KNACK’S ULTIMATE AIM IS TO CONNE
we are dedicated to showcasing the work of new artists of all mediums and to discussing trends and ideas within art communities
ECT & INSPIRE EMERGING ARTISTS we strive to create a place for artist writers designers thinkers + innovators to collaborate and produce a unique, informative, and unprecedented web-based magazine each month
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www.theknackmagazine.com
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acceptable formats
10-12 high resolution images of your work. All should include pertinent caption information (name, date, medium, year).
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writers You may submit up to 5,000 words and as little as one. .doc We accept simultaneous submissions. No cover letter .docx necessary. All submissions must be 12pt, Times New RTF Roman, single or double-spaced with page numbers and include your name, e-mail, phone number, and genre. KNACK seeks writing of all kinds. We will even consider recipes, reviews, and essays. We seek writers whose work has a distinct voice, is character driven, and is subversive but tasteful. all submissions
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
photographers, graphic designers & studio artists
KNACK encourages all submitters to include a portrait, brief biography including name, age, current location, awards, contact info (no more than 200 words), as well as an artist statement, with their submission (no more than 500 words). We believe that your perspective of your work and process is as lucrative as the work itself. This may range from your upbringing and/or education as an artist, what type of work you produce, inspirations, etc. If there are specifications or preferences concerning the way in which your work is to be displayed please include them. Please title files for submission with the name of the piece. This applies for both writing and visual submissions.
KNACKMAGAZINE1 @ GMAIL.COM subject: Submission Photography / Studio Art Creative Writing / Graphic Design
is requesting material to be reviewed. Reviews extend to any culture-related event that
@ = at
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may be happening in the community in which you live. Do you know of an exciting show or exhibition opening? Is there an art collective in your city that deserves some press? Are you a musician, have a band, or are a filmmaker? Send us your CD,
All review material can be sent to knackmagazine1@gmail.com. Please send a copy of CDs and films to 4319 North Greenview Ave, Chicago, IL 60613.
movie, or titles of upcoming releases which you’d like to see reviewed in KNACK. We believe that reviews are essential to creating a dialogue about the arts. If something thrills you, we want to know about it and share it with the KNACK community—no matter if you live in the New York or Los Angeles, Montreal or Mexico.
If you would like review material returned to you include return postage and packaging. Entries should contain pertinent details such as name, year, release date, websites and links (if applicable). For community events we ask that information be sent up to two months in advance to allow proper time for assignment and review.
We look forward to seeing and hearing your work.
andrea catalina vaca co-founder, publisher, director, photo editor, subscriptions, artist coordinator, marketing, advertising, digital operations jonathon duarte co-founder, design director, artist coordinator ariana lombardi co-founder, executive editor, writer, artist coordinator fernando gaverd designer, digital operations chelsey alden editor, writer jake goodman designer bfrank designer juraj gagne proofreader rufino medrano design intern
submission guidelines TA L E N T
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donnie bobb 16 raquel garcía 24 david rodríguez lópez
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skylar fray
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noah lee 50 genesis tramaine 60 daniel allegretti 68
spreads I andrea catalina vaca
cover design I jonathon duarte
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donnie bobb Donnie Bobb was born in the Midwest and imagines he will spend the rest of his days there, unless he escapes to the mountains. He has been making art seriously for approximately 10 years. Before that, he just wasn’t serious.
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raquel garcía Raquel García is an English philologist, school teacher, and a photographer of intimate scenes, finding in photography a 'peephole' through which to discover others and herself. García is inspired by suggestive shapes, lights, shadows, and bodies that stimulate the senses.
instagram - @rachelghe
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david rodrÍguez lópez David Rodríguez is from Spain and is 39 years old. He has been practicing photography since 2013 and is self-taught.
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skylar fray Skylar Fray was born and raised in White Plains, NY, and the Hudson River Valley area. A graduate of Santa Fe University of Art and Design, NM, she is currently living in Manhattan and continuing her studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYC.
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noah lee Noah Lee, a twenty-one-year-old Navajo with a touch of Jemez Pueblo, was raised in Northern Arizona. He is currently focused on further pushing his culture into the New Age through design, and offering the world of design a new perspective steeped in a rich ancestry of artists and visual communicators.
