Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 1
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
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as-up-and-coming artists like Gardell Neal Jr.’s profile, No bones about it, on Denver artist Jesse Bones. While I don’t know much about technology (I can barely tweet), I know it matters. Our Technosphere editor Hayes Madsen has your back with all things tech and gaming, for the newbie (like me) to the expert (like you). His monthly column, Talk Tech To Me, is sure to educate and entertain you with topics like this year’s E3 Convention. Finally, what magazine would be complete without fashion? Except editor Alysha Prieto and I, like many of you, are tired of seeing the same old “hate yourself, now buy this” messaging that comes with most of fashion’s territory. You’ll find none of that in Threads. What you will find are people who look like you, and me, and everyone in between, as well as features on local designers and businesses that are changing the game. We here at Metrosphere are also trying to change the game, not only with our new look, expanded distribution and original content, but also through this year’s theme for our year-end arts and lit edition, Reformation. In one of the most contentious, dividing and downright crazy election years we’ve seen, where people are more desperate for change than ever before, we at Metrosphere wanted to engage and challenge you-the readers, the students, the artists, writers, photographers, faculty, friends, mothers and daughters, young and-not so young-in a deeper conversation and collaboration. Reformation is the action or process of reforming an institution or practice so, rather than waiting for someone else to step up, we’re stepping up ourselves and inviting you to join us as we trudge the road of happy destiny. Submit your work for our year end arts and lit edition by visiting MyMetMedia.com and join our team to be a part of the magic we’re making each month. We’re always looking for writers, bloggers, photographers, designers and passionate people to create with. I know firsthand how daunting it can be to break out of your comfort zone, but I also know how rewarding it can be. Here’s to breaking out of our shells, breaking barriers and making something meaningful together. Welcome to Metrosphere, where art, lit and culture collide.
- DEANNA HIRSCH
Photo by J. Renae Davidson
B
ecoming editor-in-chief of Metrosphere was not on my radar when I first started at MSU Denver. My only goal when I transferred in three years ago was to put my head down and finally earn that piece of paper that had eluded me most of my adult life. I’m not your typical college student. I’m a little bit older than the other kids. I’ve already had my share of meaningless jobs and a seven-year career as a yoga teacher that meant a lot. I’ve been married for more than 15 years. Our daughter is closer in age to most of my peers than I am. To say that I felt like an outsider coming back to school at this stage of the game would be an understatement. It’s not easy being the old, new kid on the block. Then I found my way to Met Media. Intro to Reporting led me to The Metropolitan, which led to hundreds of assignments, advancement to news editor and best of all, friendships with other students that challenged me and made me grow for the better. If it wasn’t for my predecessor, Carlos Escamilla, being so damn pushy about it, I may never have applied for Metrosphere. I’m so grateful he was and thankful that I did. Part of the reason why I didn’t think Metrosphere was for me was because I’m not a poet and I haven’t picked up a paintbrush since eighth grade. While this tri-annual arts and lit magazine was beautiful, I thought, “What’s it got to do with me?” Turns out, quite a lot. With the support and encouragement of the Met Media director, Steven Haigh, the vision for this year’s magazine has taken Metrosphere to a whole new level. I am thrilled to announce that we are now a six-issue arts, lit and culture magazine, serving the interests of not only MSU Denver students, staff and faculty, but also the city of Denver as well. A natural expansion for a university that thrives in what many now regard as one of the best cities in the country, myself included. Each issue now includes a Metro section where you’ll find topics related to both city and school, like Victoria Edstedt’s piece, So you think you can mermaid, on what it takes to make it as a performer at the Denver Aquarium. Turns out, quite a lot. It was important to my colleagues and me that every issue have an area in Intersection to explore and feature topics related to diversity, feminism and the LGBT community. In the wake of the Orlando tragedy, mourning that incredible loss and celebrating Pride, there was no question when it came to what we should highlight on this month’s cover. Creative director Ariella Asher’s depiction of Stonewall founders Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera honors where we’ve come from and how far we still have to go. Staying connected to the arts and lit community is at our core. In Imbue you’ll find features on local events like Jacquelyne Mido Glover’s The CVA Presents: Colorado women in abstraction, as well
Editor-in-Chief Deanna Hirsch
dhirsch6@msudenver.edu
Creative Director Ariella Asher
aasher@msudenver.edu
Associate Editor Pacific Obadiah
pobadiah@msudenver.edu
Photo Editor Carl Glenn Payne
cpayne16@msudenver.edu
Metro Editor Heather Scurti
hscurti@msudenver.edu
Intersection Editor Cheyenne DeChristopher cdechris@msudenver.edu
Technosphere Editor Hayes Madsen
hmadsen3@msudenver.edu
Threads Editor Alysha Prieto
aprieto4@msudenver.edu
PR Associate Preston Morse
pmorse3@msudenver.edu
Copy Editor Karla Estrada
kestrada5@msudenver.edu
PHOTOS
Brandon Sanchez Sara Hertwig Michael Ortiz Carl Glenn Payne
Teresa Diaz-Soriano WORDS
Teresa Diaz-Soriano Victoria Edstedt Danielle Meyer Joella Baumann Adam Barnhardt Kate Lauer Jacquelyne Mido Golver Gardell Neil, Jr. Dayna Himot Esteban Fernandez
No part of this book may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior permission of Met Media, except in the context of reviews.
COVER ART: Marsha P.
Johnson, left, and Sylvia Rivera, right, marching with others at the Christopher Street Liberation Day Gay Pride Parade, New York City, June 24, 1973. Photo by Leonard Fink courtesy of the LGBT Community Center National History Archive.
Met Media P.O. Box 173362, CB57 Denver, CO 80217-3362 Met Media Steve Haigh, Director Ronan O’Shea, Assistant Director Kathleen Jewby, Production Manager Elizabeth Norberg, Office Manager
Printed by Frederic Printing Š 2016. All rights reserved.
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METRO
Making an Impact BY TERESA DIAZ-SORIANO
It’s overwhelmingly chaotic inside of Cervantes Ballroom Theater, but in a good way. Shoes are squeaking, hands are moving, bodies are in motion and voices are chanting, “Keep going guys, you’re doing great.” Kids are running, bags are filling, people are laughing and voices are shouting, “We’re almost there guys, keep it going.” Sodas are flying, chips are crunching, temperatures are rising, but finally there is a release in the tension as Travis Smith, founder of the nonprofit organization Impact calls it quits. Impact, an organization primarily dedicated to providing necessities for the homeless community, prepared and packaged 1,200 lunches in under 40 minutes for this month’s sandwich line. Upon entering Cervantes people are grouped at various stations around the venue, and given a map providing the location of their sandwich drop off destination. Packages of Boars Head meat, Einstein’s Bagels and family-sized Heinz mustard bottles are situated on tables by the venue’s brightly lit bar, while assembly happens at tables near the stage. Impact was created after Smith witnessed homelessness firsthand. After
returning from his father’s funeral overseas he came back to the U.S. to find out things at home were not OK. “September of 2009 I basically came back to find my business partner was embezzling from me,” Smith said. “I went from having millions, to the 10 bucks in my pocket, literally. I was living in a half million dollar house in Cherry Creek but I wasn’t able to afford it, afford to keep the lights on, anything.” From one man’s journey through hardship, an organization was born, and the idea that one person can make a difference is a sticking motto that echoes in the many inspiring words Smith preaches. Impact is driven by two initiatives. “Our first mission is to try and give back people their sense of humanity, that sense of belonging to the collective, a ‘We,’” Smith said. “The biggest thing people lose is their hope.” Smith stated that being homeless means never having a clean shower, never getting the opportunity to converse with people because they don’t understand homelessness and don’t want to associate with people who are living in poverty. Sherri Sisneros thanks God every day for being alive and well. “It’s about basic
humanity,” she said. “I believe we all have an obligation to share and give back and help others.” Through a profound encounter with a homeless man, she realized the effect that one person can have on others. She saw the look on his face, the gleam in his eyes as she offered him her food outside a restaurant she was eating in. Her daughter was with her and she witnessed firsthand the horrors of living on the street. She tries to volunteer as much as possible and is fond of Impact because they allow kids under 16 to volunteer. Sisneros cannot stress the importance of teaching the youth to give back, and that line of thinking falls in line with the second goal Impact abides by: inspiring volunteerism. “It is where the name Impact comes from,” Smith said. “[This] idea that you can cast a pebble into a lake and it’s a small pebble but it makes an impact. It’s giving that person the feeling that you’re not just one person.” A wide range of people come to the events Impact hosts and it is the youth who really make the events a spectacle. To see the level of enthusiasm a 5-year-old has coloring on a paper bag, or glance up from the sandwich line and see a 12-year-
old boy working hard with his brother to get sandwiches out is compelling. It’s an amazing moment to catch and one that Impact wants to see more of. Impact reaches much further than feeding the homeless. Although much of their work centers on trying to help suss the level of discomfort homeless people go through by providing lunches, clothing drives and hygiene packs, Impact is also resourceful. The organization has its hands in many projects, such as domestic violence, taking kids on hikes and many more. They also use social media to try and spread the word and always keep their followers upto-date. With a dedicated staff and Smith at the helm, the sky is the limit for this organization.
Travis Smith started Impact in 2010 with a few friends. Impact now has multiple projects monthly to help the homeless in Denver. Photo by Brandon N. Sanchez
To get involved, donate or find out more about Impact, visit www.impactlocally.org.
Impact Volunteer Mike Tsang of Denver loads one of three trucks with sack lunches for the homeless in front of Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver on July 17, 2016. Photo by Brandon N. Sanchez
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Over 50 volunteers showed up to Impact Locally’s sack lunch event in July. Within an hour, the group assembled 1,000 sack lunches. Photo by Sara Hertwig
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So you think you can mermaid? BY VICTORIA EDSTEDT, PHOTO BY MICHAEL ORTIZ
The Mystic Mermaids has been a successful show at Denver’s Downtown Aquarium for six years. Little sea fans and their parents enjoy a fairytale so much that they forget what it takes to make the magic happen. “I like to go to these kind of places a lot, but I have no idea how they find people to perform under water,” said Aquarium visitor Chase Laub. “I imagine it’s not an easy process.” Laub is right. It takes quite a lot to become a mermaid. First of all, the Aquarium’s mermaids are not dry mermaids. “We get into the tank and we don’t have any masks or nose plugs or goggles. We are all open to the water,” said Maddi Troisi, a mermaid from the show. Second, girls have to swim in saltwater with no clear vision. They free dive and have no underwater air supply or weights. While performing a 10-minute show, mermaids do everything from tricks to teaching kids to recycle. There are many fish in the tank, including yellowtail snappers, stingrays, and even sea turtles and a guitar shark. “The animals are not dangerous by any means, but you have to remember they are wild animals,” said Brittany Whittaker, a synchronized swimming coach and a mermaid. “We have a 500-pound grouper, and if she wants to be in the front, she is going to be in the front. There is no pushing her out of the way, or touching.” Besides the physical challenge, the training part includes memorizing a script and placements, mouthing words and relaxed acting. “Mermaids are required to know three shows and eight characters,” Whittaker said. They also have to get used to moving differently. Whittaker added that when you get in water, waving
normally looks super fuzzy, so you have to do the little waves instead. Before the training starts there is a tryout you have to pass first. Strong swimming and endurance skills are a must. You have to perform a butterfly stroke for 50 yards, free dive with a heavy tail and look casual all at the same time. “It’s a hard team to join, and it’s a hard team to stay with sometimes, but it’s a lot of fun,” Whittaker said. Most mermaids have some sort of a swimming background, but Troisi’s story is more the exception than the rule. She had a prom in the Aquarium, saw mermaids performing and decided that’s what she wanted to do as well. Troisi was never on a swim team, and had no professional training when she came for a tryout. “It was really hard for me when I just started training. I thought, I’m going to die,” Troisi said laughing. “I was practicing to hold my breath during commercials while watching TV, and to keep myself calm because it helps to hold the breath longer.” If you want to be a mermaid like Troisi, then be prepared not only to stay on top of your physical health but your attitude as well. “Mermaids should be positive. You definitely need to love kids and love performing, have a good presence underwater,” Troisi said. “Practice,” Whittaker said. “We expect a lot from the start. You need to be able to come in and get things on immediately. You need to be happy because you are performing in front of the kids. No matter what’s happening in your life, you cannot be grumpy or sad. You have to be ready to make these kids’ day.”
