credits editor-in-chief Keerthana Byreddy
cover Ronnielle Karfiol
adjacent page Laura Stojanov
pages 4, 15, & 19 Daria Alicja
page 17 Ronnielle Karfiol
page 21 Taya Iv
All inquiries: wearealivemagazine@gmail.com Facebook: We Are Alive Twitter: We Are Alive Mag Š We Are Alive Mag. 2012 – All Rights Reserved
content page 03 Credits page o6 Letter from the editor page o8 Feature: Laura Stojanov page 18 Summer Playlists page 26 Interview: Nikolas Brummer page 36 Natasha Jokic (Short Story) page 38 Collin
(Poem)
page 40 Feature: Taya Iv page 40 Feature: Ronnielle Karfiol
Dear Lovers, Crawlers, and Dreamers: This is your magazine. Made by others like you, for others like you; it is menagerie of happiness that I know you will enjoy because the others did, too. To put it in the most simple of terms, this is our summer issue. We’d hoped to capture and display the sun, the stars, the heat, the breeze, the love, and summer itself within the covers this month, and I can say with the utmost confidence that we have accomplished our goal. I hope that your summer is filled with the same wonderful, awesome, beauty you find here in “We Are Alive”. Hopes, Dreams, and Love Keerthana
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Songs for breezy, lays days and rich, warm nights
For early morning road trips Songs to ease you into the day
Maliblue// Darius Only // Regal Safari Say Please // Teams vs. Star Slinger The Earth Plates are Shifting // Young Empires Never Let Me Go // Florence and the Machine Diet Mountain Dew // Lana Del Rey We Own the Sky // M83
Songs to help “beat the heat”
Call It What You Want // Foster the People Washed Out // Amor Fati The Drummer // Nikki & the Dove Polish Girl // Neon Indian Out On the Town // Fun. Too Young // Ghost Beach Sail // AWOLNATION
For Warming Nights Songs to help make starry nights even better
Carry On // Fun. Little Lion Man // Mumford & Sons Rabbit Heart // Florence & the Machine
Dance // S贸ley You Already Knew // Bombay Bicycle Club To Be With You // The Honey Trees
Nikolaus Brummer Foreword by Keerthana Byreddy
I remember finding Nikolaus’s work on deviantart last year. I had come back to deviantart
after a long absence and I had been browsing when I stumbled upon a photograph of his titled “life is life” which featured a young brunette whose hair blowing carelessly in the wind, carrying a serious expression and surrounded by tall grass. The image captivated me, but in a sudden gust of wind the internet and the name of that image’s creator were both lost. Last month, while once again browsing the pages of deviantart, I found a sudden urge to find that photograph, but more importantly, its creator. After a couple of hours of typing in every name that could possibly start with an “n”, I found Nikolaus, and I’m so happy that I did. I hope that all of you enjoy his work as much as I do. //
Can you tell me a little bit about
find in themselves as well, and it's
yourself (age, other hobbies, etc.)?
supposed to speak to them and touch
Well, my name is Nikolas and I am a
them. I want to move people with my
fifteen-year-old boy from Germany,
art and maybe even be a cure.
turning sixteen this June. At this part, I have to say that I have too many interests. I am that person that wants
Who inspires you? Why?
to try everything, gets over-whelmed by
Basically everything inspires me, but
the variety and then ends up doing
mostly musicians or other artists such
nothing. Nevertheless, I adore reading,
as Xavier Dolan, Claude Monet &
playing and listening to music, drawing,
Debussy, Y端ksel Arslan, F. Scott
painting and taking photos, but also
Fitzgerald, Arcade Fire etc. etc. etc. The
going for walks or writing little stories
list is too long to ever be written down.
myself. I also adore going to museums
I am inspired by everything that I can
or concerts with friends, in general, my
feel, see, hear, smell or taste.
friends are very important to me, I'd say.
What have you already achieved as a photographer and what more do you want to achieve?
