ISSUE #1: Liminal Spaces

DESCENT Editor-In-Chief Nancy Liu Vice Editor-In-Chief Long Le Finance Charlene Huang Partnerships Angelica Boaquina Public Relations Connie Deng Public Relations Isabelle Peng Publications Mendy Kong Visual Art Editor Hannah Bae Visual Art Editor Angela Rong Web Production Steven Gong Writing Editor Emi Ching

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

6 LETTERS FROM THE EDITORSIN-CHIEF

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“TETHERED” & “UNTITLED”

BY CHRISTOPHER LIN & NAOMI TAI

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6 11

10 “ELEPHANT”

BY JOYCE NI

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BOARDING AT 09:20 GATE 1312

“PATHWAYS”

BY JEFF CUI

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“ORIGINALITY IN A CLUSTER”

BY HOAI-HUONG NGUYEN

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EXQUISITE CORPSE POEMS

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PHOTOS BY MATT OFLAS

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“BAGS”

BY STEVEN GONG 16

CONTRIBUTORS

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Letter From The Editors In September 2020, we brought up the idea of making an arts magazine dedicated to APIDA students at USC so we could showcase our culture and arts. We quickly discovered that there were others who shared our desire for a safe, artistic platform and community at USC, and Descent Magazine was formed. As a team, we decided that Descent’s mission is to elevate and amplify APIDA voices and to create a platform to showcase the diversity of artwork, stories and talents of APIDA creators at USC. Our name, Descent, recognizes the legacy that we strive to uphold from our ancestors as well as the legacy that we are building up to leave behind for future generations of APIDA artists and storytellers at USC. Its homophone, dissent, inspires us to challenge ourselves and reminds us to question the status quo. As Asians in America, we must grapple with questions of art and the Asian identity and where we fit in—and if we even want to fit in.

This year, we witnessed anti-Asian racism reach a peak in acts of violence committed against the most vulnerable members of our community, but we also witnessed the Asian community come together to support each other. At the risk of being cliche, now, more than ever, we see the need to celebrate our diversity and the joy that we share through our art.

The theme of this issue, Liminal Spaces, represents this time of transition that our entire world is working through. As we strive to make the world a better place, we must advocate for APIDA students and

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s-In-Chief artists with messages that should be heard. For ourselves, Descent is in a liminal space as we set out on our journey to serve USC’s APIDA community as its premiere arts magazine.

This issue, and Descent as a whole, is a product of the passion of Asian artists at USC. It could not have been possible without the dedication, hard work and care of our amazing team. We hope that this issue provides a space for you to reflect on your own journey through liminal spaces and that you are able to take a rest here while enjoying the works of your peers, friends, and fellow artists.

We present, with great pleasure, the first issue of Descent Magazine.

Long Le

Nancy Liu

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“untitled” Naomi Tai

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tethered

Christopher Lin I.

III.

I, from nebraska; always far from home.

I imagined grapevines, the earth underneath our feet.

deafening silence rocking the rust under my seat; passed fields that reach up to the sky; we saw gusts fly by as i drove closer to the sun

you saw me my difference; your soft eyes and I became me I, from nebraska I, from california

where i am going i did not know you would be there waiting but not for me

forming a pasture of green grass; blue skies; you showed me your painting

II. Distance brings perspective. our lives a three-point vanishing projection the gap between us widening but the lines tethering us to the horizon; to each other will i see art blooming gently like shades of phthalo blue and verdant green

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Matt Oflas

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the elephant Joyce Ni

the elephant rests with a weary disposition, calm and composed yet she still sees the bustling world, even with both her eyes closed the elephant is mute, her histories untold without a voice to speak for her, her stories have yet to unfold the elephant’s body fades from black to gray, its ripples likes breaths transcending in waves her lust for life is shown through her saturated skin, yet the frame is her uninvited grave the elephant is a nurturing force to others, yet she is repressed and yearns for escape her relinquished eternal potential is wasted within her inanimate shape the elephant yells “let me out” through the wild rippling of her skin yet her immobility punishes her for she suffers uncommitted sins the elephant’s silence and static composition speaks for the voiceless just like her one day, you will be let out just wait and you will be heard

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The echoes of the rain wait on my window panes droplets falling; a sweet unknown for Rich flavor derived from nature Taste the earth feel the earth Let the waves crash and overflow drag you down, eat you whole the water’s rising, time’s coming up

exquisite corpse poems

untitled

prometheus maps drawn on cave walls, illuminated by fire Depict ancient dark images of times before and let the moon and stars dim the sky your bright eyes shimmer with inspiration a glint like sun off a dragonfly’s wing smile on their lips and the weight of butterflies on my chest I’ve never known how to breathe before this

Matcha tastes like green just like the earth underneath my feet, i still wait to feel the smooth slide weee slip and slide its disneyland

These poems were written collaboratively by members of the Descent community: Emi, Chris, Hoai-Huong, Davin, Angelica, Long and Nancy

dIsnEylAnd

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“Pathways” Jeff Cui

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Originality in a cluster Hoai-Huong Nguyen

Finding Originality is like a Where’s Waldo game Hard, boring, time-consuming.