Kitty Nester swims in the Under the Sea exhibit at the Downtown Aquarium in Denver on Jan 17. Nester is one of the Downtown Aquarium’s Mystic Mermaids who perform shows daily.
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Anthony Le “B-boy”
16th Street Stories WORDS & PHOTOS BY CARL GLENN PAYNE
“I invest the money I make into my dancing. I buy tickets to fly out of state and compete against people all over the world. Dance is a passion I really want to build on. Traveling the world comes with it. I really do it for the experience, to go out and meet and connect with other dancers and get to know their city, but I take all the knowledge back to my hometown.” - Anthony Le
Growing up in Denver, Anthony Le has been “breaking” since 2011. He can be found along with his friends performing in front of one of 10 public pianos on the 16th Street Mall. When he’s not dancing, Le posts his own breakdancing videos to YouTube.
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METRO
Dragon Boat Festival
Summer Remix
PHOTOS BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ
Our look back at the sights, sounds and spectacles that made Denver the event city this summer!
420 Rally
PHOTOS BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ
Team CU Boulder, led by pacesetter Kenny Nguyen (striped sleeves) competes in the Hong Kong Boat heat 54 at the 16th Annual Dragon Boat Festival at Sloan’s Lake in Denver on July 31, 2016.
Enthusiasts and vendors gathered at Civic Center park to celebrate April’s 420 Rally. The event was rescheduled because of wet weater on May 21, 2016.
William “Wayward Bill” Chengelis, a marijuana and political activist from Denver, stands in front of a sign that warns patrons against illegal consumption in public spaces at Civic Center park.
420 sport jerseys hang from vendors locations throughout Civic Center park for the event on May 21, 2016. Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 15
METRO Kevin Gates
Summer Jam 5
PHOTOS BY CARL GLENN PAYNE
Fetty Wap
Ty Dolla Sign
Fabulous
Top rappers made the crowd move during the KS 107.5 Summer Jam on June 10, 2016 at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre in Greenwood Village.
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METRO Performance artist Samantha Sapphire
Chalk Art Festival
PHOTOS BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ
“This is performance art. It’s not about the finished piece, it’s about the process. It feels fun to explain it to people and tell them what it is you did and how you got there.” Model Priscilla Anderson on the runway at City Hall event venue. Makeup by featured artist Rachel Ibarra with hair done by Elisa Rodriguez for the RAW Artists Denver showcase on June 23, 2016
-Catherine March
Raw Natural Born Artists Trend Showcase
PHOTOS BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ
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DJs Zurc, left, and Grime
Artist Catherine March of Northglenn, participates in her fourth consecutive Denver Chalk Art Festival.
Devon Lawrence finely rubs in the green chalk to allow the brighter colors to pop for the three-dimensional artwork section.
From left, Chalk artists Daniela Battaglion, Angela Checco and Misha Ferris remake the original artwork created by Mark Howell called “Map of the Winds.” Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 19
METRO
A tender embrace in front of the #WeAreOrlando wall at Civic Center park on June 18, 2016.
PRIDE PHOTOS BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ
An absolutely fabulous drag queen poses for spectators during the annual Denver PrideFest on June 19, 2016.
The #WeAreOrlando chalk wall in the center of Civic Center park was put up as a place where people could write their thoughts and prayers for the Orlando victims.
A boy holds a sign with the words “Disarm Hate” as he marches down Colfax Avenue in downtown Denver.
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Finally
BY HEATHER SCURTI
There was dancing, food, games, booths and many performers all packed into a few days. One performer in particular, CeCe Peniston, came out to not only entertain the audience, but to also show her love and support for the community as a whole. With a rainbow flag in hand, the R&B diva took the stage as she performed a few of her 90s hits. Peniston ended on a high note with her most popular single, “Finally,” as the crowd danced and sang along. You wouldn’t have known it by her performance, but Peniston certainly had some mixed emotions going onto the stage. “You know, I would say I was definitely a little more [nervous], like a slight bit of anxiety because you don’t know what to expect,” Peniston said. But despite her anxiety, Peniston refused to let that get in the way of her performing. “You don’t want to drop out because, you know what, I have friends that knew friends that died in the Orlando, call it massacre, because of everything that happened. But I feel like there is nothing better than showing support and love to the LGBT community because they have for me.” That love and support she spoke of was in the air throughout the whole festival. Everywhere you turned, there were banners that read “Orlando Strong” and “We Are Orlando,” and in the center of it all was a wall for everyone to write their positive messages to those affected by the shooting. Despite all of the negativity and sadness that took place a week before, many at Pridefest decided to show their support through nothing but celebration and happiness. As Peniston put it, “We’ve got to put our lighters up, I call it, and give love and support for you know, everything that happened there.”
CeCe Peniston performs on stage for Denver Pride on June 19, 2016 at Civic Center park. Photo by Carl Glenn Payne
INTERSECTION Denver Pride Fest 2016
Pride, an Experience Transformed BY CHEYENNE DECHRISTOPHER, PHOTOS BY SARA HERTWIG A loosely secured wrought iron fence is all that separated bar patrons and the rainbow infused masses lining the sidewalk and spilling over into the street. The steady cadence of hundreds of voices all speaking at once was only ever interrupted by the occasional shriek of uncontrollable laughter and punctuated with slow, lazy sips of mimosas. Between lipstick-stained cheeks and glitter-encrusted breasts, the presence of law enforcement stationed on rooftops and side streets seemed foreign in this parade of lights. Here, in the overwhelming atmosphere of love and triumph, the LGBTQ community of Denver celebrated their 2016 Pridefest. “Pride has a couple of meanings to me. Part of it is the community coming together and celebrating our identities in 22 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
a world where a lot of people think they shouldn’t be celebrated. I do still think it’s a revolutionary act because it started out as a protest and a riot. Celebrating your identity that’s hated, I think, is a revolutionary act,” said Mathlan Lumley, program assistant at the LGBTQ Student Resource Center at Auraria. Denver celebrated its 40-year anniversary of PrideFest June 18-19, 2016, in Civic Center park. This festival began in 1976, seven years after the historic Stonewall Riots, the infamous riot credited with bringing the LGBT community’s struggle for equality into the national spotlight. The uprising was led by transwomen of color who were mostly homeless and working within the sex industry. They fought back against a unlawful police raid
at the Stonewall Inn bar in New York, which was one of the few safe spaces for the LGBT community at the time. This year, President Obama designated Stonewall as a national monument on June 24. PrideFest is now held across the U.S. in June to commemorate the anniversary of Stonewall, June 28, 1969. Lumley had a close friend from Chicago fly in to attend the festival with him despite experiencing a profound sense of sadness and fear after the act of violence committed against his community just days before. At around 2 a.m. Sunday, June 12, 2016, the shooter entered Pulse, the premier gay bar and nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and opened fire. It was Latin night at Pulse when he killed 49 attendees and injured over 50 more. The shooter had committed
the deadliest shooting in recent U.S. history and was killed by police. For Lumley the benefits of Pride far outweighed any safety concerns and was especially necessary at that time of mourning. “It’s kind of this feeling of hope seeing how many people are having this positive influence on what it’s like to be LGBT and how LGBT people are viewed,” Lumley said. Jessiy Ramirez, fellow program assistant at the LGBTQ Student Resource Center and recent graduate of MSU Denver, felt a renewed sense of determination heading into the festival. “The community needs to know that no matter what they can’t hurt us, they can’t bring us down. And if we don’t stand up for ourselves now, then they’re going to slowly push us all back into the closet again,” Ramirez said. Some mainstream media coverage focused more on potential connections to ISIS rather than hateful rhetoric aimed at the LGBT community and racial minority groups. “Why can’t it be the first thing people acknowledge. The fact that it is the LGBTQ community. It’s not just a gay bar, it’s a community that was shot up in a nightclub,” Ramirez said. Her experience of the Orlando shooting, like many in the LGBTQ community, was that of profound loss akin to losing family members. This magnitude of pain from the death of strangers halfway across the country can seem strange to those outside of the community. But for LGBT individuals the murder of those 49 people was like losing close friends or even experiencing their own demise. “They share the same struggles. They share the same pain, celebrations, and it’s like no matter who we are we’ve all been in these same certain spaces or places in our life. If it wasn’t for the family atmosphere of it all, then we wouldn’t have family,” Ramirez said. She entered PrideFest refusing to feel unsafe in a festival she has attended for more than 15 years. Ramirez wished to honor those lost by carrying the photographs of each of the 49 people killed in the shooting. She marched in the Pride
parade representing the LGBTQ Student Resource Center of Auraria. Acts like these in which victims of tragedies, especially affecting marginalized groups, are able to have their stories told and shared with the community allow them to become more than just another statistic. “That’s the only way we’re going to stop these things. By seeing beauty in all humans instead of humans who are just like us,” said Andy Putman, former president of MSU Denver’s Gay Straight Alliance and Women’s Studies major. Putman, who has attended Pride for over 23 years and marched in the annual parade for 18 of them, found support in being a part of the community, especially during this time of loss. “[To be a part of the community] It means that I’m part of something regardless of its ups and downs. That I might not always love what the community that I belong to does, but I’m always proud to be part of it. And I feel like I’m more proud and I have more pride the more oppression I receive around that identity,” Putman said. Strengthened feelings of connection to the community was an experience shared by many including LGBTQ Student Resource Center Director Steve Willich. Willich, who marched alongside his student staff, including Ramirez, was met with overwhelming community support for attending the parade and carrying the photographs of the victims with him. In the days following the Orlando shooting, Willich described support
given by mainly UCD individuals and organizations who came and sat with his staff, often bringing flowers and doughnuts, to provide comfort and help in their time of need. However, despite these acts of solidarity, the Auraria campus did not send out any official communication to students or staff immediately after the shooting. “We can send out those messages when things happen in community colleges or different things like that, but when it happens to a community of people that’s already marginalized it feels like erasure. Like we don’t matter to the university at all,” Willich said. He also offered advice to allies. “Seek out your friends and your family who identify as LGBT. Console them, sit with them, hug them, tell them that you love them, tell them that you support them,” he said. Reflecting on the history of the LGBT community in the U.S., Pridefest and the recent Orlando shooting, Willich, like many other community members, found that his future expression of pride has permanently transformed. “It made me even more militant in my pride. I don’t care what people think of me anymore. I don’t care who knows that I’m out. I don’t care if people think that we’re whiny or talking too much about this. This affects us deeply, and I don’t care anymore. This needs to be said. There’s too many deaths, too much violence against my community. I can’t be silent anymore. That’s how I’m going to show my pride,” Willich said.
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INTERSECTION
The Center of the Community BY DANIELLE MEYER, PHOTOS BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ
Reynaldo Mireles, 50, is the SAGE of the Rockies program manager. He is responsible for coordinating services and activities for LGBT older adults.
Phil Hoyle is a SAGE community member who helps puts together many SAGE meetings and events at the Center. June 30, 2016 near Paltt Park in Denver, CO. 24 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
Community is the essence of the GLBT Center of Colorado and the driving force behind decades of contributions leading up to their 40 year anniversary celebration. In 1976, the center was a hotline for a small population of people who had nowhere else to turn and no one to talk to. Now, residing at 1301 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, what started as a handful of volunteers and few phone lines, has turned into a place where anyone can feel safe and express themselves openly without fear. “The Center provides services, and it is through services that one can see the true center of our community people helping people,” said David Duffield, the leader of the Colorado GLBT History Project. The center provides services for all genders and all age groups. Rainbow Alley, for example, is a program available for the younger population of the LGBT community. “Rainbow Alley is a safe, brave space for our youth to thrive. We hope to provide them opportunities to understand that they deserve to be seen and heard and that there is power in their voice,” said Nadine Bridges, the director of youth services. Rainbow Alley also provides services, including Stepping Out Summer Academy, where youth can explore career options for their future, attend Queer prom and an all-ages drag show hosted on the fourth of every month. Another program the center offers, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders of the Rockies, or SAGE of the Rockies, provides activities and events specifically for LGBT people 50 and older, such as yoga, coffee outings, health services, and a “Tell Your Story” program, a weekly writing group. “This group has added a perfect
community and service to my life,” said Phillip Hoyle, longtime volunteer at the center and the leader of the storytelling group for SAGE members. Coming out a little later in his life, Hoyle moved to Denver in his early 50s to live as an openly gay man. He became a massage therapist and opened his own practice, providing affordable massages for people living with HIV/AIDS. Hoyle maintained this practice for 15 years, meeting and developing close relationships with members from the center. Hoyle first heard of the organization through a close friend who had told him about their lending library. He then began to discover all they had to offer. He donated books and did what he could to help around the library at the center. It wasn’t long before he was recruited as a leader to the program, a position he has held for about six years now. The program has a blog with over 1,000 stories, created and shared by these members, connecting them with followers from all over the world. “I quickly realized that this is a program with a lot of power to help people,” Hoyle said. “It’s built a strong sense of community and has given us a safe place to express ourselves.” With the many ways the center has changed just one person’s life, there’s no telling how many others have been equally affected by this safe haven. “What is certain is that at times we have worked so hard I forget how much has been done with so little. How when you collect the stories of our community, put them together, and then teach people about those stories, our lives change just a little. Yet, that little bit is enough to see how we came to be as we are today and maybe how we can be better human beings tomorrow,” Duffield said.