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genesis tramaine Genesis Tramaine was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where she currently works as an educator and artist. Her art explores ethics and insanity, the mundane and the inhumane, spirituality, sexuality, and sentimentality.
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daniel allegretti Daniel Allegretti is a photographer who was born, raised and currently resides in Santa Fe, NM. He works for Santa Fe Photographic Workshops as a Digital Lab Assistant. Allegretti has a background in fine art and documentary style photography.
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donnie bobb
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This work, much like the influences of skateboarding, painting and music, is based on freedom and pure expression. Little forethought or preparation goes into the pieces, so that each may become precisely what it is: an individual work of art. I never let lack of technique or experience stand in my way. My art, like the majority of my songs, and most of my life’s purposes in general, reveal themselves to me over time, and I simply nurture what they become.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
In Memoriam (Mama & Pappy)
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raquel garcĂa
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These featured works belong to my project "Love is Love", created to celebrate love and sensuality. I try to draw attention to the love between people and its sensuality, while avoiding stereotypes. My photos of same sex lovers display the masculinity and femininity of the subjects by means of body language. Love is Love is a minimalist project that focuses on a specific body part, not faces or sexes.
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david rodríguez lópez
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I like to photograph people, I feel very comfortable doing portraits, but I always try to go a little further. That is the reason why I seek risky compositions, with a touch of surrealism. Works like those of Man Ray, Erwin Blumenfeld or Guy Bourdin inspire me immensely. Each person inspires me a different way, so before I do shoot, I imagine how I would like to portray him or her. Then, I create a concept and imagine a story. I do not like to get attached to reality. Instead, I like to transform it, challenging the model with unusual situations. I play with the model, making each session a culture encounter, but also an enriching and surprising experience for both of us. The use of the photography techniques I use, whether high speed, long exposure or others, is determined by the conceptual preconception I had in mind. Water has always been a source of inspiration for me. Because I’ve lived on an island, it has always been a very common element in my life. However, I sometimes prefer to play with the imagination of the viewer, so I endow my photographs with a halo of mystery. This is the case in works like "Venus" and "Memories". In both, the technique of long exposure was applied to the portraits. The series "Venus" is inspired by the painting, The Birth of Venus by Alexandre Cabanel (1863). In this set, we find a half-naked Venus emerging from the sea and rising as the goddess of love. The model of this session follows the canon of beauty of that time. “Memories” is a series composed of several black and white photographs. In these photographs, the memories of a summer love are shown. Each of the photos represents a different past moment in time. These photos are full of symbols. The protagonists of the story look blurred, representing the memories that, with the passing of time, fade. Neat parts symbolize the pain that remains after the separation. In these photographs, the sun and water are important protagonists. For these images, the high speed technique was used to capture the details and to "freeze" the water movement.
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Memories
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Venus
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skylar fray
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If you are not paying attention, you are a genius. If you are paying attention, you are ignorant to the reality. Let me be the one to tell you: you are not crazy. We all have our imperfections and our hidden disabilities. That doesn’t make you insane. You need to realize that you are just living life. That’s what you do. You cannot change a person. However, each person has room for continual improvement.
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1 First Resort
Good work today, Good work. Keep it up kid, only work no such thing as luck. You’re tired? So? K. Then lie down. Get up kid, only work no such thing as luck. Gotta get home The Harlem Line’s broken. Down to Uptown only The 1 has got my back, at least for when I need to lie down. Family. Fried chicken ‘round the corner at 9:00 p.m. that’s what’s up. Young one, there’s only work no such thing as luck.
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2 Sequence IV
The Rabbit is overwhelmed by the aftermath. She saw the Kangaroo at the diner and he was with an Otter. Hot Pastrami on Rye with mustard on the side. [insert amount] is sitting in my drawer. I’ve never felt so unsure. It could all go *POOF* just like that. I’ve never felt so unsure. Be careful-the younger you are, the more it grows. Make it last. Only your hand is cast. Emit your future, kid, said the Otter.