How did you first start out taking
Well, I've already worked a few times
photographs?
for different occasions as a
It was spring and I was elusively bored,
photographer and also have I made
there was this camera on the table
myself a name in my hometown, a lot
right next to me and I knew there were
of people my age know me and my
flowers in the garden. So I decided to
photography and support me. I don't
take some photos, and I had so much
really look for fame or success or
fun, so I stuck to taking photos every
anything. I just want to be able to live
single day for months.
of my art, but I wouldn't sell my soul for becoming popular, you know? The only thing that is kind of a dream of
What do you try to show through your
mine is to have my art exhibited in
photographs?
some gallery or museum, and I can go
Feelings and emotions, but also
there and look at it and think "this is
thoughts that are deep down in my
mine. I took this photo." It would be so
heart. I try to make my photos work
beautiful.
like a mirror, they are supposed to show something to the viewer that they
How long have you been shooting, and
thought to them. If the movie or book
how do you think your work has
or music seems to have no depth, I
changed since then?
can't enjoy it. It's like a wall that you
For two years. I think it changed in that
run into. Things with depth are houses
sense that I've started to not just take
which doors you firstly have to open
photos randomly, but I plan them out
and then you can run through all the
more or less precisely, as well as I am
rooms and explore everything, it is
taking a lot more photos of humans
indeed better. My favorite book would
than compared to the beginning, as
be The Perks of Being a Wallflower
were I mostly took photos of nature or
because of its relevant topic and simple
objects. And of course my technical
yet beautiful way of writing; I also love
skills have improved and I also got a
the quotes from this book. My favorite
better camera, but that just happens to
movies would be Life in a Day because
everyone with the time passing I guess,
of the general concept and impact,
so now the quality itself of my shots
Weekend for creating a gay
has increased itself.
romance/love story without overdramatizing the fact they are gay and
How has being a photographer impacted
keeping the characters real and natural
your life and/or personality?
and Amelie for just being overall lovely
It changed everything, actually. I started
and heart-captivating.
to be a lot more into arts, books and
And last but not least, the music. I
music and I started to life a fuller life.
listen to too many different artists.
Ever since I started photography, I
Discovering new music is like gold to
noticed so many things around me and
me and that is why I never stop. I can't
I began to think a lot more compared
even say who my favorite artist of all
to how much I used to actually think.
time is. But I think I can say that
On the other hand, I am sad a lot
Arcade Fire, Agnes Obel, Is Tropical,
more and I am also frustrated with
Radical Face, The Kills and Dillon are
considering myself an artist, but
somewhere in the Top Ten. //
somehow feeling like the worst on the planet. I wish I would go out and take photos more often. What is your favorite movie/music/book? Why do you love them? As for every single one, I love things that have a soul or a mind or a
The Endlessness of the Perhaps
Natasha
Jokic
He wore dark jeans and a light blue jumper
circle at either end. The grey skies and less-
that I had seen before; complete with a pair
than-warm weather had warded off most
of trainers that looked almost pristine in
people and indeed I thought we were
comparison to some of the scuffed up shoes
completely alone until I noticed someone
I had seen him in before. I wore a denim
crouched in the giant swing opposite us.
shirt that was light blue as well but was
Their dark hood was up to the point where I
buttoned up to my neck with a pair of
couldn’t see their face, let alone distinguish
optimistically
say
if they were a boy or girl or if they were
optimistically because the weather that day
unhappy or just peaceful. It unsettled me
was far from the summer dream I had
slightly although I couldn’t figure out why –
envisaged, rather it was the kind of all-over
after all, I hardly needed reminding that I
grey that threatens rain any second. We
probably looked the same when I was alone.
short
shorts.
I
walked over to a place that was a sort of cross between a park and a field, named after a meadow but nevertheless stretched out all around us as a lake of open grass. To the left of us there were some trees that hid a river behind, which is initially where I thought we would go, but instead we found ourselves headed towards the children’s play area. He opened the gate to it with a grin; I laughed in the way that I do when I’m nervous and walked in.