The Gay’s Gaze Misandry is a hatred or prejudice against men, much like misogyny is a hatred or prejudice against women. I ascribe to misandry as a joke, moreover as a retaliation against sexism and homophobia. One of the few pleasures you get with being a feminist is hurling the same callous mockery devised to dishearten you back at your oppressor. So, when the film “The Misandrists” by director Bruce LaBruce was announced my curiosity took hold. A crowd-funding campaign began that had a very clever gimmick: The actresses had kidnapped the director. The so-called Female Liberation Army, or FLA, had taken Bruce LaBruce and demanded a ransom of €26,946, or $29,875, enough to finish the film. The FLA reached their goal, but there is already a plethora of themes and ideas that require unpacking. This film is a response or sequel to another film of LaBruce’s called “The Raspberry Reich” which endorsed an all-gay communist militia. One of the many taglines of “The Raspberry Reich” was “Heterosexuality is the opiate of the masses,” which is a postmodern deconstruction of heteronormativity. Heteronormativity is the normalization of heterosexuality in favor of homosexuality. LaBruce tore at the seams of stratified sex roles by making it seem like heterosexuality is a default social setting. Essentially, what postmodernism intends to do is re-analyze modern ideologies. As philosopher Martha Nussbaum puts it, ”Postmodernism is not antagonistic toward norms per se, but toward transcendent norms that
Movie Misandry
BY ADAM BARNHARDT
Image from Bruce LaBruce’s movie “The Misandrists” Kickstarter Campaign
masquerade as universal.” So, misogyny being a modern norm heavily explored in mainstream cinema, LaBruce is deconstructing it in favor of its opposition, misandry. At the core of these themes is privilege, which is like a form of social favoritism. In American society, the top tier of privilege is the straight, white, able-bodied male. He is more likely to be hired for high paying jobs and almost impervious to discrimination. Though gay men may
argue that they do not benefit from patriarchal privilege, the truth is they do. It’s my assertion that LaBruce recognized his privilege as a gay man in the media and refocused his efforts to accommodate gay women. In film and TV, gay women are up against far more scrutiny. Gay men have had more positive representation in the media, while gay women tend to be pigeonholed into promiscuous or pitiful roles to satisfy straight men. For gay women, the outlook is rather bleak. There’s an overused plot device wherein almost all gay women in mainstream films and TV are killed off. This year, many became more aware of this trend after the untimely ends of two gay
women on the popular tv shows “The 100” and “The Walking Dead.” In the documentary “The Celluloid Closet,” Arthur Laurents makes an assertion that adequately describes the past and current climate of lesbians on the big screen, saying, “You must pay. You must suffer. If you are a woman who commits adultery, you’re only put out in the storm. If you’re a woman who has another woman you better go hang yourself.” Perhaps LaBruce’s fictional transference of power to the FLA in the ad campaign was a transference of power to queer women who have been ignored by mainstream media. Well-known feminists like Viva Ruiz and Kembra Pfahler both appear in the film, and LaBruce has acknowledged how deeprooted in feminism this film is assured to be. It could be another pandering attempt to appeal to feminists, or a call to arms for queer women to take back accurate media representation by force. In creating a film not meant for male audiences and even LaBruce himself, he is cementing his place in queer cinema. “The Misandrists” is intent on triggering us, but before we label it as being yet another attempt at appealing to radical feminism or as being exploitative, consider that maybe this is an attempt at improving the rhetoric of queer audiences. Maybe it’s an opportunity for all men alike to not recoil at the word misandrist and instead more easily spot when a film is made by the misogynists. What’s evident is that this film is going to push our buttons without regard. I’ll be disappointed if I’m not at least a little offended come show time because that’s the price of the ticket. Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 25
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Proud Leadership for VFW Post 1 BY DEANNA HIRSCH, PHOTOS BY CARL GLENN PAYNE
John Harry, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1 commander, helps carry a 30-foot American flag during the Pride parade on Sunday June 19, 2016 in downtown Denver. Harry is an Air Force veteran and the first openly gay post commander for VFW post 1.
In true military form, John Harry had already done more in the early morning hours of June 19 than most people had done all day. A retired Air Force veteran turned IT project manager with Denver Health, Harry is the new commander for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1 in Denver, the oldest VFW in the country. In April he stepped down as president of the Rocky Mountain chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights, also known as AVER. A week later he was elected as post commander with 95 percent of the vote. Harry became official on June 18, and the next day, he and members of Post 1 and AVER led Denver’s Gay pride Parade. As temperatures soared, Harry was out 26 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
and about picking up veterans who needed a lift to the parade. Back at Cheeseman Park, veterans John Kelly, Cecil Bethea and Carl Shepherd enjoyed a smoke, sitting in their wheelchairs at the starting line as Harry continued to sweat. Not even 9 a.m. and it was almost 90 degrees. Once the three men had finished their smokes, they were helped inside the convertible that would drive the parade from Cheeseman to Civic Center park. After Harry and a friend loaded the wheelchairs into the trunk, they high-fived and moved on to the next task at hand: how to handle GUS. The Grand United States flag, a.k.a. GUS, was hand sewn by two gay veterans in Chicago and on loan to Denver from
AVER’s Chicago chapter. Weighing in at approximately 85 pounds, measuring 60 feet long and 30 feet wide, GUS would take around 40 people to carry. Harry was one of them. Pace-setting the parade, marching behind Kelly, Bethea and Shepherd’s car while carrying GUS in one of the largest gay pride events in the country would’ve been poignant enough. Add that it was happening a week after the worst mass shooting in America at a gay nightclub in Orlando and the emotions were even higher, especially for Harry. “I struggle to find words for what I’m feeling. In some ways it changes things, in some ways it changes nothing,” Harry said. “Even though I didn’t know any of those
Carl Shepherd, left, and Cecil Bethea, right, wave at onlookers during the Pride parade on June 19, 2016. Shepherd and Bethea air Air Force veterans marching with American Veterans for Equal Rights.
people, I know those people, because I am those people.” Harry, who served his 10 years, four months and three days in the Air Force entirely under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is now openly gay. While he understands the curiosity and significance some see with his being the new face of Post 1, Harry is reluctant to take credit or center stage. “It’s been a struggle over the years to be OK with being in the public eye,” Harry said. “This is not the John Harry show.” An understandable position given Harry’s humble beginnings. The former farm kid from Arkansas was third-generation military thanks to a Navy veteran dad and an Army veteran grandfather. Enlisting was a familiar fit for Harry that he saw mostly as a way to help pay for college. Then 9/11 happened and Harry said he was right where he needed to be. As a staff sergeant in the Air Force, Harry was stationed for two years in Washington state, eight years in California, and served overseas in the Middle East, Europe and South Korea. “My story is not as traumatic as some,” Harry said, of his time spent in the military’s closet. He didn’t experience any witch hunts or hate speech and was able to connect with other gay soldiers on base, who he said were a secret society of support and honesty. Some of them he’s still in touch with to this day. However, Harry noted that there was an unspoken agreement at the time that if you got caught for being gay you were on your own. When he reached the 10-year mark in his military career, Harry decided to retire from the Air Force. “After 10-years of hiding and the struggle to maintain two lifestyles, I was tired,” Harry said. Two years later, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed. “It was bittersweet,” Harry said about the landmark decision. Had it happened earlier, Harry said he would have stayed in the service. Despite the faraway look
in his eye when he talks about what could have been, Harry has found a new sense of purpose with Post 1. “I’m very happy with how my life has turned out since the military,” Harry said. Indeed, Post 1 has given him a lot to be proud of and a lot more to do. Founded in Denver in 1899 by returning veterans of the Spanish-American War, Post 1 is the oldest original VFW post in the world. After they sold their previous building several years back, the post sort of couch-surfed, Harry said. Then in July 2014 they moved into a historic building ironically built in 1899 in the heart of Denver’s Santa Fe Arts District. The building was purchased outright for $600,000 and is mortgage free. Despite that comfort, the Post is about halfway through a 1.5 million capital fund-raising campaign to bring the more than a century old space up to their standards. Everything from electrical to plumbing has required upgrading. “The building needs a lot of work,” Harry said. Once the second floor office level is renovated the Post plans to rent it out as office space to help support their services. “Until this building is fully remodeled we can’t do for the vet community everything we want to do,” Harry said. “We’ve done almost as much as we can do ourselves.”
VFW posts of the past may have been dark bars for trading war stories, but Harry’s post is anything but. “While we have a bar, we are not a bar,” Harry said. The post, which looks a lot like the other galleries on Santa Fe, showcases veteran created art on the walls and participates in Denver’s First Friday events. Post 1’s veteran community is as diverse as its leadership. With 1,164 members, they boast one of the largest contingencies of female veterans. Members have served everywhere from WWII, Vietnam and Desert Storm to Afghanistan and Iraq. While foreign service is required for membership, Harry said all are welcome to take part in the post’s services ,which range from yoga classes and peer mentoring to art programs. Sarah Alder, president of AVER RMC, who was part of this year’s pride parade with Harry and part of Post 1, has felt the shift in its spirit. “It’s very inclusive. Not just LGBT, but age and branch,” Alder said. “It’s the most evolving group out there. We reinvented VFW in a way that includes everybody.” Harry takes his commitment to everybody seriously. Aside from overseeing all their events, programs and fund-raising campaign, he’s committed to connecting with the 900 or so members they don’t actively see. His other focus is making Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 27
INTERSECTION it known that their open to younger vets. One way they spread that word is by participating in the vets graduation ceremony at MSU Denver. “If you want younger vets to be engaged, you have to give them a purpose,” Harry said. The same could be said for Harry at 40. And fellow Air Force senior vet John
Kelly, who rode in the convertible ahead of Harry during pride. Kelly, who had been in the hospital not long before Denver’s parade, was more determined than ever to be part of this year’s Pride. “I told them if I didn’t get out of the hospital they would have to re-route the parade to my room,” Kelly said.
Despite having been worried about pride events in the past and post Orlando, Harry has chosen to soldier on openly and undeterred in his mission. “I can’t let that stop the progress,” Harry said. “We will continue to do it well.” Based on his service record and sincerity, you’re inclined to believe him.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1 members help carry a 30-foot American flag during the Pride parade on June 19, 2016.
John J. Kelly, left, smokes a cigarette while waiting for the start of the Pride parade. Kelly is an Air Force veteran marching with American Veterans for Equal Rights.
