KNACK Magazine #31

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is dedicated to showcasing the work of new artists of all mediums and to discussing trends and ideas within art communities

knack’s ultimate aim is to connect and inspire emerging artists

we strive to create a place for artists, writers, designers, thinkers, & innovators to collaborate and produce a unique, informative, and unprecedented web-based magazine each month

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andrea vaca co-founder, director, photo editor, marketing will smith co-founder, digital operations ariana lombardi co-founder, executive editor jonathon duarte co-founder, design director miljen aljinovic editor fernando gaverd designer, digital operations, marketing jake goodman designer, photographer

cover: into the abyss, achraf baznani first spread by a.c. vaca last spread by bertram edward goldman

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knackmagazine1 at gmail.com

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featured artists 4 achraf baznani 8 jane aman 20 w. jack savage 30 achraf baznani’s self-interview 40 submission guidelines 42

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achraf baznani

jane aman

Achraf Baznani is a Moroccan artist, filmmaker and photographer. He was born in Marrakesh/Morocco.

Jane Aman is a 22 year-old native Virginian and recent transplant to the borderlands of El Paso, Texas. Currently a student of English and American Literature at the University of Texas at El Paso, she is constantly seeking to expand her knowledge of how literature, including poetry, works to shape public discourse and create social movements among people. She has been writing poetry since grade school, but has recently ventured into the world of aesthetic writing and lyrical prose. She plans to graduate in the spring of 2016 and move on to graduate studies thereafter.

Baznani got started in photography by chance. He received a Kodak Ektra compact 250 camera for his birthday as a teen. Baznani is self-taught and has never taken photography classes. He has made several short films and documentaries.

These include On in 2006 and The Forgotten in 2007. The Immigrant (2007) received several national and international awards.

Baznani is best known for being the first artist in the Arab world to publish an art book based on surreal imagery. Both books, Through My Lens and Inside My Dreams, are surreal. Baznani places himself within his photographs of everyday objects, scenes and amusing situations.

Baznani’s work has been published in magazine covers, press, albums, private collections, exhibitions, and on television all around the world.

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w. jack savage

W. Jack Savage is a retired broadcaster and educator. He is the author of seven books including Imagination: The Art of W. Jack Savage. Jack and his wife Kathy live in Monrovia, California. www.wjacksavage.com

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k:31

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knack an acquired or natural skill at performing a task

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achraf baznani

photography

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The imaginative work of Moroccan photographer Achraf Baznani Featuring miniaturized versions of himself as the lone character in surrealist, cartoon-like scenarios, Achraf (pronounced ash-raaf) Baznani’s conceptual imagery incorporates symbolic elements like tea cups, lightbulbs and glass jars to create dream-like mixes of fantasy and the real world.

What seem to be simplistic elements in an image like “Into the Abyss” for example, where the photographer finds himself balancing on a tightrope made of shoestring between an open pair of scissors and a lit flame, are actually inspired by something deeper. This photo, he explains in his book Inside My Dreams, is a clear depiction of the way we feel at times in real life. Regardless of where we walk, or what we decide, something will go wrong.

Through a polished website, some self-published coffee table books and a series of online photography magazines that he edits himself, the tireless Moroccan photographer and filmmaker has already made quite a name for himself only a few years after first teaching himself image enhancement.

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hand of fate

preservation

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preservation 11

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my hobby

weighthiness

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slow death 13

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freedom fighter

into the nest

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face of battle

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the door

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friendship

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jane aman

creative writing

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While my poetry is many things to me, primarily it is cathartic. I use poetry to reflect upon my heart and my mind and to release stresses that I may not even have known I had. This particular set of poems focuses on the importance of the aesthetic in poetic form. That is to say, I enjoy manipulating the cosmetic structure of each poem so that the meaning can be better derived just in the way that it is viewed, rather than read aloud.

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You never left.

The scent that rested only on the nape of your neck lingers long after.

ROSES

That scent- loaded with thousands of stale cigarettes, their wealth long spentand a bouquet of other odors painstakingly chosen and guaranteed to pull me to you.

But that scent.

That scent that existed only in the vast expanse of a few inches of neck that I know so intimately I draw it in my sleepThat scent.

It calls to me.

It anchors me to you.

It fells me over and over And Yet I carry it with me everywhere, like the silver talisman who’s faded chain was so often slung carelessly over the nape of your neck.

Sometimes, as I draw in for the evening, I pick through the skeletal remains of that talisman, trying to identify each fragrance.

I pull them apart in my mindthe cigarettes, the musk,as if divining them will once again bring me closer to you.

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E X IST E N SI A LIS M

Find me Far below What you thought was the Earth’s surface.

