childhood of dancing; it seems that I spent about 80% of my time from ages 11 to 18 dissecting my reflection, twisting and turning my body into clearly unnatural positions. This habit has seeped into my pedestrian life. I hate that I have to fight against the urge to turn my head every time I pass a reflective surface. Though this habit might seem no more than mere vanity, I am certain it is more. As Lacan tells us, “The mirror stage [is] formative of the I function.” The moment that babies recognize themselves in the mirror, a rift occurs. Each child starts to realize that the fluid, hazy mind will never be as cohesive as the outlined body. Why are these babies worried about being cohesive, though? Anyone who has seen Beasts of the Southern Wild can recount the bizarre sensation of hearing young, carefree Hushpuppy declare, “I wanna be cohesive.” But the thing is, I do wanna be cohesive. By looking in the mirror, I reassure myself that I am here on this sidewalk walking to class and not just floating away with my thoughts. But I also wanna not care at all whether I am cohesive or not. I want to be in my thoughts and my mind without worrying how tidy my exterior is. I want to walk out of the door without knowing what I look like. I want to float away with my thoughts. I am almost certain that my thoughts are my “I.” The rest is just packaging.
a day of rest
writer Zachary Hendrickson
Another smoke and mirror Sunday Perfect for a road trip round the coffee table Up and down the creased spines of paperback mysteries The fog scratches at your eyes and your throat Making you a failed fourth grade science experiment Evaporate Condensate And hold Let yourself grow into a cloud The only one on the playground On a sunny afternoon The one the lonely child makes friends with Partners in the imagination game With your blurred out edges And his big brown eyes But he only sees a cotton ball And a waterfall And a rainbow And when the whistles blow seven times For the daily secession He’ll return to his desk with a puzzle piece forehead Tracing pictures of magicians and astronauts Because he never much liked What his hands could make A decanter for feeling Welled up with silly anecdotes To flood and fill hallways of us with the remains of crushed cafeteria milk cartons He just wanted something to grow on his windowsill Wanted sunflowers From alfalfa seeds But somebody lost the box top Now he can’t quite tell what his face should be It seeps into the cracks of the page like a watercolor collage blues and reds and blades of grass That might be eyelashes Of someone more certain
A man who knows his place came Monday morning Who knows how to get there And find his way back home again Through noose knots in the yarn of Theseus Black flags and busted sails But his girl knew where he was goin’ She called his shots and stitched up the holes in his hand me down jeans Perfunctory sympathy For the problems She could feel but couldn’t see Like the aftershock footsteps Of some ravenous giant Searching the forest paths For a hundred acre hidey hole Where they can sink Into a felt and fabric geometry No edges or corners Only curves here Like the cul-de-sacs of little town Kansas Pockets for your most treasured possessions And a tomb for everything too much to take with you Follow these paths to their spherical conclusions A topsy-turvy geography inside grandpa’s TV set Tumble Through improv spirituals for the trees on a country highway Tumble Like kittens whose legs are too weak to carry their joy Tumble Saxophones and bells and music from the choir box Tumble Into a hallway Tumble Up the stairs Tumble Through the door Tumble Out the window and with the deftest sleight of hand Tumble Forever Tumble
refugee tent, 2016 painter Sophie Kovel
v a r sit y
photographer William Laird stylist Ava Ravich producer Sloane Gustafson models Ron Busby
Tucker Klutey Max Lawton Nolen Scruggs Kate Stanley
Select clothing courtesy of What Goes Around Comes Around
yeezy’s aesthetic of cool writer Rani Rachavelpula
In Kanye West’s new album Life of Pablo, “I Love Kanye” not only functions as a truly masterful introspective piece, but also an indication of the public’s disposition towards him. The truth is, we all love Kanye — or at least love hearing about Kanye. A living inspiration in the worlds of music and fashion alike, Kanye exudes a unique vibe through both of these mediums that encapsulates the word “cool.” Kanye is cool and defines cool. He makes people want to listen to Kanye, wear Kanye, and be Kanye – no matter which Kanye that is.