VFW Post Commander John Harry
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“Even though I didn’t know any of those people, I know those people, because I am those people.” - John Harry Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 29
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Justice for Josie
BY JOELLA BAUMANN, PHOTOS BY TERESA DIAZ-SORIANO Anyone who had been arrained in Courtroom 4A of Denver’s Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse Aug 1 at 8 a.m. was greeted with a spectacle. Nearly 50 people accompanied Josie Valadez Fraire and packed into the modestly sized courtroom, filling the uncomfortably creaky wooden benches quickly until it was standing room only. Valadez Fraire is known colloquially as the Sage Smudge Lady after she was detained, handcuffed and cited by the Denver Police Department for smudging during a Donald Trump protest during the Western Conservative Summit in Denver this July. The 22-year-old recent CU Boulder graduate, who began teaching bilingual world studies at STRIVE Preparatory Schools in Denver this year, was an unlikely candidate for the civil disobedience charge she had been called to court for that day. Valadez Fraire stood in front of the judge wearing fire-red lipstick to match her trousers, ready to make a stand for her heartfelt beliefs in a violation of her constitutional rights. Within several minutes of her name being called and charges being dismissed because of no reasonable likelihood of conviction, Valadez-Fraire and her supporters flooded noisily in celebration out of the courtroom, as officers beckoned them to exit quietly. As to why Valadez Fraire saged outside the Summit in July she said, “Bringing sage was a very active choice for me.” She identifies herself as Xicana or MeXicana, an indigenous native who uses sage for healing or cleansing practices. “In our community sage is used to cleanse a spaces negative energy or immediate surroundings,” Valadez Fraire said. “Also, to bless and protect folks who are there.” This was the second protest that Valadez Fraire had attended in response to a presidential campaign that she said is entirely rooted in racism and hatred. “Our voices will be heard and we will have a very physical presence as those who oppose Trump and his absolutely outrageous, hateful 30 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
views,” Valadez Fraire said. She had been smudging without incident for sometime before officers outfitted in SWAT gear approached her and demanded she put out the fire. This may have been due to a fight that broke out near her between two males presumed to be an altercation over opposing opinions of Trump. The smoke of the sage stick was compared with that of a lit cigarette, which she said burns from within and is not an active flame. After refusing to comply with the officer’s request, Valadez Fraire was handcuffed,
detained, cited and had a mugshot taken by Denver Police Department. Her smudge stick was also taken and crushed in the street. “I was very appalled with the way the officers were treating me,” Fraire said. “I don’t know why it took more than one officer to detain me or why I was arrested. It seemed like they were going rogue and doing whatever they wanted to do.” Sgt. Kristy Garcia, who can be seen in a 50-second YouTube video clip handcuffing
Valadez Fraire, also issued the citation and declined to comment on the incident directly. The DPD Media Relations Unit issued an official statement addressing this and another incident that took place in front of the Convention Center that day. “During the course of the demonstrations, two men were arrested for public fighting, and in a separate incident, a woman was cited for disobedience of a lawful order. In the second incident, the issue of concern was an object that was ignited and was emitting smoke in the crowd. In both incidents, officers acted to intervene in situations of concern for public safety, and with the intent of quickly addressing concerns before matters could escalate.” Alleged police mistreatment of Valadez Fraire, sparked outrage in local indigenous and Hispanic communities. Homies Unidos, a youth outreach program, took particular interest in Valadez Fraire, creating a Facebook Campaign, Justice For Josie. The campaign collected signatures to support he rights of Valadez Fraire and asked people to come to the courthouse to protest a violation of her civil rights. The campaign also challenged the bigger issue of the mistreatment of indigenous communities by law enforcement, which they say has not received proper training on the constitutional rights of free speech and freedom of religion. Gerardo Lopez, creator of the Homies Unidos Denver group, attended the Trump protest with Valadez Fraire and witnessed her treatment by the police. “I’ve seen hundreds if not thousands of people out in public burning sage, and something like this is unheard of. This speaks to the fact of how disconnected DPD is with the indigenous people,” Lopez said. “Here is a young lady who is practicing her beliefs. They detained her for that and they took her mug shot, and there was no explanation for it.” For Valadez Fraire, the incident was about more than just a violation of her own civil rights. It’s but also an opportunity to shine a light on what she sees as a failure of the DPD infrastructure.
Josie Valadez Fraire receives a traditional Native American blessing outside the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse on August 1, 2016. Earlier that morning, Valadez Fraire pleaded not guilty for refusing to obey a lawful order.
“This is a much larger issue. This is an attack on our communities and my spirituality and demonstrates the ignorance within the police force,” Valadez Fraire said. Lopez, Valadez Fraire and their group of over 50 supporters gathered in the LindseyFlanigan commons area in front of the courthouse. It was already sweltering and the group began to sweat visibly as they gathered in a circle around Josie and several women. They began their protest-turnedcelebration in defiance by burning sage. White cloth dresses with elegant, colorful designs and beaded jewelry bobbed around the center of the circle the group had formed around a makeshift altar. Holding a police-grade megaphone, Lopez thanked the group for attending and introduced the women who were holding black clay pots filled with lightly smoking herbs. The earthy, herbaceous, almost pungent aroma of sage settled over the crowd. The women started with Valadez Fraire, who closed her eyes and held her hands in the air as they fanned feathers over the sage smoke, purifying her. She then waved her hands to pull the smoke to her face and twirled as they wafted smoke around her body.
Homies Unidos Denver group member Cisco Gallardo sang several native songs in native languages Niwot and Cree, and the group turned to the four directions as part of the blessing. “The movement of the four directions pulling us forward. Right here is forward. The sacred interconnectedness we all have,” Gallardo said, roughly translating the words of one of the Niwot songs. Other protesters who wished to be purified with sage began a procession toward the women. When all blessings were done people in the group took their turns on the megaphone talking about their own experiences with law enforcement or their pride in Valadez Fraire being a strong native woman. Valadez Fraire’s attorney, Ross Marhoffer, who took on her case pro bono, also spoke on her behalf, “The city attorney has decided to drop all charges against Ms. Valadez because the lawful order was not, in fact, a lawful order because it infringed on her constitutional rights,” Marhoffer said. Valadez Fraire and Lopez plan to work in tandem with her attorney to take steps toward legal action against DPD. An official complaint is expected to be filed against DPD, and a possible lawsuit may follow.
“This is a movement. This does not stop here,” Lopez said. “We received 6,977 signatures for the Justice for Josie campaign, and I will personally hand signatures over to Chief White.” The campaign has since received a total of 7,125 signatures. They’ll be delivered when a total of 7,500 signatures is reached. Homies Unidos originated in San Salvador, El Salvador, in Nov 1996 and has been active in Denver as Homies Unidos Denver since 2015. The group works throughout the U.S. and Latin America to end violence and promote peace in their communities through gang prevention and intervention, human rights campaigns in immigrant communities and the empowerment of youth through positive alternatives. As for Josie, she will have many future opportunities to smudge peacefully and without incident at future Trump rallies. According to The Denver Post, Trump has labeled Colorado as very important in terms of winning the election. “We do have to win Colorado,” he said. “We do have to win Colorado. I will be back a lot, don’t worry about it. I will be back a lot.” Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 31
INTERSECTION
Vaulting Without Poles BY KATE LAUER
“But…aren’t you a feminist?” This is the question most frequently asked of me when I sheepishly reveal my deep, passionate, and incredibly embarrassing love of the “Fast and the Furious” film franchise. This concept is alien to many people who identify me as a passionate feminist who rails against the patriarchy on a daily basis. I’m MSU Denver’s president of the feminist alliance. I work at the Institute for Women’s Studies and Services. I’ve helped organize protests, attended rallies at the Capitol, and I got ridiculously excited when the IWSS got a button maker to make feminist buttons. I am a die-hard, fist pumped in the air feminist who loves Dom, Bryan, Mia, Lettie and the whole crew of the “Fast and the Furious.” When I tell this to most people they shake their heads and mutter, “I don’t get it.” I join them in their disbelief because I don’t get it either. I love the “Fast and the Furious” franchise despite the fact that there are so many reasons why I shouldn’t. Offense to the laws of physics aside, the films paint women as little more than accessories and trophies patiently waiting at the finish line in bootie shorts and spiked gladiator sandals. A feminist franchise it is not, but I absolutely adore every cheesy, overwrought, less than enlightened minute of the series. When the first trailers for the latest installment hit the theaters I would audibly squeal in delight and clap my hands like an overly caffeinated toddler, which no doubt embarrassed my movie-going companions to no end. I
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binged-watched the previous six movies in anticipation of the seventh, even the universally loathed “Tokyo Drift,” and smiled like an idiot the whole way through. I had never thought to second-guess my fandom for the franchise until my groups of peers had expanded to include those who hadn’t grown up at my side. Suddenly I was surrounded by friends, faculty, radicals, and activists who decried images that were nearly identical to my favorite franchise. It was only when my membership into the sisterhood was questioned did I stop to think that perhaps my love of these movies was at odds with my political and moral ideals. But all the women’s studies classes in the world can’t erase my love of “Fast and the Furious” and I’m not alone. I’ve known feminists who are setting the world on its head right now with their passion for equality, but who secretly love “Beauty and the Beast,” a tale of spousal abuse at its finest. Or feminists who devour “Twilight” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” with a level of enthusiasm usually reserved for winning the lottery, or, in my case, meeting Tom Hiddleston. I love video games, “Gone with the Wind,” romance novels, and horror films, all of which are highly problematic examples of media. So how do I and by extension, other feminists, reconcile this schism between the politics and morals I hold dear to my heart and the media I ardently love? It’s not as if my feminist ideals go out the window every time I sit in front of my television set, or go to the movies, or pick up a book;
there are many artists, actors, shows, films, and authors I refuse to give my money to because I disagree with their portrayal of oppressed groups. So why do these particular bits slip through the cracks? Part of the blame can be laid at the feet of nostalgia and youth. Many of my peers grew up watching Disney movies and can readily name their favorite princess. Ariel is a favorite despite “Little Mermaid’s” plot literally advocating for women to give up their voice. But that is not what we as adults remember about “Little Mermaid”: we remember the songs and we remember being little girls playing with candelabras and forks in their living room pretending to be mermaids. These movies are more than just images on celluloid, they are memories of childhood, and that is why we hold on to them, despite now knowing just how awful their messages can be. A more circumspect answer to the question would be that despite our feminist ideals, society has been training us for years to enjoy and consume media that reinforces a patriarchal message. Right now the most talked about, obsessed over show on TV right now, Game of Thrones, is filled with more bare breasts and rape scenes than one even thought possible. Our media culture nurtures and guides problematic media right into our households, our tablets and our hands so it is nearly impossible to find a piece of media that is 100 percent non-problematic. Even if you do manage to find a piece of media that is completely feminist, it might participate in bi-erasure, or not feature a single person of color anywhere in the narrative.
Childhood and culture aside there is another answer that is less satisfying when it comes to my love of less-thanfeminist entertainment: I like these things because I like them. Something in these forms of entertainment give me goosebumps, butterflies, hiccups, squeals, and downright joy. I find myself smiling every time I read a happily ever after in a romance novel, and I laugh like a mad woman during every episode of “Archer.” Try as I might there are just some not even remotely feminists bits of entertainment I can’t seem to let go and I think that’s okay. It would be one thing if I consumed this media and just let the sexism, racism, hetero and cis-normative narratives roll
over me without a second thought, but I don’t. I’m aware of what is wrong with my entertainment and the media I love, and I will be the first to admit that I cringe when my favorite characters say or do misogynistic thing, but as Anita Sarkeesian has said, “It is both possible and necessary to simultaneously enjoy media while being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects.” Part of overcoming patriarchy and racism and homophobia and every other injustice in the world is the simple act of taking a moment to recognize what those oppressions look like. Not every misogynist, racist, and homophobe walk around wearing pointy hats and twirling
their mustaches like some old timey villain, and many of them don’t even realize what they’re saying or contributing to the entertainment landscape—and a lot of them are people we adore and create fandoms over. So I propose this solution: Keep watching your problematic media that you love, but call out the sexism. Call out the racial disparity and exclusion. Call out the seemingly early death of every lesbian character ever put on TV. Call out the problems with your entertainment in the hopes that they will do better next time; otherwise, you may be a feminist, but the media you consume never will be.
“But... aren’t you a feminist?” Kate Lauer is a double major at MSU Denver in Social Work and Women’s Studies. As president of MSU’s Feminist Alliance, she battles patriarchy on a daily basis, but also finds the time to be a giant dork who obsesses way too much about pop culture and fandom. Her monthly column, “Vaulting Without Poles,” will focus on navigating the difficult, empowering, and sometimes hilarious waters of being a third wave feminist in the modern age.
Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 33
IMBUE
The CVA Presents: Colorado Women in Abstraction BY JACQUELYNE MIDO GLOVER, PHOTOS BY SARA HERTWIG
F
Installations from 32 artists lined the floors and walls of the Center for Visual Arts at the grand opening of Women in Abstraction July 15, 2016.