I got into the other swing first. The way the swing curved down meant that even had I wanted to sit further apart from him, I couldn’t have. We lay back against the rim of the swing, bodies completely aligned and pressing slightly against one another and continued talking the way we had always done. I faced up towards the sky and occasionally the sun would creep out from behind the clouds, meaning I could just lie there with my eyes closed and soak up what
The playground was fairly standard as far as
was around me. It would’ve been such
my memories of childhood were concerned;
glorious escapism had I not been so
all kinds of things to climb up and slide
concerned with things like how shakey my
down with a few benches and two large
voice sounded and how I kept repeating
swing-like contraptions that were made of
phrases without thinking about it. The
metal chains and in the shape of a pretty big
second time the sun disappeared I rolled my
head to the side and looked at him in the
“Oh no it’s fine, I’m not that cold,” I said, a
eyes
blatant lie.
for the first
time through our
conversation. God did I want him, the possibility to be able to roll over a little further and kiss him was so close I could almost hold it because I knew that it was something I wanted to do with such infatuation it was like tomorrow didn’t even exist. I knew I was in so deep that it could only possibly end in either wonderful relief or bitter rejection. The part of me urging to go on could see it, me doing what I wanted and having him feel just the same towards me. It had a hold on me like love, though I knew it was too early and too scary to acknowledge that. On the other hand I could see it going badly wrong, see a surprise and an
overwhelming
awkwardness
that
wouldn’t be shakeable. The only way to find out would be just to try and show what I was really feeling without holding back, as I knew he wouldn’t do such a thing, though the
prosperity
of
rejection
kept
me
hesitating. If this was my last day on Earth I knew that I would go on, and I almost envied how free I’d feel if it were. My petty sense of fear didn’t matter in the long haul and I knew that I’d regret not letting myself just be the flawed but ever hopeful person that I was. “You’re shivering,” he said.
“I’m not having you freeze to death, let’s go,” he said with a smile. I begrudgingly agreed. We got up from the swing, no longer surrounded by sky but instead back in the same park we were in before. It felt strange walking next to him in comparison to how close we had been lying, but I was too far caught up in my own head to try and amend this. We left the park and the rain that never came. The only person who saw us I never saw fully, only left with the sight of them still crouched over and covered over with their hood – but this time on the bench. //
The Rose and the Moonshine Collin The chaos is here forever Still waters are long since gone The two of us tread water Embrace till we become one I am the stronger swimmer You cling your arms round my neck Not knowing you're the strong one I'm as weak as I am wet We wait for the pitch darkness The moon shines upon the sea Illuminates not only our love But our hopes and dreams We gaze upon it in hope As salt water stings our eyes Drifting in time with the waves As the moon slows down the tide The swell comes to a standstill One kiss to wake you from sleep Perhaps the miracle before us Has escaped from your dreams Hanging on to each other From the sea we begin to rise Zebra fish light up our trail As they follow us close behind
From miles around they see us A fluorescent glow in the sky 'Why is this boy leaving us? And who's the girl by his side?' The girl is the essence of beauty Shining from the inside out The boy is the moon, the love, the sea Through darkness helping this rose sprout
The photographer named Taya Iv was introduced to me one day through Facebook’s friend finder. I browsed through her photographs, wondering if she was worth the effort it took to send a friend request. I sifted through photograph after photograph expecting to find some type of beauty, and I did, but I also managed to find something else in her photographs, something that I had had trouble finding anywhere else. I found meaning. Taya’s images are not just moments of cold and hot, dark and light; her photographs are imbued with meaning and love and obsession- things that only she could explain. For now, sift through her images as I had once done, and if you spot the meanings and the messages, let me know. I’d like to know, too. // Keerthana
Issue 6 coming in September 2012 Submissions may be sent to wearealivemagazine@gmail.com for consideration
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