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3 My Mind on The Platform
I didn’t say Happy Holidays Sinus infection. Am I rude? No. They could have introduced themselves. They were taught that at one point in their lives. I don’t always have to initiate. It’s exhausting.
Happy New Year.
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4 May 28, 2017
25% Fear 25% Reality 50% Resilience I don’t care. Lone wolf. I accept it. Pry bar on human teeth. My mother worries. In Red Hook writing in my yellow book. Dr. Seuss was right. I write. You don’t like this? My voice. Then turn the page. I like breaking the 4th page. As I sit alone in quiet rage on this night. I’m a tiny drifter. The wind hits me quicker. A plane passes behind the tower. A dormant crane it’s red hook sings, it’s crooked laughter.
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noah lee
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Heightened by my culture (one of meaning, devoid of decoration and unnecessary components), I believe the order and presentation of information is key to bettering our lives from the perspectives of both the User and Distributor. As a spatial thinker, I can transform abstract and/or conceptual components into strong visual elements. I am also well versed in drafting and paper engineering.
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Diné
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Deer Spirit
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Pure Dancing
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Endorsing Cellulose Strands
Outward Movement
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Embracing Complexity
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Cubistic Portrait
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Self-Reflection
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Wisdom Comes
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genesis tramaine
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I am a female bodied painter with a leading gender fluid spirit. My passion translates in my work through abstract portraits of men and women who transcend blackness as political or representa-tive. I consider the individual because this is the way I like to be considered. Painting is one of the ways I stay connected to my complexion and woman-ness. My paintings invoke the voices of ancestors and give praise to the world around me. For me, art is all consuming, and my thoughts revolve and are involved with it. Using an urban and raw approach, I create pieces with provocative color. Where I’m from, blue and purple are regular expressions of black skin. I use exaggerated features and at times “jester-like” facial expressions to give focus to my unique interpretation of black faces. Each painting captures dynamic emotion and is intended to lend focus to the untapped, underrepresented spirit of Black People. My social and political consciousness as a woman and a painter is informed by the constant challenges I face as a person of color — due to the societal imbalances of race, class and gender. The daily rhythm of these experiences has the greatest impact on the shape, structure and depth of each painting. My hand leans on self-taught, freestyle techniques to communicate a clear understanding of traditional African art. I focus on the shape and definition of the black American face through a mix of collage, acrylic and oil-based paint. As a native New Yorker, the blueprint and inspiration for my style is rooted in the Harlem Renaissance artist, Romare Bear-den, mixed with the 1980s New York City graffiti culture that came of age as I did. I have worked as a New York educator with differently-abled black and latino students for the last nine years. In this time, my career as an artist has grown tremendously. My work has shown at the Salt Space in Chelsea, NY, and this summer, I gained praise and footing in Toronto’s vibrant art scene.
Kam_Era Photography / @Kam_era
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MY CROPS ARE NOT FOR SALE
2017 / 24 x 48in. / acrylic, oil, oil pastel on wood
S AV E A K I S S F O R M E
2017 / 18 x 22in. / acrylic, oil, oil pastel, screenprint, collage on canvas
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A R O U N D T H E W AY G I R L
2017 / 22 x 36in. / mixed media on canvas
BLU
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BLU
2017 / 18 x 22in. / acrylic on canvas
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GIRL SCOUT
2017 / 18 x 24”in. / acrylic, wood collage, oil, oil pastels on wood
BE A BIG GIRL
2017 / 18 x 24in. / acrylic, oil, oil pastels on canvas
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SHE'S A PROPHET
2017 / 30 x 40in. / acrylic, oil, oil pastel, screenprint, collage on canvas
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daniel allegretti
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The featured photos were taken at Sandia Speedway, located in Bernalillo County, NM. The Speedway pushes the boundaries of the New Mexican/ Southwestern culture of stock car racing and engine building. Lowriders are a popular style of car in the Southwest. Sandia Speedway gives room to a different set of cars and car enthusiasts. Ultimately, I, along with the Speedway, sought to highlight the culture and dedication of the drivers.
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scr aping
her self
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s anchez
r acer 's mom
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quick fi x
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w aiting
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fly ing
duke
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speed w ay
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