This year – with the release of his album Life of Pablo and the showing of his Yeezy Season 3 collection at New York Fashion Week – made it clear that Kanye utilizes the worlds of music and fashion to ultimately convey the same aesthetic. Through both his album and his collection, Kanye creates the same futuristic yet minimalistic vibe that puts him ahead of the game in both realms. His collection adheres to a neutral color palette, experimenting with boxy, androgynous silhouettes and sheer textiles. By sticking to a muted color palette composed of mainly nudes and some dark neutrals, Kanye interacts with the natural human form in much more intimate and poignant manner. His models – stripped down and presented plainly in a quiet dark setting – prompt us to question our humanity through their clothing and respective stances. The same can be said about Kanye’s approach toward his music; his lyrics and clean, simple beats render each phrase and word more poignant. His work tells stories in a palpable, accessible manner. Without being Kanye, we can relate to and start to see ourselves in Kanye.
Kanye demonstrates how the same themes can make fashion and rap music powerful and cool. By keeping his music and clothing simple, Kanye is able to keep it clean, edgy, and fashion-forward. This juxtaposition demonstrates that the perceived contrast between music and fashion has become less pronounced than we initially thought. The two worlds blur, functioning as a means by which we can access this “cool.”
i still live in my childhood bedroom, 2015 painter
Frances Cocksedge
a
n e w
photographer Anna Demidova creative director, editor Anisa Tavangar creative assistant Paris Parker-Loan models Daisy Chaussee
Allegra Herman Kosta Karakashyan Eliana Pipes Jonah Reider Ser Serpas assistant Sloane Gustafson Alexis McCarthy
o r d e r In playwriting and film, calls for submission always have the same set of buzzwords: they love to say they want “fresh new work,” something that features “diversity” and “young voices.” I write to call that bluff. To be a playwright is to place yourself in this ancient tradition— to decide you want to take on the same job description as Aristotle and Shakespeare. I fill a vacuum by finding ways to place myself in that history, even though it was never really made for me.
Eliana Pipes, playwright
I cook and curate. Creating and consuming food is profoundly cathartic and connecting. I want to further integrate dining into the realms of art, music, and design.
Jonah Reider, chef
Sharing my passions and the small joys I witness in the world connects me to a larger community, pushes me outside my comfort zone, and allows me to appreciate everything more—from my morning latte made by my favorite barista to the blooming of the cherry blossom trees in spring. Photography gives me a new perspective with which to view life and the people that come in and out of it. I brighten people’s days when all they might see is the concrete jungle outside their office windows. Photography and Instagram also fill a personal vacuum, enabling me to disentangle my own thoughts and emotions and channel and cultivate them to create something new.
Daisy Chaussee, instagrammer
There is an insane feeling of satisfaction in finding connection between mind and body. Movement feels good for many physiological reasons, but dance allows you to express so many emotions and ideas through your body. I think nowadays people are so detached from the idea of their body as a vessel that needs care and love, so through dancing I hope to inspire others to find the same rush I feel when performing.
Kosta Karakashyan, dancer
verity photographer Giulia Olsson makeup Anisa Tavangar model Dunni Oduyemi assistants Evan de Lara, Kaeli Streeter underwear Negative Underwear pillows Sam Williger
Dance is a very vulnerable but equally fulfilling art form. I perform on a stage before hundreds of people in effort to evoke in the audience something never before experienced. Especially with all the violence present in our world today, all we can hope to do as artists is create a liberating environment in which people can think and emote and connect to one another.
Allegra Herman, dancer
i bleed for fun, usually in sculpture or posing for photogs, i liveblog, unfiltered and raw, on instagram.com lol @ser_sera. i do the work i do because it reminds me of and validates my humanity. mm, i fill the vacuum denied to a lot of trans fems of color, navigating academia and the art fashion blah world, it’s chill but high key stressful.
