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June 2012
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ClĂŠment Goebels
grae magazine. Publisher Grae
Editor in Chief Natalie Zigdon
Find us online at GraeMagazine.com Please note all submissions to Grae Magazine are protected by copyright laws which belongs solely to the artist. If you would like to get in touch with any of the artists, please email us and we’ll gladly pass it along. Grae is always looking to expand our team. Whether you’re a photographer, writer, illustrator or designer, we want YOU to be apart of Grae. Email us at inspire@ graemagazine.com
Content Editor Sophie Lavac
EDITOR’S NOTE Contributors Casey Neistat Julia Trotti Morgan Tepsic Brittany Metz Paige Linden Kate Carone Clement Goebels
The Treehouse
I’m Natalie and I am the creator & editor of Grae Magazine. Grae Magazine was created to uncover underground artists who have a passion for creating. If you’re new to Grae, make sure to check out our talented artists and their take on this world. Read each word with an open mind, lose yourself in our Treehouse and indulge yourself in our Rorschach Art Gallery. If you aren’t new to Grae, welcome back. Instagram and it’s users fill this month’s issue of Grae. We were intrigued by the effect instagram has on others and were inspired by the idea of going through a person’s day to day life through pictures.
Bradley Yencer
Cover Jamie Smith
We are also very proud to have filmaker and creator of the Make It Count video for Nike, Casey Neistat in this month’s issue. Make sure to also check out TEPSIC magazine creator Morgan Tepsic and go behind the brilliant mind of TEPSIC magazine. #Enjoy.
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may 2012
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NOT GONNA LIE, WE WERE VERY SKEPTICAL OF INSTAGRAM AT FIRST. WE DIDN’T LIKE THE IDEA OF CREATING A SHORTCUT FOR OTHERS TO EDIT PHOTOS ON THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON, WHILE OTHERS WORK SO HARD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO EVEN CREATE A SUN FLARE ON PHOTOSHOP. WE HAVE TO ADMIT THOUGH, INSTAGRAM GREW ON US. NOT FOR THE REASON OF LETTING JUST ANYBODY CALL THEMSELVES A ‘PHOTOGRAPHER’ BUT FOR BEING ABLE TO SEE A PERSON’S DAY TO DAY LIFE THROUGH PHOTOS. IT’S CRAZY TO SEE WHAT TECHNOLOGY CAN DO AND HOW FAR IT’S COME. PROBLEM IS, AS TECHNOLOGY GETS MORE EFFICIENT, WE GET LESS EFFICIENT. WE ARE SO DEPENDENT ON OUR PHONES, WE CAN’T GET ANYWHERE WITHOUT THEM. WE CONSTANTLY FEEL THE NEED TO CHECK OUR PHONES AND I CAN GUARANTEE YOU NOTHING HAS CHANGED SINCE THE LAST TIME YOU CHECKED IT. FIVE MINUTES AGO. ALTHOUGH INSTAGRAM HAS US HOOKED, WE CAN’T LET THE THINGS WE OWN, OWN US. 8 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
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Jamie Smith
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CASEY NEISTAT Instagrae | Grae Magazine |11
#makei
itcount Wonderland | Grae Magazine |13
I had just woken up but I couldn’t get my body to move from it’s current state. I was staring at the goosebumbs on the ceiling hoping for them to come together and form some sort of message of what I was suppose to do with my life. I waited. Nothing. I began to wonder if maybe this whole day to day routine was simply as good as it get’s, I mean it could all be worse right? I finally decided to sit up and see if Grae had any new emails because if one thing is for sure, it’s that Grae is 14 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
anything but a routine and I am constantly reminded of that because of the brilliant readers who send us emails telling us so. I saw I had a message from my sister. Sisters don’t email, well at least my sister and I don’t email. If we want to say something we do it in person. The only time we email is if it’s an inspirational photo or song that we know the other will appreciate. Although just like many others, I am
not one to play it safe. I’m known for my fearless heart and free spirit but once you get in a routine, it’s hard to realize you’re in it and you find yourself waking up when it’s too late and wishing you would have when you could have. My sister of all people knows that is the last thing I want in life. I open up the email and come to find this video. ‘Make It Count’ by Casey Neistat. I can honestly say I have never been more
inspired in my entire life than I was at that moment. If you have yet to see this video, I highly recommend stop reading this sentence and go and see it before proceeding. It would be hard for that video to not inspire someone but that’s not what inspired me. It was my own reflection and interpretation of the video that made me realize what I need to be doing with my life. I need to be making every friendship, every glass of wine, every issue, every run, every moment count. Because you never know when it will be your last.
