The Collective Magazine: Issue 002 by The Collective Magazine

ISSUE 002

CONTENTS CONTENTS

TEAM

Pussy is a Place

Joshua

Jackson

Whatcha Know About Slow Fashion

iConnect

Creatives of UIUC

Vincent & Boomer

Get to Know the Gypsy

Fashion for Artâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sake

bum bum

A Lone Farmer

In Between the Glamour

What Gets You Out of Bed?

Sugar Hiccup

Unbecoming

Accolades & Alcoholism

Megan

Drake

Meet Cover Artist Odd.But.True

Bus Stop

Sugar Hiccup

STICKERZ

Meet the Artists 04

WHATCHA

KNOW ABOUT

SLOW FASHION?

(All models were clothed using reused items)

veryone wants to make an impact, but now is the time to do the opposite. Fast Fashion is not only destructive for human rights, it also wreaks havoc on the environment, and doesn’t keep corporations accountable. “Fast Fashion” is a term used to describe the idea that we are all constantly out of style; it is

the quick paced transition from runway to stores to closets. Because this process occurs so quickly, the least expensive way to meet the demand is to produce cheaply made clothes in factories with dangerous working conditions and wages for workers that barely meet living standards.

We don’t have to partake in this cycle, there are ways to fight against this carelessness. Let me introduce to you: Slow Fashion. “Slow fashion” is an alternative to Fast Fashion, it holds up the standard for quality clothing, environmental responsibility and fairness for all those involved in the process. There are brands fighting working with Slow Fashion like Everlane, Reformation and Catbird

NYC. These brands pride themselves in creating pieces that consumers can feel good about purchasing. These ethical practices typically cost more, however, due to avoiding shortcuts that Fast Fashion brands take i.e. unfair labor practices and environmentallyharmful disposal methods. Saving the Earth and supporting human rights is not something that should be unaffordable. Slow

Fashion that doesn’t break the bank is purchasing from thrift shops and resale stores. Second-hand retailers have a wide selection of styles and sizes and it is a way to give clothes another chance, as well as keep them out of landfills. Not to mention they are often much less expensive than what you would find in a typical retail store. Use your money the way you would use your vote: in something you believe in. When you participate in Slow Fashion, it places a vote towards a more sustainable and ethical future.

Writer: Adriana Vaca Photographer: Sofia Fey

Quick Tips on How to Combat

Fast Fashion:

1 “Do I really need this? Do I really Avoid impulse buys want this?”

out your style 2 Figure Know what works for you, ignore what doesn’t.

clothing-swap parties 3 Host with your friends! Great new (to you!) pieces + bonding time with buds.

quality over quantity 4 Think 1 quality item > 3 cheap items 10

C ASS I DY BRAN DT “I feel like one of the main things that I like to focus on is positivity because I feel like in my past Iʼve kind of struggled with feeling positive about myself, exuding confidence, I guess, and art is my way of being able to not only hopefully inspire others but inspire myself to feel better about myself. A lot of the things that I do are positive affirmations that not only I need to hear, but probably someone else might need to hear.” Freshman in Graphic Design Portrait Photography, Drawing, Calligraphy/Word Art

CREATIVES OF UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN EMMERSON DOODY

Freshman in Art Education General Art

“My dad went back to school when I was in fourth grade or something like that. He was an accountant, and he really wasnʼt happy with his job, and he just didnʼt like getting up to go to work anymore. He wasnʼt enjoying it, so he was like, ʻI need to change something in my life, choose something that makes me happy and do something that I enjoy.ʼ So he went back to school to become a teacher, and I kind of really stuck with that. It was like I need to choose something in my life that makes me happy, that Iʼm not pursuing for the money.”

JEREMEY C HEN “Communication [has been a challenge]. Iʼm not a native speaker, English is my second language, and I was really having a hard time talking with people [in] English, trying to let people understand what I want or what I mean. So, that was the biggest challenge for me in filmmaking, communicating with people. But now Iʼm getting better.” Freshman in Media & Cinema Studies Short Films and Videos

C OVO N C OX “There are a lot of other people that are doing [producing], so you have to put your energy into it, you have to be different from everybody and show that you really want it. One thing is competition, another thing is, with DJing, you gotta make sure you have all your songs. Gotta be updated, stay updated. With engineering, you gotta make sure that whatever music youʼre making is quality. Itʼs just a lot you gotta make sure youʼre up to.”