Where I’ve buried my face In The waste from The beginning of our time Where we’ve left Ourselves And our sense of purpose So that nothing But these empty shells Exists Above.

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I fought for curiosity The feeling that hath left me Rigid and dry and wanting for something With no knowledge of its character.

So frail was I that a breeze bent my branches And all sense of strength floated away Never to be replaced.

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C U R IO SIT Y

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The pool at my feet is endless Blue Crystal

And r i p p l e s

with just the

small disturbance

from my

smallest toe I can move it

I can manipulate it And still it remains so fragile

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R IPPL E

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t h e FISH B O W L

Quite Honestly, My brain

Often feels Like its swimming

In this stupid

Fishbowl of consciousness Disembodied

And worthless.

Unable to communicate Sorrow

Or Fear

Or to stand up for itself.

Just floating Sometimes

My eyes water

And my mouth Lets out This horrendous Wailing Sound.

And I don’t know why.

It’s like the Bowl Tipped Over.

My limbs Move Without Cause And won’t Disclose Their reason.

My treacherous brain It

FLAILS

AGAINST Its Walls.

And sometimes I even D R O W N

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W H AT t h e H E A RT H OL DS

My heart Holds court Often With my will

To survive.

It doesn’t Understand The

delicacy of each

breath.

The

fragility of each soft pull.

The

inconsistency of each careful coil The

pain of each time it stops.

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OL D N EIG H B O R H O O DS

Be it Time Or place That Draws Echoes from the corners Of My Neighborhood Those deafening Cries of a Child with a Needle in their Arm. But it wasn’t mine, That Neighborhood Although Those children feel so close.

And maybe they should.

Maybe their

suffering is mine.

Maybe my

suffering is theirs Maybe the only Way out is together.

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A B S E N TI A

I lie No, I lie.

No, I lied

beneath that razor black

edged sky. beneath that statue we wrap in wool and call truth.

Searching for reason as a blind citizen without any eyes.

I lie.

No, I lie No, I lied.

beneath an indigo sky. beneath all the things that we hold dear Searching for Reason as a bought citizen without any eyes.

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w. jack savage

studio art

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For most of my life I would revisit my art every few years, produce a few pieces, become frustrated and give it up. It’s hard to say where the whole thing went wrong but being identified as a talented artist as a child, I began to look at the paper or the canvas as more of an enemy to be defeated and made to bend to my will. But a few years ago I decided to collaborate with my art. That is, if the picture or subject I had in mind wants to be something else, I go along. The result has been by far the most sustained and prolific period of my life as an artist. Strangely, it began with my intention to create a cover for my first book, a short story collection entitled Bumping and Other Stories. I haven’t looked back.

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gathering at red rocks

as if she’d been called to it

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after the hay ride

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clockwise not in your size dancing through the dimensions prayers would wait his fall

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the courthouse living there had become too dangerous

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the best moments fly bye

perhaps there were no answers

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time to make camp

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nightlife in a new town

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ACHR AF BAZNANI a self interview

What led you into photography? What was the first photo you took, and when did you decide to start working in Photoshop to create these surrealist images?

Photography has always been my passion. I am a self-taught photographer, but I wanted to go a step beyond normal shots, and focused more on photo manipulation. That is why Photoshop is such a great tool for me, because I can carve out my thoughts in the photos. The first photo I took, for instance, is Spider Baby, which is a strange depiction of a baby seemingly crawling along a wall, with his siblings on the floor trying to reach up to him. The obvious questions for this photo would be, how did he get up there, and how was the photo shot? This is a simple example of how I love to make people use their minds when they see my photos.

At first glance, many of your images are whimsical, but there is a lot of allegory behind these single-image visual stories. What are your thoughts when you are pre visualizing a concept or an image?Â

I love to be creative and innovative with my digitally-enhanced photos, and my main aim is to have viewers ponder and reflect.

I try to place myself in the shoes of the viewers, and think, what would they think, and what sort of questions will they likely pose. Then, I move forward and embark on a creative project.

This is the way I love to work.

How do you decide which individual elements that you will need to piece together into the final surrealist puzzles of your photographs?

With surrealism you can take a break from reality. I believe that with my photos I can have people think outside the box, and with normal things we find around us every day, I still manage to convey a special message. I do not want to be complicated, but just inspirational and distinctive. So I like to use normal, simple things we find around us every day. If there is something that inspires me in some way, or is notice something, I start to think about how I can use it in a photo. I break down possibilities, and try to be innovative. Then I start to shoot photos and experiment with digital manipulation until I have a creative photo that makes viewers ponder and contemplate.

