ISSUE 2 : BASIC NEEDS
table of contents STUFF
12-15 interview with ashlie chavez 28 download this right now 33 providing basic needs 34 contributors 35 next issue’s call for entry
DRAWING/PHOTOGRAPHY/DESIGN
by artist: 27 racheal anilyse 12-15 ashlie chavez 24-25 jean-marc couffin 30 lauren elder 18, 22-23 haralds filipovs 31 willy harris 8-9 cody kiyabu 26 elizabeth petch 19 corinne rohard 20 ashley tedesco 16 josh thornton 4-5 rachel m. wolfe 10 michael zander
WRITING: SHORT STORY/POETRY
by author: 7 carter adams 6 linda lee kennedy 21 ashley tedesco 11, 29 rachel m. wolfe
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“Offshoot”
has a new name.
Why? When I first decided I wanted to do an ezine, I wanted a publication that would honor little-known art. I wanted to give another voice to the artist and writers who perhaps aren’t being blogged until we all go blue in the face, but are regardless making excellent work. The original name I had to go along with this humble “art-for-art’s-sake” e-zine was “ego bruise.” Alas, we all know the horrific powers of our self-edit function. I decided “ego bruise” sounded too mean, and opted for “Offshoot,” as in “art is an extension of life.” I still think this is true and entirely relevant, but this is not the original purpose behind my magazine. So, welcome to ego bruise. This is the second issue of whatever magazine I have going on here, and the theme is
basic needs — MELANIE RICHARDS, EDITOR
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A VIEW; UNTITLED : RACHEL M WOLFE
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PHOTOGRAPHY
BIRDS; UNMADE AND UNMOVING : RACHEL M WOLFE
PHOTOGRAPHY
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“role” linda lee kennedy because I believe that science is an art Mine is that of the ‘Mind’- or so I am told. To feel is silver, but to think is gold. What if the chemist was the actress? What if the master’s thesis came from the pen of the poetess? You will find me in Room 220 crying because Rosa Parks passed away. You will find me in the hallway demanding that no one say “nigger” or “bitch” or “faggot” Because I am the mean one. I won’t let them express themselves like that. I am not the type of teacher you love. I am the type of leader you will respect. Once you have looked into my eyes you will realize I am Quite Serious. Still-I feel I have been cast in a supporting role which is beyond my control You cast me as high priestess. Cast your net wider.
6 POETRY
I can tread water for twenty minutes. It doesn’t mean I am a proficient swimmer. I will dive into situations and pupils when other teachers shudder. It doesn’t mean I am brave. It means I can recognize pain. It means I can appreciate water—even if I cannot dry it from your cheek. Cast me as the Fool. When I entered the college of arts and sciences I married them together; my mistake. The traditional course is to divorce the heart from the head, unless you intend to join 4-H. Pardon me while I play guitarteach you about the power of sound waves, write you a Haiku: Light has misbehaved; left the safety of the sky. Now? Locked in prism. Did you learn anything?
There was a time, when the stage sufficed For both penny groundlings and nobles Jonson and Shakespeare were the names to know Centuries pass, and Edison changes that With cameras and kinetoscopes Stage no longer contains the spectacle People want to be fooled, to realize the unimaginable One puts pen to paper Years later, after many others contribute, “That’s a wrap” The lights go down and the credits roll We laugh, cry, or think; sometimes more than one For at least ninety minutes, we escape our existence Once it’s all over, we set out to face the world again With a little something extra to shield us from its horrors
“cinema” carter adams
POETRY 7
MEDITATE : CODY KIYABU
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PAINTING
ON THE RUN : CODY KIYABU
PAINTING 9
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the nights eagerly await the sort of embrace that make the neighbors take notice the floorboards moan for footsteps move inner rhythms in time to the rotation on our axis looking to a start spotted sky a brief realization to this heart's song nothing particularly wrong there's just these (damn) empty passport pages awaiting the arrival of fondness to fill each boxyou bet that moon sure didn't bring any stars down for me but this, reach for a sweater chill in the air weather make s a craving no knitted replacements will do on an arms wrapped tight sort of night
“CHILLY IN JULY� (ABOVE) : RACHEL M WOLFE THE CIGARETTE SHORTLY AFTER (LEFT) : MICHAEL ZANDER
DRAWING POETRY
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“my basic need is my sister.”