Freshman in DGS DJ, Music Production, Audio Engineering

LU K A I L I C

Freshman in Business Landscape and Architecture Photography

Photographer: Connor Cieck

“You can come back from a trip or a photoshoot and take thousands and thousands of pictures, like so many pictures, but maybe one or maybe even two of them are worth something. Because, with photography, you really have to experiment a lot… you canʼt just get one perfect shot from one try.”

I’VE NEVER BEEN CALMER WITH NOT FITTING IN

AS I AM NOT LIKE ANYONE ELSE AND WON’T TRY TO BE

I AM NOT ONLY ONE LITERALLY BUT FIGURATIVELY

THE WORD IN THE PICTURE MEANS FOREIGNER

Fashion for Art’s Sake

Designer and artist Jacob Pfeifer is amongst those leading in creative innovation. Pfeifer grew up in New York City; the immense arts capital of the US instilled an expressive streak in Pfeiferʼs childhood. The mark of artisanship later developed into skateboarding and playing guitar in a band.

After digging up his roots, Pfeifer needed a way to access the cultures he once loved. He didnʼt have many resources or outlets, so he gathered what he could: ideas, pictures, memories–all little pieces of the cultures he once held so dearly.

However, as the young creative transitioned into college life, Pfeifer grew away from his natural imaginative abilities. Pfeifer moved to Urbana-Champaign to attend the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois. There, the majority of Pfeiferʼs time was dedicated to mapping out his future and becoming a professional.

Eventually, he realized the most accessible route to these was fashion. “I'm not the best musician, I can't skateboard anymore, but I found myself gravitating towards the fashion of both, I still like the self-expression and that's what I thought was interesting,” Pfeifer said.

After most of his freshman year, Pfeifer found that he strayed too far from what he loved. Pfeifer began to slip academically and the lack of creativity in his life started to affect his mood. Reflecting on his past, Pfeifer decided to shift his focus back to the childhood that had solidified his core values. “It drove me kind of insane. I didn't know where to start building up again, so I looked back at what I liked as a kid and the cultures I cared about. Like skateboarding, hip-hop, and other 1970ʼs cultures in New York,” Pfeifer said.

Even then, Pfeifer was still held at the threshold. Though eager, Pfeifer had minimal training in fashion and design. Pfeifer admits, “I can't sew clothes, I can't make a t-shirt, that's not what I thought was interesting. I wanted to find a way to make it more personal and try and make it more on the art and fashion side.” The barriers to fashion did not bar him from trying. In an attempt to rediscover art, Pfeifer decided to start painting. In his search for inspiration, he reconnected with Mr. Sabotage, a designer notorious for customizing Nike SB shoes and a name well-known in the skate world.

“He was a name I knew from the skateboarding cultures. One of the shirts he painted had the bones in someoneʼs arms painted on the sleeves. I ripped verbatim and put it on a pair of pants; that was the first piece I did,” Pfeifer said. “They were just for myself and I did a pretty shitty job, but the way it felt to wear that for the first time and knowing that I helped make what I'm presenting to the world made me feel more connected to the people around me.” From here, Pfeifer continued using fabric paint on top of his clothes. The designs eventually grew in strength and he experimented with different canvases like purses, denim jackets, leather jackets, pants, and shoes. His signature look blurs traditional tattoo work with a number of common street style images popular in urbanist trends.

Writer: Emily-Nicole Pease

“The idea behind this, besides self-expression and making a statement, is to blend the line between art and fashion. Fashion is an art form but it's a wearable one and it's been separated in terms of means of production and the connection from designer to the wearer. The distance between designer and the person is really far, except for in couture and between high fashion designers." One of his driving influences is Warren Lotas, an emerging custom designer transitioning to release a full line. Pfeifer also follows a number of big name designers such as Virgil Abloh and Alessandro Michele of Gucci. “Abloh runs everything fashion right now, but the way he makes these high-end bits of fashion for people of all people, for people of different backgrounds, for young people. Itʼs not just for rich, white dudes anymore, I mean heʼs doing collaboration with people in Nigeria right now, Pfeifer said. “The idea of equalizing the fashion world and having more people at the table is great and its movement is huge.”