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The idea of the video isn’t necessarily about traveling or going to a place you’ve never gone before. It is about realizing that it’s not what you’re doing that matters it is about how you feel when doing it. Humans will never be satisfied nor will we ever have a
sense of complete and utter fulfillment but if we lower our expectations and appreciate the simple things in life, we will come to see happiness is right in front of us. 16 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
The video didn’t tell me what I needed to do in order to be happy nor did the goosebumps on the ceiling. Casey reminds us that we are in charge of our own happiness, we just have to go out there and make it happen. And while
we’re at it, make it count. I was dying to get his thoughts on the whole concept of the video and he was happy enough to share it with Grae. We were able to snag an interview with him on what it’s like living in New
York and what he would be doing if he wasn’t producing movies. From talking to Casey, I sure learned a lot about the brains behind the Make it Count video. Among other things, Casey has an HBO show called the Neistat Brothers. The show airs
autobiographical episodes that take you through the Neistat’s adventures. One of them being climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. We can see that he clearly wastes no time on living his life.
Inspiring our readers is a part of what Grae was created to do. We’re glad to have Casey be apart of doing that and we hope to inspire you to make it count.
“YouTube is my favorite thing and if i had no responsibility I would spend all my time making YouTube videos.” Instagrae | Grae Magazine |17
G: Why did Nike choose you to do the ‘Make it count’ project? CN: I have a great relationship with Nike, have worked with them in the past. Based on that relationship they contacted me in the fall to discuss the launch of the fuel band and how i might be a part of it, in the end it was decided that i would make 3 videos for the launch. G: What moment was it that 18 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
made you realize that you didn’t even want to do the project and yet spend the money on traveling the world? CN: It was never about not wanting to do a project. My enthusiasm never waned, the concept just shifted. In the end I asked myself how would I make it count - the answer was to do something I’ve always wanted to do and that’s what the video ended up being.
G: Was Nike supportive of the new concept for the project? CN: Nike was very supportive. They were excited about the way the video turned out. G: Have you lived in New York your whole life? CN: I’ve been living in NYC for 11 years. It’s the only place where I have ever felt like I belong. NYC is a magical place. I couldn’t do
what i do anywhere else. G: The idea of instagrae is to take a look at an artists’ day to day life through pictures. what does a usual day look like for you? CN: Most of my days are the same. up at 5:55AM out the door by 6:40. Run (6 days a week) between 12-18miles a day. Then an hour in the gym. At the office around 10am, work til 11pm. In bed by 2. Instagrae | Grae Magazine |19
blasphemy
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Photography by Julia Trotti
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the treehouSe.
where imagination is created. 28 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
From up above, there is indefinite mystery; while I stand below I know all there is to be, so I commence building. It is magnificent, an unparalleled structure soaring beyond optical range, and impossible for all to overcome, save for the keeper of this wall. In it I protect my sacred waters, for none to touch, for none to see. From up above, you gaze at my majesty with a disdain beyond conviction. You soar to me and swathe me with your wings, a kindred love you share, although I know not who you are. You cradle me as we rise up above, a vantage I could never have fathomed. From up above you counsel me to destroy my wall, which has trapped my waters for far too long; to let my waters flow freely and engulf all around. Some will float; other will perish. Such is the way it meant to be you tell me as our lips meet for an enchanting exchange. Your lush wings then extend open as I drop from your cradle unto my waters from up above. I remember.
Sacred Flow by Bradley Yencer
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ClĂŠment Goebels
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What if you were told exactly when you were going to die. Would you use it to your advantage and conquer your fears because you knew nothing else could kill you? Would you make every single dream a reality because nothing should be stopping you now? Would you actually
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appreciate life and ‘seize the moment’ because you knew how much time you had left? Or would you constantly feel the complete opposite because every single day you’re a day closer to the day you die. I guess you’ll never know. grae.