12 INTERVIEW
Often, what matters most to us is the special people in our lives. I asked photographer Ashlie Chavez what her sister and muse, Amber, means to her life and her work. What is your sister like? My sister's name is Amber Marie Chavez. We are identical twins and have no other siblings. Amber likes studying Bible history and dressing like a [Native American]. Why is your sister your basic need? What kind of relationship do you have with her? We have a symbiotic relationship, her and I. Others find it strange that we are so close. Some people call my work narcissistic, but it is more obsessive than anything else. Our worlds revolve around each other—this is good because we are never alone but it is bad because it has prohibited us from making other close friends. Any particularly fond memories or adventures you've shared with her? Birth.
Do you ever fight? If so, about what? Our relationship can get very volatile but we never really fight anymore- not like we did when we were kids swinging punches. Even though I am sure most people would disagree with this. They would probably say we are boxers. How often do you photograph her? How willing is she to be your subject? I try to shoot photos everyday, even if I don't leave the house—which happens a lot. Since we have always lived together she is the subject quite often. With our collaborative work, we usually only prepare legitimate shoots if we have a dead line. Everything else is pretty much our normal lives. The thing that separates our work from other collaborative artists is the fact that we are with each other every second and that we like and dislike the same things. This has been both great and not so great.
INTERVIEW
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interview with ashlie chavez, contd. Please describe the "back story" on a couple of these photographs. A lot of the images are from Symbiotic, a collaborative series we did about being twins. A good portion of the work from Symbiotic was shot up north in Orland at my grandparents ranch. The rest were shot in the house of a close friend of mine. I like to shoot in other people's houses because you get to look at your surroundings objectively. Everything in my house looks lame to me but that's because it's my house. The one of Amber on the bed in that mint green dress was in my great great aunt's bedroom. She is 94 and that is her dress. I love old people. In general, how do real-life relationships affect your creative work? How paramount are they to your photography? Relationships are pretty apparent in my work, I mean a good bulk of it is about the happenings between me and my sister. I have never been into shooting people if I didn't know them—some kind of connection is imperative. Even when I am hired or commissioned for portrait work I always arrange to hangout with the client before hand—[a] bond on any level is what I am looking for.
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What else do you like to photograph? I enjoy photographing people but I love photographing people I love. I have a thing for shooting people while they are talking too—trying to capture movement in the face. I think it's because I am fascinated with the idea of sincerity. I get a lot out of engaging with people. I really appreciate good conversation. Overall, I just strive to take portraits that are too candid to be formal and too perfect to be candid. Any advice you would give to fellow artists? Well I really want to encourage other photographers to shoot analogue. And I don't preach that to be just another film snob, I think it looks and feels better than digital for quite a few reasons- volume, process, aesthetic, and depth. But on a broader and more important note, I think that artists should only do things for a reason.Whether that reason is made known or not, without reason—work is empty. Anything else on your mind? Jesus and my friend Sara. ◊
INTERVIEW
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CIGARETTES : JOSH THORNTON
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NEED WORK : HAROLD FILIPOVS
18 PHOTOGRAPHY
VILLE : CORINNE ROHARD
DRAWING 19
UNTITLED : ASHLEY TEDESCO
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plum wool slipped from my fingers snug and shrunken in the rain. it presses down on the tools I use to breathe leaving me gasping for fall in Brooklyn. the rocks are seats and slippery where I sit in my sneakers while a comfortable lover laps at my fingers and brushes the curls from my face. she cradles me and strips this sweater from my torso. freedom; the water and the wind. with legs wrapped around me, she tastes like the comfort of cocoa. my feet arch about her cobblestones and she deafens me with the roar of her D train. here, within her, I’ve built myself a home down under the manhattan bridge overpass.
“brooklyn” ashley tedesco
POETRY 21
NEED WORK : HAROLD FILIPOVS
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NEED HOME : HAROLD FILIPOVS
PHOTOGRAPHY 23
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NEED A TOOTH (LEFT), NEED A HAND (ABOVE): JEAN-MARC COUFFIN
PAINTING 25
LOVE, PEACE : ELIZABETH PETCH
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WORDS : RACHEAL ANILYSE
DRAWING 27
download* right now This is a mix with no rhyme or reason to it, other than these songs are in my iTunes and are awesome and you should listen to them right now. The basic needs list. 1. THE HAT : INGRID MICHAELSON 2. LET GO : FROU FROU 3. SUSHI : KYLE ANDREWS 4. LOVE ME DEAD : LUDO 5. NICEST THING : KATE NASH 6. THE REELING : PASSION PIT 7. HEY SOUL SISTER : TRAIN 8. BURIAL (BENNY BLANCO REMIX) : MIIKE SNOW 9. SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL : NEWSBOYS 10. THE COMPETITION : KIMYA DAWSON * Okay kids, legally.