Photographer: Joshua Krawitz

Now a senior at the University of Illinois to graduate with a Bachelorʼs degree in Psychology, Pfeifer plans to head back to New York, where he feels he can make a name for himself. “I'm not sure how this will happen, but I want to find a way to provide different price points and different garments, essentially a full line, but still maintaining that accessibility to designers behind it.”

bum bum when my hands and feet were smaller, and the air was uninterrupted, the shades drawn, and i began to fall asleep, with my head pressed tight against the pillow, i thought that the steady beat in my ears were tiny bacteria m a r c h i n g, in tiny uniforms and proportional tiny army caps, off to battle some other type of bacteria in uniforms of a different color to avoid confusion. the more intensely i eavesdropped, the quicker their tiny steps became, as if they knew i was on to them. iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d take deep s l o w breaths and pretend that i was sleeping, and their march shifted, matching my exhales. by the next morning, i certainly had them fooled.

poem: adriana vaca illustration: elena sotos

KENDALL HILL BETWEEN THE GLAMOUR Interview by: Chantal Vaca

Where do you draw much of your inspiration from? I think early on it was a standard to go on Instagram or go on Pinterest and everything like that. But, now I’ve been starting to draw inspiration a lot from what I feel and where my emotions are at or where my headspace is at. Especially for collaging, I draw inspiration from the thoughts that I’m thinking, what’s going on in my life, you know, kind of my headspace and everything. And, it’s the same for photography. I might see an image on Instagram, or I might see an image anywhere and be like, ‘That’s interesting,’ but at the end of the day, it’s going through my mind and my eyes and how I interpret the vision. How did you come up with your idea for Between the Glamour? A lot of what I was trying to show is that it’s not all just glamour, and it’s not all just makeup. There’s a lot of work behind performers, behind actors and behind photographers that a lot of people may or may not see. I think it’s important that you know that photographers, dancers, and artists in general, create beautiful works, but I also think it’s important to see what’s going on behind the scenes and what’s really in their mind and help people that are not artists interpret this a little bit better. What is it like being an artist today, with social media, where anyone can label themselves as an artist and can share their work instantaneously? It’s hard, especially now. I’m in my third year of doing intense art and going through those motions. Recently, I’ve really started to 24 experience what it feels like to be a living artist.

“Art is not supposed to be viewed on a screen in passing. It’s supposed to be viewed in a gallery space or in a grand way.” 25

WHAT GETS YOU OUT OF BED? THE COLLECTIVE VISITED A HOUSE SHOW PARTY IN URBANA, IL ON MARCH 30 AND APRIL 13, 2018. WE ASKED THE ATTENDEES WHAT GETS THEM OUT OF BED.

From Toilet Paper Doodles To U-Haul Exhibitions Meet Cover Artist Odd.But.True

Graphic designer Andrew Harlan is making waves with his brand odd.but.true. You may be familiar with his work if you have seen posters for concerts and house shows across The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus. Harlan has also produced graphics for Chicago musicians and promotion-event companies like Cole Bennettʼs Lyrical Lemonade. Recently, he designed the poster for Chicago hip-hop artist Supa Bweʼs upcoming show at the Canopy Club. Harlan also successfully curated his own art show at UIUC this April, where he displayed his creative genius via U-Haul trucks.

As a freshman living in a dorm, he would draw little messages on the toilet paper in the bathrooms, which, to his surprise, garnered him pleasant feedback. “People started to recognize and figure out that it was me, and they were excited to see it,” Harlan said. “That became an output where I was with all these people from different areas of thought and they were like ʻYou're doing something that no one else is doing,ʼ and I thought, ʻWell, this is fun.ʼ Then I fully embraced that Middle School Me again, and realized that I have inner creativity building up.”

Harlan is now in his third year at UIUC studying graphic design. As a freshman, he never anticipated to be where he is now. During his first year, Harlan was taking general education classes in subjects like science and engineering. “I thought to myself, ʻOh man this is not what I want,ʼ”Harlan said. Harlan then decided to pursue his creative passion and began drawing every day.

Harlan is not only passionate about his work, he is disciplined. When he finds himself in a creative funk he does everything in his power to push past it. Ingrained in him is the message of determination and resilience from his former drawing teacher, Steven Hudson: “The amateurs will sit down and when they canʼt do it, theyʼll leave. The Pros, and the people who really love it will just sit down and do it till they get over it.”

While Harlan admits that a creative block can be difficult to overcome, he insists on “Going until something clicks,” which helps him remember why he pursued graphic design in the first place. “Iʼm not just screwing around, itʼs a passion and I want to embrace it for all its worth,” Harlan said. As a distinct and core member of the art community on UIUCʼs campus, Harlan beams with excitement when it comes to discussing the current scene and whatʼs in store for odd.but.true.ʼs future. He is confident in the creative friendships he has made here and can see himself moving forward with these artists well after college. When it comes to the daunting question of post-college job security, you can count Harlan out of a 9-to-5 job, “I don't want to do it the normal way. I just want to do funky things ʻtil something works,” Harlan said. “I really want to be an artist, to thrive as an artist.”