Artist Sabin Aell paints the background for her installation GLAMORBIRD for the Women in Abstraction exhibit at the Center for Visual Arts July 12, 2016. 34 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
or years theorists and artists alike have engaged in an ongoing dialogue about the role of women in the art world. In art history classrooms across the country the narrative of individual genius has left many wondering: why are so few women represented in the history of art? MSU Denver’s Center for Visual Art offers a powerful response by highlighting the works of 32 women artists who have influenced the movement of Abstract Expressionism in Colorado. Their exhibit Colorado Women in Abstraction, cocurated by Cecily Cullen and Michael Paglia, opened on July 15 and runs until Oct 1. Throughout the exhibition the Center for Visual Art will be holding two artist’s panels - the first was on Aug 25 and the second is coming up on Sept 22, as well as lectures by artists and curators. Abstract Expressionism is a uniquely American artistic movement. It is not concerned with communicating ideas through objective imagery, like the surrealists, but instead focuses on the immediacy of expression and the interior reality of the artist. Rather than painting a desert full of melting clocks to represent one’s own subconscious anxiety about mortality, abstract expressionists focus on the manipulation of materials like canvas and paint and the ways in which these materials represent those subjects that often elude language - like emotion, transformation and time. Typically when we think of abstract expressionists we think of figures like
Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem De Kooning. Rarely is Lee Krasner, Pollock’s own wife and a fellow abstract expressionist, ever mentioned in the same sentence as these men. For a generation or so the focus on women artists has primarily regarded the art of identity, particularly the feminine identity. This tendency to value women’s art on its ability to communicate the feminine identity obscures the contributions of female abstract expressionists, who are not speaking to the identity of a group but the interiority of an individual. Colorado Women in Abstraction offers viewers a chance to see the way in which these 32 women’s’ paintings, sculptures, and installations have influenced and engaged the movement of Abstract Expressionism in Colorado. Among the pieces featured in the exhibition are Nadine Drummond’s beautiful oil paintings. Drummond (19121966) was born in Trinidad, graduated from Denver’s East High School and taught at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. Earlier in her career Nadine sought to capture the beauty of southern Colorado by painting the landscapes and lives of southern Coloradans. Later in her career her style evolved, becoming more and more abstract. At first glance, “Heart Of Darkness” (1965-66) looks like a harmonious and neutral palette of subdued yellows and greens that seem charred or corrupted by darker, blacker paints. Upon closer inspection one notices
the cracking spiral of paint just right of the center: a mark of Drummond’s masterful manipulation of her medium. Cracking is a problem for oil paintings caused by humidity or the improper layering of painting mediums. In “Heart of Darkness,” Drummond transforms what is defective and makes it meaningful: Is this spiral the heart of darkness, pulling the muted and neutral colors into the gravity of its decay? A fitting theme for Denver natives that recurs throughout the works in this exhibition is the engagement between nature and industry. Lorelei Schott is inspired by moments of natural beauty interrupted by the industry and architecture of the city. Her painting “Complex Garbage” (2015-16) features a field of organic, expressive shapes sprawling under and beside a rigidly geometric pyramid. Ruth Hiller creates sculptures that play with the dichotomy between mass produced industry and nature. Her piece “Bling” (2016) is an oval of glamorous, glittering black interrupted by a window of clear Plexiglas painted with red wood grain. Beautiful to look at, her sculptures prompt the viewer to contemplate the relationship between mass -produced, perfect beautylike that produced by the technology industry - and uniquely individual natural beauty - like the landscapes and forests that so many Coloradans have grown up admiring. Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 35
IMBUE
No Bones About It
BY GARDELL NEAL JR., PHOTO BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ
“I’M HAPPY EVIL”
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Sometimes as an artist you have to step out on faith. That belief you have that the stars you once only drew were not just real but attainable. When art becomes a function of life, of your very being, it creates a calling within you to want to share your unique vision with the world while simultaneously leaving your mark permanently upon it. New school artist Jesse Bones has gone and done this in a literal sense and the results are nothing short of fascinating. To look inside the mind of Bones, 42, a self-taught artist whose artistic inception began to take shape as early as the first grade, is to, in the artist’s own words venture into a “very dark place.” A place where the bright colors, the crazy critters and the childlike imagination don’t always seem as apparent as they do in the majority of his completed artistic works. Bones wouldn’t have it any other way. One glance at Bones’ work, be it his unique tattoo designs, his elaborate drawings inspired by pop horror culture or his meticulously crafted clay sculptures, and you would be hard-pressed not to see that his art comes from a darker, drearier and more morbid existence than others. But it is with this darkness that permeates his work which Bones says allows him to bring a light and happiness to those who admire it and seek out his designs and ideas. “I’m happy evil,” injects Bones as he describes the process on how he is able to take something known to many of us as a symbol of fright and death, say the mask of fictional killer Jason Voorhees of Friday
The 13th feature film fame, and create a stunning painted canvas that is impossible to look away from. Or maybe he is putting the biggest, toothiest grin on the mug of deranged supernatural stalker-killer Pinhead from the Hellraiser film series. Whatever the form of bad or evil, Bones is sure to use his powers of artistic reformation to craft a piece that will elicit nothing less than positivity from its intended recipient. Understanding Bones’ background you can get a feeling of where some of his work is drawn, from more of a mental aspect. Having attempted to live as a member of corporate society for as long as he cares to remember and seeing the ugliness and uncaring nature of business; Bones decided to forgo this customary way of life and began to focus more on the pursuit of his dreams and vision. At the age of 39, Bones decided to take the tattoo business by storm while reforming and revolutionizing the industry. Master Peace Tattoo, Bones’ shop which doubles as his work space and art studio, located in Lakewood, is a full encompassing venue for Bones to not only imagine and create his designs, but put them on display for the public as well. So when a customer walks through the door they are in store for a whole lot more than just a tattoo. As part of his idea to reform the industry Bones wants to create an atmosphere within his shop that will welcome people from all ages and walks of life. The dream is to see his shop become a full-fledged art palace where the mind can wander and
people can come and express their own creative visions. Bones wants to create art classes and workshops within his shop for kids who come in with their parents. Gone he says are the old norms where children were frowned upon when being dragged into the tattoo parlor while their mom or dad got inked. When Bones’ dream becomes a reality those same children can now come and learn how to draw and paint while they wait, parents too if the mood should strike them. This is Bones’ gift to the world. For him art is life, it is people. What better way in his opinion to give back to a craft that has provided him with so much then to allow others to possess this power in their own right. Part of this revolutionizing of the industry comes directly from Bones’ own family life. Having been married for 20 years and the father of two daughters, Brooklin who just turned 19 and Karsen, who is 13, he has seen the value of getting a younger generation more involved and in tune with their creative and artistic spirits. You may not be able to tell at first when meeting the man due to his humble and unassuming personality, but when you hear him speak about his work, about art and what is has meant to him on a personal level, the passion is indeed palpable. So it is with no surprise when he mentions his children and how seeing them involved with art and drawing provides him so much happiness. For an artist that, as he puts it, simply, “follows his hand” whenever he creates, following his heart has also worked out pretty well. Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 37
IMBUE
Filling The Void
BY DAYNA HIMOT, PHOTOS BY CARL GLENN PAYNE The 1990s were a time when the average teenage girl was glued to MTV or drooling over Leonardo DiCaprio and the soundtrack of “Titanic.” The opposite was to be said of Leah Hendricks, who found herself consumed by an unexplained, insatiable desire to use drugs and push her feelings away at a very young age. Fully embraced by the dereliction that can manifest itself inside the life of an addict, she walked away from everything and everyone during her mid teen years to chase the dragon. After a series of lifealtering experiences that no parent would dare to wish on anyone’s children, she found herself possessing enough hope to walk away from drugs and pay attention to the one thing that never hurt her or took
away her dreams: painting and creating art. Inspired by her artist mother, Hendricks began drawing fashion sketches at age six. She would admire her mother Stephanie’s paintings that hung in their home, but she never actually saw her mom painting. Hendricks’ mother reiterated to her on multiple occasions that once she had kids, she never made time to paint. She implored her daughter to never stop creating and to keep doing it no matter what. Hendricks’ “no matter what” looked like rebellion against her mother and disillusion from anything that involved a connection to her feelings. Barely 17 years old and pregnant with her only son, Hendricks realized that she
needed to make a dramatic change in her life or she would die. Whether it was the impending birth of her son, a spiritual intervention or a surrender to many failed choices, Hendricks was ready to move forward. Fear of the unknown and failure can motivate people to make bad choices; these were now her impetuses to make a change from within. As a newly married teenage mother, art school was not a possibility, and dreams of rushing off to New York would not come to fruition. Hendricks took her mom’s advice and started to paint. The encouragement she received during her high school years as an AP art studio student helped her immensely. The school allowed her to be in AP
Leah Hendricks works on an art piece on June 26, 2016 at Gallery 1505 during South Pearl Street Farmer’s Market. Hendricks is a contemporary artist in Denver specializing in fine art paintings.
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art studio classes, even though she was missing essential core credits. She never took for granted that pass she received. This was yet another reason for her to stay committed to the creative outlet she had abandoned so long ago. Contrary to most girls her age and opposite of where she had been just a few years earlier, she was doing exactly as her mother had suggested. She also spent that time attempting to do what she thought was the next right thing, eventually supporting her family with a career as a paralegal. Hendricks said that while she was trying to walk away from her own codependent behavior and manage an unsupportive marriage, she still made time to paint. “Painting was a transformative outlet for what was happening inside of me,” Hendricks said. Providing for her family as a paralegal was her main focus, but most people in her life suggested she was destined for bigger things. Her boss at the law firm would tease her, insisting she would eventually quit the firm and become a huge success in the art world. Other young moms were supportive of her painting, but she was torn between her financial worth and her infatuation with creativity. She continued to explore the idea of being an artist as a full-time career, and credits patience as a crucial requirement for any artist before they go all in. Depending on her mood, Hendricks is inspired by internal pain or seeing something beautiful. Her biggest muse and inspiration is nature. “Whether it’s impressionist and I am painting a flower or mixed media and I am trying to re-create a forest landscape in an abstract painting,” Hendricks said. When it comes to her craft, she is adamant that she will not be put in a creative box. Hendricks said she goes against the grain of what the experts suggest. “They say pick a specialty and stick with it.” That is not an option for her. Hendricks’ first art show was in 2005 at a Starbucks in the building where she worked as a paralegal. She would sell her first painting there; in fact, she sold 12 pieces in that location. At her next show, she sold nothing. She just writes it off as a “lesson in the inconsistency of art as an
income.” Hendricks was learning that what she sold was more about a connection with the piece and less about math or numbers, and stated that there is no marketing scheme for the relationship that is built with art. In 2013 Hendricks’ husband committed suicide. Thirteen years of a personal reformation and a new lease on life that had been fueled by inspiration from painting and a personal qualitative change, stuffed into a figurative box. It took a long time for her to grieve because she was angry. “I didn’t paint for six months,”
months of not painting, she displayed her new series “Silver Lining,” 18 abstract mixedmedia silver pieces. There are four unsold pieces from that series available on Hendricks Etsy. www.etsy.com/shop/ leahhendricksfineart.com Hendricks refuses to shut the door when she faces an obstacle. She believes in having a healthy relationship with her new boyfriend, who she says is a good role model for her son. These are the things that matter now. Being with someone who is willing to remind her that her value is not based on her income and understands the incredible dedication it takes to be a
“Painting was a transformative outlet for what was happening inside of me.” - Leah Hendricks
Hendricks said. “It was lonely, I didn’t want to feel the feelings, and when I paint, I feel the feelings. Painting is my outlet.” After the suicide, although she didn’t want to feel anything or let anything out, she did not give up. She had an enormous amount of love and support from her friends and family and tools to cope personally with the loss after multiple years of recovery from her own addictions. Judi’s House, the only freestanding grief counseling organization in Denver, provided one-on-one grief counseling for her and her son. Eventually, Hendricks started painting again, creating work like never before. The first works she created at that point were a reaction to her late husband’s death. After six
full-time artist is important to her. In 2013 Hendricks’ boyfriend tricked her and her son into going dirt biking in Moab. The day was filled with the emotional and physical turmoil that accompanies any first-time dirt-biking experience. As she fell off of her bike, over, and over, and over and over, eventually this petite and delicate 110 pound girl became a woman yet again, filled with pride as she and her family entered a local cafe for dinner. She was concerned that the blood and dirt that covered them would offend people, but she quickly realized quite the contrary. People were looking at her with admiration. She had never felt like that after a sporting activity, and she felt proud, Hendricks said, “I felt like I could Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 39
IMBUE do anything in the whole wide world, so when I am afraid of painting now or applying to an art show or talking to a stranger, I have to remember that I ride a fucking dirt bike.” After living a life not being physically active, or feeling strong and capable, now Hendricks feels like she can do anything. When she gets scared she thinks about Moab. Hendricks has integrated the Moab landscape into her new mixed media series, as she dirt bikes through forests, rock formations, a natural activity. She is inspired and sees parts of the Earth she would never see. She often drops her bike when she goes on hard trails, breaking the levers and chains on her bike. She keeps those spare parts when they fall off and uses them on paintings. In 2015 Hendricks decided to let go of her fears of “not making it” and become a full-time artist. With no formal training, today she is breaking records. In her first
year alone she sold 46 paintings and 30 prints. Today she even has regulars. “Leah’s art has inspired me for years. As a young mother when she couldn’t find enough time to create until now, I’ve watched her grow into an amazing artist, all the while facing her difficult life challenges head on,” said Stephanie Berardini of Denver. “Each time I look at the Terrascapes collection I own, I see her talent on the canvas. I also see her heart and passion. The combination of those three qualities of Leah shine through her artwork.” Hendricks enjoys painting at night, but has a consistent schedule that includes the rigors of additional marketing and accounting needed to keep herself visual in the scene and performing her most important role of mom. Being a full time artist comes with some financial sacrifices she is willing to make, and appear to be minimal in the long run. With over 120 pieces sold during her career, she
is admired by all. “My wife Kimberly commissioned a painting of the Stanley Hotel (Estes Park) as a birthday surprise that is unreal,” said Don Oelsner, a Denver businessman. “Leah Hendricks’ ability to work across visual arts spectrum is amazing and we feel blessed to hang multiple pieces of her work.” She currently hangs her “Columbine No. 1” at Sen. Cory Gardner’s office in Washington, D.C., after being selected by the Colorado Artists Guild as part of a two-year loan program open only to Colorado Artists. She has won an Award of Excellence and University of Northern Colorado’s Foreign Language Art Competition. She has exhibited in over 30 venues in the past 15 years. She also has multiple upcoming art shows around Colorado and hangs as far west as Moab, Utah at the Framed Image Fine Art Gallery.