Photography is often quite self-reflexive as it is, and yet you often use yourself and your children as subjects. Is that because the best model is the one that you have with you 40

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You have produced two books collecting your imagery. Are you working on anything next?

or is that an aesthetic choice?

I like to use myself for most of the shots because the messages I usually convey are either personal thoughts or things I believe in or really care about. What inspires me in everyday life practically fuels my passion for my work. It is ultimately a touch of personalization and it helps me to ultimately offer a better product.

Inside My Dreams is the first surreal art book in the Arab world. This particular art book includes a surreal photography and the model, particularly the small man presented in all of my artwork featured in this art book is nobody else but myself. I think photos are not simply shots which have been captured and produced by the camera itself, but as an interesting way to make people aware about various things and these also provide the best way to explain and show the feelings of a photographer. In Inside My Dreams, viewers will find a mirror that will reflect the image of their lives and the situations that they deal with and the problems that they all need to face in real life. There will be insightful messages as well as interesting ideas that arise from those unique photos and compositions. My next book will be something unique. We work on the layout and some details, and will be released in the coming months.

All of your shots are perfectly square, what is it about that format that appeals to you?

A square has sides of equal lengths. It thus evokes precision. This goes hand in hand with my ideology of doing things properly.

I give all of myself in my work. My shots are as unique as possible, and I strive to be distinctive. This format is just one way to express myself better through my work.

What system and lenses do you shoot with? As you do a lot of photo manipulation, what is your chosen computer system and software?

I used Canon 1100d camera with canon 1855 mm and 50 mm 1.8 My favorite parts are layering and image sharpening, by layering I create images and alter those using functions such as layers, edit an image by adding new layers without altering the original image or add and subtract layers as my work on an image to create the final product. In Photoshop, I use the smart tools to sharpen image to minimize every issues with photo blurring.

Although I also love the end of most projects when everything comes together and it looks great and you can stand back and say, “Hey, I made that!”

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photographers, graphic designers, & studio artists Up to 10 high resolution images of your work.

All must include pertinent caption information (name, date, medium, year). If there are specifications or preferences concerning the way in which an image is displayed please include them.

submission guidelines

writers

images

KNACK seeks writing of all kinds. We will even consider recipes, reviews, and essays (although we do not prefer anything that is academic). We seek writers whose work has a distinct voice, is character driven, and is subversive but tasteful. We are not interested in fantasy or genre fiction. You may submit up to 25,000 words and as little as one. We accept simultaneous submissions. No cover letter necessary. All submissions must be 12pt, Times New Roman, double-spaced with page numbers and include your name, e-mail, phone number, and genre.

PDF TIFF JPEG

all submissions KNACK encourages all submitters to include an artist statement with their submission. We believe that your perspective of your work and process is as lucrative as the work itself. This may range from your upbringing and/or education as an artist, what type of work you produce, inspirations, etc. If there are specifications or preferences concerning the way in which an image is displayed please include them. A brief biography including your name, age, current location, and portrait of the artist is also encouraged (no more than 700 words).

written work .doc .docx RTF please include title files for submission with the name of the piece this applies for both writing and visual submissions

knackmagazine1@ gmail.com

subject: Submission (Photography, Studio Art,

Creative Writing, Graphic Design)

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missed a submission deadline?

do not fear!

KNACK operates on a rolling submission system. This means that we will consider work from any artist at any time. Our “deadlines� merely serve as a cutoff for each issue of the magazine. Any and all work sent to knackmagazine1@gmail.com will be considered for submission as long as it follows submission guidelines. The day work is sent merely reflects the issue it will be considered for.

Have questions or suggestions? E-mail us.

We want to hear your thoughts, comments, and concerns.

Sincerely, Ariana Lombardi, Executive Editor

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knack needs your help

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KNACK is requesting material to be reviewed. Reviews extend to any culture-related event that may be happening in the community in which you live. Do you know of an exciting show or exhibition opening? Is there an art collective in your city that deserves some press? Are you a musician, have a band, or are a filmmaker? Send us your CD, movie, or titles of upcoming releases which you’d like to see reviewed in KNACK. We believe that reviews are essential to creating a dialogue about the arts.

If something thrills you, we want to know about it and share it with the KNACK community—no matter if you live in the New York or Los Angeles, Montreal or Mexico.

All review material can be sent to knackmagazine1@gmail.com. Please send a copy of CDs and films to 4319 North Greenview Ave, Chicago, IL 60613. If you would like review material returned to you include return postage and packaging. Entries should contain pertinent details such as name, year, release date, websites and links (if applicable). For community events we ask that information be sent up to two months in advance to allow proper time for assignment and review.

We look forward to seeing and hearing your work.

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untitled oil on canvas 13� x 13� bertram edward goldman

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