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WHAT IS 34 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
Josh Liba - Gelato from Italy
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#tep
psic
being having the ability to take a form of your own, the disadva were inspired in the first place. that my mind and my heart sim sire to create a magazine. But I
There is something very peeving about creating something that has already been created time and time again. The idea of course is to take that idea and make it your own. Find a sense of uniqueness about it that will separate it from the original. We’ve come such a long way that the ‘original’ is hard to differentiate now a days. You hear a song, read a cliche or even dwell on a thought that you assume has just been created but we have to remember that everything, comes from something. That is the beauty and disadvantage of art. The beauty
Robyn Lee - New York
“lol @ who print is
something and turning it into antage is forgetting where we I’ll never forget the moment multaneously had a burning de’ve come across so many online
oever said s dead.”
magazines and didn’t want to create just another art magazine that sent out the same tedious message as every other one. I wanted to create a magazine that made you feel uncomfortable with the words on the page because it screamed the words that society tends to sweep under the rug. I wanted to create a magazine that made you literally drop everything and go after what you love. I wanted to create a world that you could get lost into and a magazine that would open your mind. In other ways, TEPSIC had
that effect on me. The idea of sending disposable cameras to well known artists and letting them decide what goes into TEPSIC is a very creative and fresh approach towards a magazine. Not only has it never been done, Morgan’s feel and style that goes into TEPSIC is one that you haven’t seen before. No words, no interviews, just raw exposure from the rockstars themselves. TEPSIC has inspired us all to create something different and go after it full force. Morgan reminds us to get out of the mold that we
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easily get stuck in. To get the full TEPSIC experience, make sure to grab your very own copy, you’ll be glad you did. G: For someone who doesn’t know and hasn’t been introduced to the magazine yet, what is TEPSIC? MT: TEPSIC is a poster-sized music magazine that doesn’t have interviews or reviews. It’s a mag where the artist documents what it’s like to live “the life”. Big and up-and-coming artists alike share
their experiences on the road and in the studio and I have the pleasure of publishing them. G: From what I know, it’s never been done. How did you come up with this idea? MT: I was talking with my buddy Dayv Mattt one day about doing a special issue of TEPSIC that’s a music issue. Then we figured disposables were the cheapest way of going about things so I one night I tweeted Reggie Watts and was like, “dude if i send you
a cam will you take pics for my magazine?” I was working on the November issue and I would just drink some beer at night and email all my favorite bands just to see what would happen. It happened. G: Do you print the magazine out yourself? Pros and cons of doing that? MT: Yeah it’s a beautiful process. I get so much satisfaction seeing it run through the Heidelberg rather than just ordering my
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mag online and waiting to see it show up in a box. I don’t print it myself, I’m not the dude who prepares all the screens and stuff. But the crew printing this thing is talented and cares more about producing a superior product than anything else. No cons to speak of.
G: Top five you are dying to send out disposable cameras to. Go. MT: Oh man. Snoop Dogg Justice Animal Collective Lady GaGa Madlib G: Do you have a day job? Or is TEPSIC what you eat, breathe, rep and sleep. MT: I’m a designer for billboards, lit signs and stuff. Then I go to school for web design and do TEPSIC. I am always working on the brand and I literally do not stop. I’m the laziest busiest person I know. 42 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
G: What is the art scene like in Oklahoma? MT: There are a lot of scenes within Oklahoma that are loosely connected through some key people. I don’t really know too much about the scene here in Oklahoma, I’ve got a lot of love for Dylan & Amanda at DNA Galleries who hosted my release party and put on a lot of great shows. G: When you were younger than you are now, what did you see yourself doing? MT: Pro skateboarder all the way. I remember watching MULLEN vs. SONG at my house because my older brother left it in my room or something. I saw that video and just wanted to skate the shit out of everything. my dad built this funbox to skate on and my bros and I would just be out skating that trying to land some dope tricks. but I sucked so that explains what I’m doing making a magazine. Instagrae | Grae Magazine |43
G: Where do you get your inspiration from? MT: Honestly my friends and family inspire me a lot, just being with them and hanging out. I like to go exploring and take pics with my girlfriend and try and find new places. WHAT.CD is a great place to check out something fresh and weird when I’m looking for it. The fans of the magazine, it feels so good to work on something that people are digging and want in their hands.
G: Do you see yourself living anywhere else? MT: Yeah, but I think I’ll always kind of return to Oklahoma City. I’ve lived in Korea for a while and drifting back and forth between there. But I’m really wanting to make a move to San Francisco soon. Then Tokyo and Paris. Return here when the time is right.
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G: So we know you’re good at making TEPSIC, what is something you’re pretty bad at?