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“it’s just talk� rachel m. wolfe
pedestrian talk politics a common commotion addition to the grind the sidewalk buckles we walk but look the other way this is time for holding hands shoved deep in our pockets lingering, scraping for fulfillment nervous, sweaty palms just need a little air for the current generation to again become magnetic
POETRY 29
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RELA X ATION (ABOVE) : WILLY HARRIS _ _ _ _ _ (LEFT) : LAUREN ELDER
PHOTOGRAPHY
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“casey” ashley tedesco a hundred pink roses resting gently on white and brass and gold perched as you would be are atop a dewy knoll and limestone askew daughter, sister, friend. mist comes down as raindrops on seven hundred photographs of when we used to laugh and this is the hard part. facsimiles of your smile beside mine print the epilogue too soon of this fractured story coda without resolution twenty-one pages too short. headlines without bylines newspapers i must have misread my eyes are writing fiction, surely because there are a hundred pink roses where a girl should be.
In loving memory of my friend Casey A. Feldman, who passed away on July 17, 2009 after being struck by a distracted driver. Learn more about Casey’s life at www.caseyfeldman.com.
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MEETING BASIC NEEDS There are so many ways to meet humanity’s basic needs today. Whether you have a heart for the environment, human rights, or poverty, here’s a couple of nonprofit websites to get you started. — MR
heifer.org / livestock Donations pay for livestock, which create jobs.
freerice.org / hunger Play word games (or answer science and humanities questions) for free. Correct answers fund rice for the hungry.
greenpeace.org / Earth If something funky is goin’ on with Earth’s resources, Green Peace is there, taking care of the environment.
kiva.org / microloans
girleffect.org / poverty, futures
At Kiva, individuals loan $25 and up to entreprenuers in developing areas. These loans (which should be considered donations, though usually are returned) help start up farms, shops, and other small businesses.
A compelling project: investing in the futures of young girls in order to develop communities and raise more people out of poverty and disease.
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this issue: contributors
Carter Adams / Florida, USA auteursandovations.blogspot.com Racheal Anilyse / Connecticut, USA rachealanilyse.com Ashlie Chavez / California, USA ashliechavez.com Lauren Elder / USA laurenelder.tumblr.com
Jean-Marc Couffin / France http://jmmkm.wordpress.com http://jmc.spacekit.ca Haralds Filipovs / Latvia haraldsfil.wordpress.com Willy Harris / UK flickr.com/photos/tri_an_gle Elizabeth Petch / Norway elisapetch.blogspot.com
Linda Lee Kennedy / Ohio, USA Cody Kiyabu / Hawaii, USA codykiyabu.com Ashley Tedesco / New York, USA ashleylaurentedesco.com Rachel M. Wolfe / Illinois, USa rachelwolfe.com
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Corinne Rohard / France corinne.rohard.free.fr Josh Thornton / England flickr.com/photos/thorntocon Michael Zander / Germany herr-zander.de
next issue: call for entries optional theme: identity Any art exploring the theme of personal identity is welcome. This could include self portraits, personal narratives, a yellow blob, or a photograph of your family. Just make sure it’s your original work and that it adheres to the theme. Please note that themed work has a better chance of inclusion.
now also accepting open personal work Have work that doesn’t necessarily fit the theme, but you’d like to share it anyway? Feel free to send it over! If you send open personal work, though, you must also send along a concept statement. Collections of personal work must be united by a common theme or aesthetic. Thank you!
visual art requirements
literary requirements
NEW REQUIREMENT: 300 DPI images only! Issue 3 will be the first one available in print.
Accepted art forms: short fiction, non-fiction, poetry, anything that happens to have words
Accepted art forms: EVERYTHING. Drawing, painting, photography, design, sculpture, etc.
-word limit: 2,000 words -include name, country, and URL
-up to 10 images per entrant -horizontal images: 6+ inches across -vertical images: 3+ inches across -include name, country, and URL
mail to: egobruisemag@gmail.com
mail to: egobruisemag@gmail.com
due date: december 20, 2009 Note: Submitting your work to Ego Bruise grants the magazine the right to publish your work (credited to you, of course!) in an electronic/PDF format, as well as a print version available for purchase. Unfortunately, contributors will not be compensated as the electronic version will be free of charge (print is only if you’d like a physical copy). I will not use your work in any other publications except Issue 3 of Ego Bruise.
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