“TerraScapes” 12 x 12 inches, mixed media on canvas. Inspired by dirt biking on Rampart Range. Materials: rocks, gravel, bark, sticks, pinecones, and moss (collected on site.) This work is available and on display at Grace Gallery in Denver.
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IMBUE
Imbue Review “Lurk” by Adam Vine
BY PACIFIC OBADIAH
Lurk is Adam Vine’s debut novel, it tells the story of five friends and their raging party house atop Sunny Hill. During the last New Year’s Eve party the narrator, Drew Mayhem discovers an old shoe box full of polaroids of the old tenets. Though, as Mayhem soon discovers, the polaroids change the longer you look at them, until they show the current state of the photos subject. To sum up the story this briefly is to do it an injustice. While a dark entity lays in wait under the Sunny Hill house and sets the story in motion, Vine’s story is about so much more. Rather than introduce the cast of college age characters and then have them flee in horror from a monster, Vine makes them face the monster, and they suffer the consequences. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the story is that throughout the novel we see Mayhem slowly descend into paranoia, and the eldritch thing becomes very convincing. Vine does a wonderful job of keeping the audience guessing at what’s really going on. We know there’s a box of cursed photos, but who’s the intruder leaving muddy footprints all over the house, and terrorizing the friends? Mysteries like this scatter the novel, some small, some big, but each has a satisfying conclusion that ties into the bigger picture. Twist and turns are to be found all throughout the novel, many of which are unexpected. 42 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
In execution the story is told well. While there are a few notably slow moments when tension is building, there was never a point where I wanted to set the novel down. Dialogue and descriptions flow well, easily creating mental images and giving life to the locations and cast. Vine’s ability to create real relatable characters is remarkable. Throughout the novel I felt myself cringing when Mayhem messed up, or when his best friend Jay became overly cocky. Though a lot of the novel draws from cliches of the horror genre, it works extraordinarily well, and feels original. My only true criticism is the occasional “it was all a dream” act throughout the novel. Mayhem would occasionally do something outrageous, before realizing that he had been hallucinating. This might not be a problem if it wasn’t for the lack of l indication that readers had passed from reality to a dreamstate. I understand the want to shake up the audience, but these sequences equate to more of the novel’s version of a jump scare, rather than actually adding much to the plot. Though, in all fairness, when these scenes were over I felt myself immensely relieved, Vine adequately spooked me. Lurk is a novel of intrigue that will leave you loving the characters, and hating what happens to them. Vine’s debut makes him a strong contender in the horror genre, and if this is any indication of his writing skill, hopefully his name will become more commonplace.
10 Artistic
Accounts to Follow 10. @TELLURIDEHORRORSHOW If you’re not familiar with the Telluride Horror Show, then you’d learn it’s a quickly growing horror film festival in Colorado, with top talent in one of the most breathtaking towns!
8. @FRANKKWAITKOWSKI You may have seen this Denver artist’s prints wheat pasted around the city, or on shirts in small shops. Full of needles, or depicting people of the city, Kwaitkowski’s prints are often dark, but try to bring attention to the problems of the world.
6. @EMENCHER Eric Mencher has an eye for capturing shadows. On his Instagram you will find black and white photos with deep shadows, or colored photos with contrasting shadows and silhouettes.
4. @IAINART An art student from the Cayman Islands, Iain specializes in creating cartoons and realistic drawings. Over the last year his art style has developed rapidly and he has been exploring beyond his boundaries.
2. @CHARLIEDOVESNYC Colorful pop art is charliedovesnyc’s specialty. From a “Stay Puft” marshmallow man surrounded by neon ghosts and lasers, to a piece of gun shells falling from bloodied hands, charliedovesnyc is someone you need to follow.
9. @GRIFFONRAMSEY A kickass chainsaw artist from Austin, Texas, Griffon Ramsey also showcases her drawings and collection of tattoos.
7. @GRAHAM_NILES_TATTOO Every day, Graham Niles uploads photos of beautiful black and white geometric tattoos. If you’re looking for some inspiration for your next piece of body art, this is the place to go!
5. @DETOUR303 Thomas Evans’ blog is the place to be to find his stunning art, as well as video snippets of his process.
3. @POLLYNOR “I draw women and devils.” This perfectly sums up Polly Nor. Her style is what you might expect to find in an Adult Swim cartoon, but her art has depth.
1. @PAWEL_KUCZYNSKI1 Chances are you’ve seen his art on social media, but maybe you don’t know his name. Pawel Kuczynski’s simplistic but impactful art leaves no stone unturned. From the Pokemon Go craze to kids with guns, Kuczynski’s political art sums up exactly what’s wrong with the world.
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TECHNOSPHERE
A Behind the Scenes Look at SeriesFest BY HAYES MADSEN
SeriesFest Web to TV discussions happening now at #SFS2.
There are plenty of film festivals all around the country for members of the industry, aspiring writers, directors and actors to all mingle. There’s even quite a few right here in Denver. However, there’s a distinct lack of festivals and events for those invested in television and episodic storytelling. This sentiment was heard over and over at SeriesFest, an all inclusive festival at the Sie FilmCenter bringing together industry veterans, emerging talent and passionate audiences. Over the course of four days, June 22-26, the festival saw many people with various levels of involvement in television come together. Panels taught attendees the intricacies of pitching an idea, crowdfunding an episodic project, diving deep into just what creates a hit TV series 44 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
and much more. In addition to all this, SeriesFest ran an independent pilot competition, where 34 talented teams presented their TV pilots, with a chance to win awards and possible funding. The pilots were entered into the two categories of drama and comedy, with many on each side covering some weighty topics. For example, “Coded” followed a rookie teacher named Shae Fitgerald as he takes on a brand new position dealing with five tenth-grade students that all suffer from some sort of emotional trauma. While “Jersey Chasers” showed Harper Payne, a young student looking to become a female sportscaster. During her attempt to land an interview with Southwest University’s star quarterback, she uncovers a dark secret
about the football team and has to confront a decision that could make or break her career. During each Drama and Comedy block at SeriesFest the audience got a chance to hear some of the makers of each pilot talk, getting a small glimpse into the story of each. Steve Neufeld, the writer and producer of Coded talked about how his own experiences weaved into the show, “I was a teacher for seven years, so a lot of Coded came out of my own experience teaching high school, and some of the experiences of the people I worked with. It’s just the kind of heartbreaking but funny stuff that I thought belonged on a TV show.” For many of the pilots at SeriesFest personal experiences were what really sparked the idea. Skylar Harrison is the creator of Jersey Chasers, but
the show’s producer Ashley Pacini took a moment to talk about its inspirations. “Skylar who’s the creator wasn’t able to be here, but it comes from her and an experience she had with her best friend who attended a university in Texas, that also had some severe rape culture going on.” Coded and Jersey Chasers are just two examples from the many outstanding pilots tackling heavy issues with dramatic flair or a comedic touch. SeriesFest helped create a forum for creators and fans alike to come together and discuss, debate and brainstorm. It’s a big step forward for television programming, and one that hopefully many others will use as an example going forward.
The Beginning of SeriesFest: An Interview with Co-Creator Randi Kleiner SeriesFest is celebrating its second year in 2016, still finding its footing as a fairly new festival, and the only one of its kind. Co-creators Randi Kleiner and Kaily Smith Westbrook started the festival in 2015, with the idea springing from their work at film festivals. Kleiner has been producing events around the world for years with companies like Pepsi and Zappos, while Westbrook is an actress and producer who made a web series in 2009, around the time that web content really started diversifying itself. While Kleiner was working at the New York Film Festival, Westbrook approached her with the idea of including television programming. The two found themselves becoming immersed in the ever changing world of television programming. When Kleiner met with executives she knew in the TV world, the one questions that always came up was, where do you go to find new content? “The answers were all over the map, and some were kind of startling.” Kleiner knew filmmakers that were now moving on and making independent television series, and she began to see a trend. All the while, thinking about where these people would go to discover new talent and content. “I was like, hold on a second. There’s all these people out there hungry for creative and diverse content, and there’s all these people out there making incredible work. If we could bring these parties together, and become a discovery platform, there’d really be something great in there” Kleiner said. SeriesFest’s goal is to build itself up and provide creators with an opportunity to showcase their work, while simultaneously creating a marketplace as well as a community. Kleiner talks about some of the frustrations she’s seen people attending the festival experience, “People feel like they’re on their own islands making their work, because they
don’t have a place to come and celebrate that together, and it’s kind of the same with studios and networks too.” Kleiner has been overjoyed to see people coming together and talking about their work. The reception for SeriesFest has been overwhelming, and the festival has blown up much faster than she or Westbrook ever anticipated. Writers, producers, actors and fans have all shown immense support for the event, and it’s quickly on its way to becoming one of the premier festivals for television and episodic programming. “My favorite moment was when I was standing at the entrance to the Sie FilmCenter and I looked down and there was a network executive, talking to a young creator, talking to an actor. Everybody was having such a great time and chatting. Then two creators got together and decided to collaborate on a project. I think it…. It was just incredible” said Kleiner. Denver was chosen as the location for SeriesFest for a few different reasons, one of which is that Westbrook has family based in Colorado. The two wanted to create a destination city, where people from around the country could come together. In the end, Governor Hickenlooper invited Kleiner and Westbrook to the city and wanted the festival to be based in Denver. The pair met with the Governor, along with the Denver Film Society and things were underway.
“They opened their doors, their arms, and it just felt like home right away. The community has been so supportive, from the local businesses, to the audience” said Kleiner. It takes time to build a community, but Kleiner is hopeful for what the festival has already started building. Part of the process is just getting people to understand what exactly a TV festival is, and how you can enjoy it. The world of television has such a broad scope, that you have to keep educating people on what an event like SeriesFest really is. Bringing a diverse set of content including dramas, comedies, documentaries and animated programs also helps keep people interested in the event. With SeriesFest’s second year Kleiner and Westbrook have had the advantage of learning from last year’s hardships. Last year the festival was decided in January, announced in February and then launched in June. Luckily, planning and preparation were much easier to do this year. Kleiner and Westbrook would like to see SeriesFest expand into even more, but for now they’re totally focuses on the event flourishing in Denver. The community and industry response to the festival has been fantastic. Their team keeps growing along with the knowledge and support of the event, and the pair hopes that trend will keep going.
SeriesFest co-founders Randi Kleiner and Kaily Smith Westbrook wat the #SFS2 Awards Brunch Photos provided by SeriesFest Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 45
TECHNOSPHERE
Talk Tech to Me
E3: How the Gaming Industry Uses One Week a Year to Connect with Fans and Build Excitement
Started from the Bottom Now I’m Here: E3 BY PACIFIC OBADIAH Take Two’s Mafia III booth greets guests as they enter the south hall, which was designed to resemble the game’s late ‘60’s era and New Orleans, inspired setting.