Writer: Genesis Hinojosa

Bus Stop After Sarah Kay This midwest winter, come with me to Gregory and Dorner. The terminal wheezes and we can listen as she too is worn thin by chilling winds. And if ice crystals dance down to your hair, comfy curly nest, we can travel just a few blocks to the tropical greenhouse conservatory. I’ll trace you with mango lips, unbolt like petals of vermillion hibiscus. We’ll write in pencil— so you can erase if you like.

Poem: Sofia Fey Illustration: Anna Korol

STICKERZ ANNA KOROL JOSHUA BARKER JOSHUA BARKER

SK YL AR CHISM

THE COLLECTIVE

EMMA SIEL AFF PEY TON CECIL EMILY ETZKORN

ELENA SOTOS

EMILY ETZKORN

JULIA MORRISON ELENA SOTOS

TAYLOR CHISM

JULIA MORRISON

EMMA SIEL AFF

SK YL AR CHISM

MEET THE ARTISTS ANDREW HARLAN

JULIA MORRISON I like to explore the absurdity of subjective perception; I call it odd. Instagram: @odd.but.true Pages: Front and Back Cover

LIBBY PETTETT

I'm on an artistic journey, open to new ideas and discovering ways to make art that can inspire activism and create awareness for social justice. There is too much to explore in the world to be bored, so let's go on an adventure. Instagram: @juliakmorrison Pages: 11-12 and 39

ANNA KOROL

SAMMY AL-ASMAR

EMMA SIELAFF I love red eye shadow, dancing, and eating mangoes in the grass. I create illustrations and collages. I am me, just a loaf and an artist. Instagram: @emsieloaf Pages: 07-08, 33-34, and 39

I have a "one night stand" relationship with my art because I don't wanna commit to a single style yet. I'll also look at my art the next morning thinkin' I can do better. While I work, I think about maturity towards manhood and the desert of Wadi Rum. Instagram: @ibn.said Page: 16

MEET THE ARTISTS KENDALL HILL

ELENA SOTOS My work is mainly concerned with trying to explain or solve the issues that prevail society. For my upcoming project, I will explore more sustainable alternatives to replace the bread on sandwiches and delve into the function of the ends of bread in modern culture. Instagram: @elena.sotos Pages: 19 and 39

I’m a film photographer and fine artist based in Chicago Illinois but studying New Media here at UIUC in the School of Art and Design. Although I began my artistic career writing, I began to photograph heavily at the end of my freshman year here. Hobbies include photography, Mario Kart, and more photography. Instagram: @kdvll Pages: 21-26

SKYLAR CHISM

ADRIANA VACA

Life is repetitive, but there’s joy in meditation. My art is a result of me listening to the same songs on repeat while moving paint around as mediation. Sugar Hiccup is an ongoing collection of abstract acrylic paintings and edited multicolored patterns. Instagram: @_hivemind Pages: 29-30 and 39

I craft my art around memories or turning the familiar into something strange. I enjoy working against capitalism, seldom wear my retainer, and water my plants too much. Instagram: @adri.vaca Pages: 09-10 and 19

JOSHUA BARKER

SARAH PATRICK Better the world through art. Instagram: @joshuawiththeua Pages: 20 and 39

I like to use my writing to deal with traumatic circumstances, be it my own experiences or those I experienced vicariously, and try to use words to evoke visceral feelings in my readers. When I'm not dwelling on these Super Depressing Things™, I dabble in digital photography and watch way too many art films. Instagram: @patrixforkids Page: 31

MEET THE ARTISTS EMILY ETZKORN

SARAH GINNARD I make handmade paper and paint things. Instagram: @amsarahginnard Page: 32

I am a young Chicago-made, Asian-American woman just trying to take up space in the world (and encourage others to) by producing art that pleases my eye and soothes my soul. I love sunshine, fruit, and destroying the patriarchy. Instagram: @emsterlyyy Pages: 39

PEYTON CECIL

SOFIA FEY

I feel most inspired when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m walking outside, looking at the colors red and yellow, or reading novels set in the 40â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. I only draw with ink and paint mostly with acrylic. Pages: 39

TAYLOR CHISM Design is everything and means everything to me. In my work, I try to focus on the role media plays in our lives and our connection to virtual space, in a playful, post-modern style. #digitalchaos Instagram: @majestic_platypus Page 39

THE COLLECTIVE 002