All that is visually pleasing is the current trend.

We as humans have an eye for patterns, for trends When we see trends we can’t help to like, share, mimic it.

But what does that do to the designer?

Suddenly there is a trend bubble that is so hard to break out of.

“Do I stick to the trend or do I do my own thing?”

But here’s the thing: consumer thought’s matter.

So what now?

“You are only successful if you are a trendsetter,” society claims.

Why? Why are there so many wants, so many needs?

“How do I fulfill my satisfaction as a designer AND the customer?”

The audience is important too…

But what about me? My needs.

Trapped in a bubble.

What is originality anymore?

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Contributors Jeff Cui (he/him) I am a senior majoring in Electrical Engineering- despite my heavy STEM background, one of my hobbies is dance. Dance was something that I picked up completely on a whim when entering college through freshman Dance Off. Despite my complete inexperience at it, I had a lot of fun exploring a new artistic space. Over the last few years, I became involved with dance leadership/choreography, and I had a lot of great mentors/role models. Throughout this process, I’ve slowly started developing artistic material in dance that I feel comfortable sharing and I’m slowly learning to incorporate more abstract concepts into my work.

Christopher Lin (he/him) & Naomi Tai (she/her) My name is Chris, and I’ve lived in many places, but have spent most of my life growing up in Nebraska. I’ve been writing since I knew how to hold a pen (and I still do, in my black moleskine notebook). I write poetry all the time, and I love experimenting with space, cadence, and structure in my poems. Now I’m in Los Angeles, and lots of influences have informed my writing style today, including Ocean Vuong, andrew gent, Carmen Giménez Smith, as well as a whole slew of late Beat poets.

Steven Gong (he/him) In many ways, I feel like I grew up in a liminal space with the spotlight pointed at disparity— between the cramped South Florida apartment I grew up in and the spacious suburbs of Orange County where I moved; being a cultural minority and then suddenly part of the majority; the carefree spirit of a child and the burdens of growing up too fast. I often find myself pondering polarizing experiences like these, and I think art is one of the few ways to do them justice. Currently, I’m inspired by the decentralized potential of the internet, self-made stories, and soul-stirring movies. I also make videos about some of these topics on YouTube!

Youtube: Steven Gong

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Joyce Ni (she/her) As a “rat town” native, self-proclaimed chameleon, and product of the digital world, I derive inspiration from existentialism in desolate American suburbias with the conjunction of the internet. Growing up in small town Raton, New Mexico as the only Asian American family, then abruptly transitioning to life in the 626 of Southern California, allowed me to experience an intersectional cultural identity—one I deeply resonate with and hope to explore now. My journey of discovery is shaped by being a Generation Z kid with an immigrant family—navigating a new age world with vast old disparities.

Website: nijoyce.com Instagram: @notjoyce Medium: notjoyce.medium.com

Hoai-Huong Nguyen (she/her) Hey! I’m Hoai-Huong (HH) Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American artist born and raised in San Jose, CA. My art is inspired by the little moments in day to day life. I really enjoy working on digital art.

Instagram: h_squarednguyen

Feivel Matthieu Oflas (he/him) Feivel Matthieu Oflas is a filmmaker and photographer, currently studying Film and Television Production at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Born in the Philippines, he lived in Tokyo, Japan until he was 4 years old before moving to the Bay Area, California. His upbringing in a suburban Asian American immigrant community has colored the work that he does today and the kinds of stories that he is drawn to telling. Matt’s love for film and photography largely came from his dad, who would spend hours watching movies in the living room and taught Matt how to use a camera to take family pictures. Matt started to seriously pursue his passion for both filmmaking and photography in high school, where he made his first short films and learned portrait photography. Matt is drawn to the mediums of photography and film because he believes strongly in their ability to capture and freeze moments in time, and the emotional stories that these moments convey.

Instagram: matthieuss

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DESCENT’S FIRST ISSUE HONORS ALL WHO HAVE BEEN HARMED BY WHITE SUPREMACY IN 2020 AND 2021, IN THE PAST, AND IN THE FUTURE.

RESOURCES

WE HAVE ARRIVED AT OUR LOCATION AND WILL BE BEGINNING OUR DESCENT.

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