BY HAYES MADSEN
The gaming industry has become one of highest grossing of any entertainment medium across the world, grossing tens of billions of dollars every year. It’s more than just an industry to the people that play video games, though. To them it’s a culture, a lifestyle. Gamers tend to identify as just that, someone who plays video games. With this in mind, conventions and events can be a big deal for gaming fans, as it gives them a chance to meet up with other like minded individuals and share their passion. E3 the Electronic Entertainment Expo is a bit different however, being mainly an industry event that only people with the proper industry credentials or press can get into. Even with this fact in mind, it’s still a yearly event for everyone involved in video games; fans, developers, journalists and the like. Although the show is technically an industry only gathering, thousands of fans from across the world tune into streams of each press conference, and then dedicated streams from the showfloor as well. Everyone want to be a part of the E3 experience: forums are abuzz with the news, comments on news sites explode, and some streams even have chats constantly running at a mile a minute. E3 has become a phenomenon for anyone who’s a part of the gaming community. But what’s the catch with all this? The show isn’t really about the art or process of making video games, it’s now more about getting people as excited as possible for any and all upcoming games: generating hype. Now hype isn’t a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with being excited for upcoming games and products. However, 46 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
like anything else it needs to be done in moderation. It’s fascinating though, that E3 has over the years turned into this machine to get everyone excited for what’s next. It wasn’t always like this as it used to be an industry only event, but now more than ever the fans feel a connection. By watching streams and interviews you get an interesting look at the people behind the games we play. It doesn’t always happen that we get to see the people responsible for the entertainment we love, besides maybe the occasional actor, director or author. By creating a connection between developers and gamers, the industry has managed to make an event where fans can feel like they’re part of the event and discussion even if they can’t be there. There’s always the latest and greatest things to talk about with your friends the week of E3.
There’s no other festival or conference that builds excitement like E3. Sure there’s the Consumer’s Electronic Show and Sundance Film Festival, but how much of the consuming public really sees what happens at those locations, rather than just reading the news? Video games are an interactive medium by nature, so it only makes sense that a convention about gaming should be somewhat interactive as well. E3 may be mostly flash and little substance, but without it there’d be a gaping hole for one week out of the year, every year. It’s an event that so many people tune into, gamers are incredibly passionate about their hobby, and E3 is just one fascinating way that passion gets expressed over and over.
Attendants were allowed to play early versions of unreleased games, ranging from small indie produced games to upcoming triple A titles. Images provided by Entertainment Software Association
Ever since I was a kid I’ve been playing video games. The first game I ever played with Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox soon after the game released in 2001. After that moment I only got sucked further into gaming. From Spiro to Command and Conquer, Splinter Cell to Castle Crashers, if it was a game, I was interested. Of course, as I grew up I got more selective with what games I played– even more so when I started paying for them. Somewhere down the line my Dad first told me about E3- the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Once I figured out what it was, it wasn’t long before it became one of the top priorities on my bucket list. This past summer I had the opportunity to fly to LA and attend E3 as a member of media. Truly this experience was a dream come true. From first walking through the entry hall of the massive Los Angeles Convention Center, to seeing giant screens boasting beautiful graphics, the entire experience was surreal. For those of you who do not know what E3 is, it is, in laymen’s terms, where almost every game coming out in the next year is announced. If you’re more on the side of gaming culture, then you might know that E3 is the world’s largest professional gaming convention. This year over 75,000 attendees from all corners of the globe flocked to LA to see the newest innovations and creating in gaming. Though,
what you might not know is the Press Conferences that people have started streaming the last few years are only the first half of this massive show. The second half is the show floor itself, which feels much more like a traditional convention (think Comic Con or Pax). Each company has their own booth (or in some cases, room) decorated fully with their games aesthetic, any of the 75000 guests are welcome to visit any booth and see what they have. Fortunately as a member of the media, not only was I able to view every booth, but I was able to schedule times to get exclusive hands on coverage of some upcoming video games. When I first landed in LA, the day before the show floor opened there was already activity buzzing about. The Convention Center had already been decked out in full. Larger posters advertising the newest triple A franchises (professionally made games). While the convention center was mostly full of forklifts and people preparing for the next day, nearby EA has hosting their week long EA Play. I decided to stop by– general admission was free to the public. EA had two floors devoted to their experience. With the lower floor hosting a large 64 player Battlefield 1 session, as well as FIFA 17, MADDEN 17, and NHL17 and the top floor showing a sneak peak of Titanfall 2’s competitive multiplayer.
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TECHNOSPHERE
Must Play: Top 5 Games from E3 5. SPIDER-MAN
We saw very little of the new Spider-Man game at this year’s E3, but it still remained one of the biggest surprises of the show. At Sony’s press conference they showed a gorgeous reveal trailer with Spidey decked out in a brand new red and blue suit. The bigger surprise though, was the reveal that the game is being made by Insomniac, the studio behind great titles like Sunset Overdrive, Resistance and the Ratchet & Clank series. With such a talented studio, known for their humor and witty writing, the web-slinging superhero is in good hands.
4. FINAL FANTASY XV
Final Fantasy XV was announced over 10 years ago, at that time under the name Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Since then, fans have eagerly been awaiting every trailer and drop of information. In 2013 the game was rebranded as Final Fantasy XV, and now after a long wait it’s finally arriving on Sept. 30. Expectations are obviously high, but this entry in the legendary RPG series is kicking things up a notch. XV gives you a fully explorable world, and features a story about four young friends going on a road trip. Not many games out there have ever tackled a “road trip experience,” but applying that to a fantasy world may do just the trick.
Ubisoft shows off its upcoming “Just Dance 2017.” What better way than with a dance party?
A chance to try all these new games, in addition to the sweet swag bag was a welcome start to my E3 experience. The first day of the show floor however, took the cake. As the doors first opened I swarmed in, jam packed, shoulder to shoulder with people that have been making the games I’ve been playing almost all my life. E3 is split into three halls, plus additional rooms on the second holding some bigger studios, such as CD Projekt Red, and Volition. The swarm I was apart of headed towards the West Hall, where IGN, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all had their massive boothes. To say this was like a con but for professionals would undersell it immensely, it was more like walking into a near limitless showboating competition. Nintendo has a ceiling high (the ceiling was about two or three stories, I’d reckon) Zelda box, which took up a house worth of room on the floor. Wrapped around the massive booth was a long line, which was funny considering the doors had opened only mere seconds before. Microsoft 48 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
had a more sleek and open presentation, anyone could walk up and play, or wait to play, any of the games that littered their area. Games such as ReCore, Sea of Thieves, and Below garnered large crowds, and consequently, long lines. Additionally Microsoft was showcasing their new colorful customizable controllers. Adjacent to Microsoft, Sony had a similarly open booth. They had showcases of games like Furi, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Gravity Rush. Though, tucked away past all the playable games was a private showcase of “PlayStation VR.” Walking past I could see the demos for Batman: Arkham VR, and many other upcoming titles. The south hall however was also packed with its share of massive exhibitions, namely Take Two, which had a large box featuring several games. Upon entering, on the near side the upcoming Mafia III was featured, with Civilization VI on the adjoining wall, as well as NBA2K17, nearby Square Enix was set up, boasting it’s new Dues Ex: Mankind Divided. On the other side of the massive Take Two booth was Ubisoft and their upcoming titles. Namely,
3. DEAD RISING 4
Sony showcased its PlayStation VR and newly announced gun controller in the upcoming game “Farpoint.”
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and Watchdogs 2. And lastly, the concourse hall. Unlike the other two halls this one wasn’t full of flashy presentations and vibrant lights, but rather, seven clusters of grey walled private offices filled the room. Within the large grey squares were Google, Nvidia, HTC Vive, and Samsung. Later, whilst stumbling around the Concourse Hall, trying to discern one company’s paper plaque from others, I found one
booth that stuck out like a sore thumb. Unlike the rest of the blocks around it, one corner had glass walls, draped with heavy luxurious curtains. Past the curtains was a TV hanging upon a mantle, a leather couch, bar, and other small signs of wealth. This booth belonged to none other than Tell Tale, who was showcasing their new game, “Batman: The Tell Tale Series.” After some preliminary exploration I was off to my first interview, you can find my full E3 experience online at mymetmedia.com.
Dead Rising was a technical marvel when the first game released back in 2006. The amount of zombies it could pack onto the screen was mind-blowing, and it let players live out their ultimate fantasies of being trapped in a mall during a zombie apocalypse and just having free reign of the the place. The newest entry of the series announced at E3 puts you back in the shoes of everyone’s favorite war journalist, Frank West. Dead Rising 4 is actually a bit of a remake of the first game, featuring the same main character and location in Willamette, Colorado, but expanding things into the city. More options and weapons than ever before will be available to players while battling the zombie horde.
2. PERSONA 5
The Persona games have made strides with their storytelling in the past, focusing on multifaceted characters with a host of representations and issues. Each game focuses on a central theme that also coincides with the color scheme. For the hotly anticipated Persona 5 that color is red, and its central theme is freedom. With its trademark mix of RPG dungeon crawling and everyday high school student life, Persona 5 looks like it’ll give players an intimate experience with its characters just like the last two games.
1. THE LAST GUARDIAN
Just like Final Fantasy XV, The Last Guardian is a project that was announced years ago in 2009. It focuses on the relationship between a young boy and a strange giant bird-dog kind of animal. The Last Guardian is from developer Fumito Ueda, responsible for both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, two games widely considered to be some of the most thoughtful and artistic pieces created in the medium. Anyone who’s played either of Ueda’s previous games has good reason to be eagerly awaiting The Last Guardian.
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TECHNOSPHERE
Speed Dating, Sci-Fi Style BY ESTEBAN FERNANDEZ, PHOTO BY BRANDON N. SANCHEZ Standing together at the delta of three different corridors, three Deadpools masquerading as Super Mario, Luigi and Wario joked together. Then, the Mario of the group – chain chomp in hand departed his compatriots and joined the growing line near him. Someone in the line made a comment about his costume, to which the Mario-pool made an unprintable reply while fondling his ball like chain-chomp. Such was the entourage who had gathered for Sci-Fi Speed Dating at this year’s Comic Con. Deep in the bowels of the Denver Colorado Convention Center, two lines had formed outside room 304. The sexes were split into two lines, one for the boys and the other for girls. An LGBTQ session was also held the day before, with another session planned Sunday for those so inclined. How the logistics of the line split, handled exclusively for those identifying as the “T” in the acronym, remains an open question. “[Sci Fi Speed Dating] allows for geeky people to meet other nerdy, geeky people,”
said Nichole Young, who was cosplaying that day as a rather fetching mermaid going by the name Bera Cuda. The goal of the event, she said, was to help alleviate anxiety when meeting someone new and establish a rapport between people that share similar interests. In that respect, Sci-Fi speed dating has been very successful. The event’s founder, Ryan Glitch, holds the event at least 45 times a year as he hops from convention to convention. Glitch founded the event after attending a similar one at a convention more than six years ago. He found the experience poorly executed, and after making noise about his experience ended up being invited to run his own. Glitch’s event has been here since Denver Comic Con was founded in 2012. Receipts from the event are enough for Glitch to make a living from it. He is eying an expansion into Canada, as soon as he can get his passport sorted out. “This is a blast,” Glitch said. “This is my baby and my dog.”
Sci FI Speed Dating can also be counted as a success by other metrics. Over the six years that Glitch has held speed dating, there have been 83 marriages, between 42 and 45 engagements and 21 babies since. The women file into the room first, one after the other, and sit with their backs to the wall. They are paired off with an empty chair, and the arrangement circles around the room with a single column extending into the center of the room. There are empty seats between some of the girls, while others are clustered together. Meanwhile, the boys begin to enter. They take their seats, filling up the majority of spaces available; some are left to stare at an empty seat. By now everyone has a number affixed to their shirt, and possesses a pen and index card. Glitch, assuming the Moniker of Speed Dating Guy, introduces the rules and sets the tone. A boisterous host, he explains to the participants that no names are to be swapped, no drunken or high people are allowed, and that each couple has three minutes to introduce themselves and talk.