G: There are so many online magazines out there trying to get their name out, what is something that intrigues you when you come across another magazine? MT” Something new, really. i mean there are so many art/photography zines out there right now that are all doing a bunch of different things. i just look for quality and content. ‘SUP Mag is a huge inspiration, the way they document music is so fresh and the people behind it are really passionate about what they’re doing. G: What is something that people don’t usually know about you or see right when they meet you? MT: My voice is quite low for “what I look like”. I’ve heard that on many occasions, if I wasn’t doing my mag I would definitely pursue a career in radio. MT: Knowing when i’ve had enough beer. Instagrae | Grae Magazine |45
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rorschach. dont just see with your eyes, percieve with your mind. They reflect your own desires and fantasies right back at you. They are a stolen world in which you create the streets, the faces and the sky. These pictures will be whatever you want them to be. To us, art is exactly like a rorschach. There is simplicity in what you are looking at but it is your mind that creates a beyond ordinary place. Every month this section will be filled with brilliant artists who strive to have their art lose you into an entirely different world.When appreciating art, let your mind wander. Let your mind be free.
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t yamazaki Instagrae | Grae Magazine |49
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ivy nine
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mimansa sahay 54 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
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megan crothers 56 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
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marcos chin 58 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
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emily white Instagrae | Grae Magazine |61
Valerie Kasinski
Lori Hatfield
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steven kline
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“I feel about Phot people feel about appalling and a trag moral decay of our need it, in which c coo 66 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
toshop the way some abortion. It is gic reflection on the r society unless I case, everybody be ol.� - Tina Fey
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#FAVO
ORITES
@HELLOIMBEE
@PAIGECAMPBELLLINDEN
@KAAATE
@CHARMAINEOLIVIA
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#instagrae #winner @kaaate_ So, we were inspired. You all know about instagram’s contests. We said, why not have one of our own. We asked our readers to send in an instagram of a map to be featured in our instagrae challenge. We were suprised by the number of submissions we got so we decided to continue this contest onto future issues. Thank you to everyone who contributed, but this had to be our favorite. Don’t forget to send in your instagram for next month’s challenge and check out our Facebook Page to see what it is.
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outh Instagrae | Grae Magazine |77
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAIGE LINDEN.
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ClĂŠment Goebels
Steph Hartop
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” -Ira Glass Instagrae | Grae Magazine |87
Artists’ Anonymous It was 2 in the morning and I just couldn’t stop. My paintbrush was running across the page as if it was running out of time. What was the rush? I had until the sun wakes up to let it all out. I couldn’t hold it in any longer and it has been threatening the inside of me. I hate how artists always think that they are the only ones to love art the way they do. Art to me isn’t leisure, it’s a necessity. Go ahead, roll your eyes. It’s like when you’re choking on that piece of meat you knew was too big for you to chew and someone comes from behind and releases all the fear and pain you had sitting in the center of your throat. That is what art does to me. It releases everything I’ve built up inside of me that is begging to get out. Art is the thing that wraps it’s arms around me and squeezes hard enough to save my sanity. I look at the clock and the number 4 is glaring back at me. For the past two hours, I have been letting my mind run it’s course, down to my hands and releasing from my finger tips. I guide the paintbrush to recreate the scene in my head. Without even deciding if it was complete or not, I flew out of my chair and let the paintbrush fly out of my hands. I take a step back to look at the painting that I have horridly created. There’s daddy, touching his little angel in all the wrong places. I picked up the luggage I had made this morning and left the painting on my mother’s dresser. I finally had the strength to leave this all behind me, and art gave me the ability to express myself even if the truth is hard to see. I had to let this out to someone and none of my friends would even come close to understand. When I heard about Artists’ Anonymous, I immediately wrote this and clicked send. Thank you for giving us artists a place to anonomously express ourselves, the way art lives to do. 88 | Grae Magazine | Instagrae
-Anonymous
Contribute to Grae. Rorschach.
The Rorschach Galllery is where we showcase Want to have your art work featured in Grae? Send your art work to inspire [at] graemagazine.com. How do you know you’re qualified? Grae is searching for underground artists and people who simply have a passion to create. Whether it is a picture, a song, a canvas or a story. If your art strives to open minds… you’re exactly what we’re looking for!
The TreehouSe.
Consider yourself a writer? Send us a sample of your writing or a piece you wrote specifically for Grae’s theme of the month and your work could be featured in our treehouse section. We only take fiction and creative writing. We’re not trying to sell anything or promote anyone in this section. The treehouse is all about writing with a twist.
The Grae Team.
Want to join the Grae Team? Shoot us an email and let us know that you want to be apart of our rockin’ team. We welcome monthly writers, photographers and graphic designers. If you know the perfect artist to interview, do your thing and send us the artwork and interview you’ve set up for them. We’ll be more than happy to feature you as the brilliant writer who found such an inspiring artist. Maybe you’re not a brilliant writer, just really good at asking questions. Hey, we’ll take it. Instagrae | Grae Magazine |89
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Paige Linden
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Morgan Tepsic