Ser Serpas, artist
across spaces writer Zia Ahmed Osman It is 7:00 AM in St. Louis, the day after my last final. When my mom, hooyo, opens the door to my bedroom on the third floor of our apartment, she finds me sprawled across my bed, my MacBook Air in use as a pillow. Proceeding to shake me awake, she chuckles “Wax ma iska kaabadalin”— Somali for “nothing has changed”—under her breath. I roll out of bed, iPhone in hand, and follow her down the stairs for our routine morning tea. Growing up in the Midwest, I always tried to fit in with my classmates, much to the displeasures of my pattern-loving, vintage-wearing hooyo. I spent months begging for Sperrys, Crocs and a googly-eyed cat shirt — only one of which my mother bought with pleasure — in an effort to blend my deep brown Somali skin tone with that of my lighter skinned peers. Despite my silicone Livestrong bracelet and sale-section Hollister sweatshirt, however, I never managed to fill the void between us. So, I stopped trying to blend my deep brown Somali skin tone and started expressing myself. My journey to self-expression did not happen overnight. In fact, it was an accumulation of late nights spent in front of an LED screen, curating a Tumblr feed, that transported me from Paris to New York. The rise of social media platforms has given me and plenty of others on-demand access to the perhaps otherwise inaccessible world of fashion. Through applications like Instagram, people can curate collections of images that serve as an additional medium of self-expression beyond clothing. Although my Tumblr has transformed extensively over the years, my hooyo can always find me the same way – fast asleep, cuddling with my MacBook, and dreaming about a world of pronounced self-expression that remains only a click away.
Kat, 2016 image
Ariel Bersh
warrior women
writer Ficara McDoom
Like drips of red clay running through fingers Is how I can describe a woman’s beauty: Raw, Timeless, Art I knew this woman with mermaid eyes, island curves mother of civilizations. I knew this woman of cosmic creation Gentle arms cradle the earth A power that can crush the very foundation. I knew this woman The moon in the curve of her breasts Morning dew skin Soulful They are Queens, phenomenally. I see the faces of warriors; fists up Arms out with the power of tornadoes And the beauty of the moon Feet rooted deep into the thickenings of sisterhood. A force that can rip apart the earth And liberate it back together. And now, The earth has rotated twice on its axis Spinning seven hundred and thirty Sunsets and moonrises Creating Evolving Gettin’ free A woman’s eyes hold revolution, A fire that grows in the most beautiful of hearts Her soul sings to people With the most vibrant of colors In turquoise and reds She paints her story In octaves and quavers sharing her truth On drumskins and piano keys She is a goddess with the ocean in her eyes Balanced like sun silhouettes She dances atop a warm evenings breeze with the ancestors.
Lou wears Juice Beauty Flawless Finishing Powder, Alima Pure Pearluster Eyeshadow in Vertigo, Alima Pure Natural Definition Mascara in Brown, Vapour Halo Illuminator, Milk Makeup Gel Brow in Pilsner, and Rituel de Fille Enchanted Lip Sheer in Bloodroot.
photographer Kiera Wood creative director Ella Viscardi makeup Anisa Tavangar model Lou Clinton- Celini
Lou wears Milk Makeup Face Gloss, Milk Makeup Gel Brow in Pilsner, Juice Beauty Ultra Natural Mascara Black, Rituel de Fille Ash and Amber Eye Soot, and Rituel de Fille Lovesick Blush.
Lou wears Juice Beauty Flawless Finishing Powder, Jane Iredale Purepressed Eyeshadow Triple in Cognac, Vapour Solar Translucent Bronzer in Simmer, Vapour Halo Illuminator, Alima Pure Pearluster Eyeshadow in Cappucino, Juice Beauty Precision Eye Pencil in Black, Vapour Mezmerize Eye Color in Cinder, Juice Beauty Luminous Lip Crayon in Rosy Brown, and Juice Beauty Ultra Natural Mascara Black.
Lou wears Rituel de Fille Delirium Cream Blush, Rituel de Fille Love Spell Eye Soot, Jane Iredale Purebrow, Vapour Solar Translucent Bronzer in Simmer, Juice Beauty Cream Shadow Stick in Mist, Alima Pure Brown Mascara, and Vapour Halo Illuminator.