With that, the clock ticks down on the first three minutes. The first girl in your correspondent’s review appears nice if a bit dull and withdrawn. Likewise, her opinions may not have been duly favorable. However, for some the event served a therapeutic purpose. No. 47 admitted to participating in speed dating as a way to overcome her shyness. Glitch concludes the meeting phase. While his attendants prepare two tables with sheets of paper specifically numbered, Glitch himself plays with the crowd, revealing his origins as a stand-up comic with a fast wit. Once the attendants are done, the boys and girls respectively write down their dating numbers and contact
information. Once everyone’s finished, each person takes the sheet of paper with their number and spoils before leaving. Outside, friends who went together joke about the experience. Evan Honning, who attended with Elyse Jones, said he found it such an enjoyable experience last year that he returned to it this year. He also recommended that people try it. Jones also had fun, however she hit several awkward patches in her interactions. “To be interviewed is really awkward,” she said. To anyone thinking of trying speed dating, she recommended a drink beforehand.
Cosplay characters pose for photos as part of the experience at Denver Comic Con at the Colorado Convention Center on June 17, 2016.
Cosplay characters stay in character throughout Denver Comic Con at the Colorado Convention Center on June 17, 2016. 51
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Tastemaker: Nicole Ault WORDS & PHOTOS BY TERESA DIAZ-SORIANO
Outfit from H&M.
Crop Top and jeans from winter sale bin from (roug hly) 2015.
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Nicole Ault is a tall gal, all legs. Her blo nde hair rests a few inches past her shou lders, half tied up in a black furry scrunch as she sits in Union ie Station in downtown Denver. She sits on bench, still taller tha a n most girls, sticking out like a sore thumb her edgy, simple bohe as mian outfit clashes wi th the women dressed in business casual aro und her. Nicole is a fas hion icon. She wears what she feels and ro cks it. “Fashion is a way to show people who yo u are,” she said. “I definitely tend to get dressed depending on how I feel, even thoug you might not be able h to look at me and be like ‘Oh she’s happy, or Oh, she’s mad’; it defin itely plays a role on ho w I get dressed.” On the surface Nicole is laid back, just enjoy ing living in the city, working at H&M, an d spending the summ er away from school. She and her boyfrien d have just moved in together on South Broadway, and she is taking life in strides as she is now a senior at MSU Denver. It tak es a minute for her to warm up to the idea of talking about herse lf, but when she gives yo u a glimpse into her life it’s empowering. It is easy to see why she wants to be behin the scenes of some fas d hion operation rathe r than in front of the camera. Nicole is tho ughtful, a quality she developed with age. Sh is transitioning like ma e ny 22-year-olds from college adulthood, to the real world outside of the academics, and safety nets and shelter parents provide. Life is evolving, and for Ni co le that means placing her time and effort in things that are going to he lp her in the future. “I started taking thing s more seriously,” she said about her life right now. “I want to work with a fashion designer; that’s like my dream to work with a fashion designer an d be their PR person, be a part of their marke or ting team. I personally do not have the eye to design, but I still wa nt to be a part of the fashion world.” Early on Nicole arrive d at the conclusion tha fashion was much mo t her destiny in re behind the scenes than in the spotlight. Fashion is not material istic to her. It is a true art form and a way to highlight beauty, rathe r than a tool for peop le to become famous on social media. “There is a lot more that goes into it than people think. It’s a business just like anyth ing else is, and like wi th art or music [the company] still has to promote themselves, they still have people behind doing things for them that people [watching] do not see .”
Orange s um Scrunchie mer dress H&M s pring coll is sale fro ection 20 m H&M. 16.
Nicole used to worsh ip Alexander McQue en a British fashion think those were the designer. “I artists that got me int o fashion, and I really that because it was mo respected re of sculpture art.” M cQueen used random create masterpieces an materials to d transform average ev eryday items into un “A lot of his shows wa ique pieces. sn’t just [models] wa lking up and down. On shows] was like a chess e of [the board and the pieces were moving and like his designs.” She said. a model in “He was like one of the first people to really ge fashion, just because t me into you can’t not argue [h is work] is art.” With this fresh approa ch to life comes a ch ange in her fashion sen longer is her love for neon jeans and tennis se. No shoes the reality that years ago. “I have alw it was seven ays been into fashion, and I’ve definitely ha my life that were an ep d periods in ic fail, fashion wise, or I went into ‘this’ phase fine, but I feel like it tak , which is es time to be like ‘Oh, I really actually like thi actually explore and s’ and can be like ‘Oh, I can pair this with this’ and be out of your comfort bo able to reach x and try new things. ” Through trial and err or she has gained a un ique fashion sense tha only representative of t is not her free spirit, but isn ’t overwhelmingly infl any current trend. uenced by “I don’t know how I would describe my fas hion sense,” she said. like stuff that is effortle “I kind of ss,” she declared. “I do n’t really wear jewelry, a lot of makeup.” He I don’t wear r personality presents itself in what she choo and how she wears it. ses to wear She flipped her hands as she exhaled and pr is over caring about oclaimed she what others think. W ith age she finds no ne about dressing how oth ed to worry ers want her to dress. “I do think attitude ha s a lot to do with it. I am definitely a firm be that if you think you liever in can [wear an outfit] an d you have that type of or attitude that when confidence you put it on and wa lk out the door, [and comfort], then [that tra have that nslates to] other peop le who will think you As bold as Nicole can look good.” be, a simple crop top and jeans with textur her style. e sums up While Nicole stared int o the distance, absen tly surveying the cro Union Station, she po wd inside ndered about the futur e out loud. “I would lov New York doing some e to be in thing,” she said, altho ugh it would be a chall like it’s a really hard thi en ge . “I feel ng to get into and, I me an, I don’t even know would begin meeting how you those people.” Denver’s fashion scene is where Nicole wants work her way up and to be for now. She wa if the opportunity ari nts to ses, make her way to You can see Nicole’s the Big Apple. stylish fashion choices on campus or as she streets of downtown walks on the Denver.
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Branded: Cause and Effect BY ALYSHA PRIETO
A
Photo by Brandon Tormanen, courtesy of Create Karma 54 | Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1
fter four years of refining and expanding Create Karma, Taylor Sandona and his street wear brand have officially arrived at a place where they can give back. At 26 years old, Sandona has been in the business of designing, photographing and merchandising for the better part of his adulthood. His roots are undeniably Minneapolis, but he has found an audience in Colorado since making the move in 2012. Create Karma has been a marriage of passions for the business owner. On the sartorial front he has always been drawn to wearing original and hard-to-find clothing. And professionally, upon entering the workforce, he promptly decided that a conventional “desk job” wasn’t for him. “I literally used to wake up at 5 a.m. to go to an office everyday and I hated my life before I left the door. It sucked the creativity out of me. It just made me feel like a different person,” he said. And then I moved out here and very quickly realized OK, do you want to keep producing clothing that arguably anyone can make or do you want to see where you can take this and try to push it?” Pushing it for Sandona meant deciding what the aesthetic for Create Karma would be. The look of the brand ranges from season to season as most do, but he is most interested in designing quality basics that serve as the building blocks of a wardrobe. Sandona’s
goals for his designs are pieces that appeal to the masses — all the way from “local street wear kids” to stroller-pushing dads. The other thing that he always keeps in mind when designing besides easy-to-wear pieces is originality. “Don’t plan on doing the same thing that you’ve seen 100 other brands do before or you’re probably 100 brands too late. The first 10 made their money on it. The next 50 are maybe doing OK enough. But the more people that do it the more oversaturated it is,” he said. Sandona’s pursuit of originality doesn’t stop in the design process. It extends into his production too. Each season is a limited quantity release and never repeats. Once an item is sold out it is gone for good. This practice means that the brand doesn’t remain stagnant and also creates a sense of urgency in the customer. “If people can get what they want whenever they want it then there’s no demand,” Sandona said. With no formal training or education in fashion, he has learned everything he knows about the clothing industry and production through collaboration and trial and error. In response to said errors Sandona said, “If you don’t ever fuck up and lose money then I feel like you’re probably not trying hard enough. I spent my own money and my own time trying and failing.” He has also had the opportunity to learn and grow Create Karma through working on the opposite side of the industry as the manager of Abstract boutique on Broadway.
“Working here has been a huge help, just seeing things from the brand standpoint and the shop standpoint. When I moved here this was the first store that picked it up out here and then they carried it for two years and I took over as manager last March,” he said. Working on Broadway has served as an inspiration of sorts in terms of Sandona’s philanthropy. The massive homeless community in the area has compelled him to use Create Karma to give back through a beanie campaign. “The homeless one [issue] is just such an obvious one in city life that I just felt it’s one of the biggest and most common kind of in your face ones. Walk up Broadway here and you’re probably going to see five to 10 homeless people with ambulances up and down Broadway all day. This street gets so hot out here. I’ve heard this is one of the most common streets in Denver where homeless people die from heat and exhaustion,” he said. The campaign began this summer. For every product that is sold through Create Karma’s online store and brick and mortar retailers, the brand will donate one beanie. The idea of the humanitarian clothing line isn’t a new one, but what makes this campaign very different from its counterparts is Sandona’s plans for distribution. “I’m not the type of person to just go drop off 800 beanies to a charity organization and be like, ‘I hope they get to people that actually need them.’ Rather than do that, we’re going to have street teams in multiple cities, and we’re going to take to the streets ourselves and be
distributing these beanies to the homeless ourselves,” he said. Sandona and his street teams will start distributing in Denver, Minneapolis and Cleveland in the fall of this year. Giving back is an important part of success to Sandona, especially in an industry that has become so synonymous with a no-fucks-given attitude. “Street wear is an interesting market and that’s always why I’ve tried to have a positive push — because so much of street wear is this negative, ‘Fuck you. I do what I want. I’m going to put a middle finger on a T-shirt type shit.’ That’s kind of what streetwear had grown a name for. It doesn’t have to be like that,” he said. With Sandona’s aspirations for positivity and creativity it is easy to see why Create Karma is a fitting name for his label. And while the term karma has become somewhat exhausted over the past few years, Sandona still refers to it as an “interesting thing” because depending on the person its definitions can be endless and widely varying. “Karma can be interpreted in so many different ways. That was why I left it as Create Karma. It leaves it open for personal interpretation. And it’s not like I’m pushing it as a spiritual way. I’m not pushing it as a dumbed down way. I’m pushing it as it means what you want it to mean,” he said. Through giving back Sandona has proved that while he’s not interested in defining his brand name he is more than happy to show you what it means to him through action. Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 55
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Read and Repeat Media Mavens We Admire
Natalie Suarez
Suarez is a model, singer and creator of natalieoffduty.com. Her blog showcases her wacky outfits, travel diaries and everyday adventures with her older sister and band mate Dylana. Suarez’s style consists of an arsenal of hats, cropped denim and lots of layering. Her signature shaggy bangs make every outfit of the moment and rock ‘n’ roll cool.
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Natalie Suarez, Yanin Namasonthi, Hannah Bronfman and Sophia Amoruso are four ladies who have their hands dipped in just about every media “honey” jar. They defy labels and prove that working hard doesn’t mean sacrificing style.
Yanin Namasonthi
Namasonthi, otherwise known as Idressmyselff, is a 21-year-old YouTube guru and blogger. Drool worthy clothing hauls and look books with brands ranging from Céline to Brandy Melville make up her channel and blog. Expert mix master, Namasonthi perfectly combines feminine and masculine pieces, often pairing ripped denim and converse with sweet materials like velvet and satin.
Sophia Amoruso
After becoming a household name with the success of her online store, Nasty Gal, Amoruso took the opportunity and ran. She opened two brick and mortar locations, released two books, started a podcast and sold the rights to #Girlboss to Netflix. Whether in the perfect ratty T-shirt or floor-length gown, Amoruso’s hot mess-ladylike style is unapologetically genuine.
Hannah Bronfman
DJ, founder of hbfit.com, gym rat and all around sartorial babe, Bronfman’s style changes along with the professional hat she wears for the day. You can find her in the latest Adidas leggings for yoga, a pair of Jimmy Choo’s while spinning for Sports Illustrated and back in workout gear for a post on her beauty, health and fitness website.
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About Town About Town
Auraria Street Style
WORDS & PHOTOS BY TERESA DIAZ-SORIANO
The population of Auraria Campus may decrease when school is out, but this summer that didn’t mean that fashion took a break. Over the course of summer, students swapped winter wardrobes for strappy dresses, board shorts, and light and airy items. In Colorado students are not only susceptible to the weather, but also the arctic temperatures in the buildings on campus. Whether it was for comfort or for style, students on Auraria Campus kept it real this summer. Metrosphere Vol 35 | Issue 1 | 59
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