Issuu

the art issue

issue no. 46

06 Faces & Spaces Artist and painter explains her work in terms of reclaiming her heritage and femininity

8 You May Not Know Her, But You Know Her Movies Sharen Davis shares an overview of her career as an Oscar-nominated costume designer

12 Renaissance Reclaimed

STITCH looks to reimagine and reclaim the portrayal of Black women in fine art to reflect their contributions that consistently inspire and define our culture.

42 Seat to Stage We all start as audience members to art. How do we find our own voice in that space? How can our identities as viewers transform into our art itself? How do we move from the seats to the stage?

Leaving Her Footprints on the Sands of Time

A journey through Beyoncé’s music video masterpiece

22 Portraits of Someone from a Dream Fantasy. Art. Anatomy. Pleasure. This short story explores what it means to fall in love with someone you’ve never met, and to have dreams take control over reality. 02

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EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Giovana Gelhoren + Grace Lougheed CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sara Gronich PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Ashley Capoot DESIGN EDITOR Quynh-Nhi Tran PHOTOSHOOT DIRECTOR Amina Elmasry PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Sarah Loper DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Vaibhavi Hemasundar MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Libby Markham SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Sarah Filby DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Emi Silverstein

DIGITAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sierra Turner PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Jude Cramer DESIGN EDITOR Agnes Lee PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jay Towns ASSOCIATE EDITOR Molly Van Gorp DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Erica Davis MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Yola Mzizi CORPORATE DIRECTOR Hannah Yang MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Susan Tran

CORPORATE TEAM Jaila Carey, Aditi Ghei, Ananya Gupta, Jiyoon Ha, Hope Jin, Maya Kim, Olivia Lee, Peyton Nibblett, Grace Shi, Eric Smits, Tiffany Xu + Asha Yearwood DESIGN TEAM Ruth Ellen Berry, Jess Chen, Izzy Chun, Isabelle Hauf-Pisoni, Michelle Hong, Bailey Richards, Margeaux Rocco, Sadd Sadd, Lauren Schlageter, Allie Wicks, Kelly Wu, Ashley Xu + Meher Yeda EDITORIAL TEAM Tanitoluwa Adedibu, Ali Bianco, Amber Cohon, Olivia Evans, Vitoria Faria, Nicolas Gonzalez, Kira Gopinath, Isabelle Kenagy, Michelle Kim, Maya Krainc, Gabrielle Kurzer, Lucia Shorr, Tamara Ulalisa, Carly Witteman + Gia Yetikyel MULTIMEDIA TEAM Lucia Bosacoma, Maria Caamano, Sophie D’Amato, Chiara Dorsi, Maggie Haas, Tara King, Catie Moore, Emma Rosenbaum + Linda Shi PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM Josh Chen, Grace Deng, Maryam Ikuforiji, Wyatt Morris + Madison Smith SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Ashley Chin, Kimberly Cruz Mendez, Rhea Dhar, Sara Frank, McKenna Frey, Isabella Moran + Olivia Stone STYLING TEAM Sandra Alrifai, Ilise Angel, Anna Biasco, Annalise Biesterfeld, Daisy Brockhouse, Kenny Davis, Julia Greenberg, Shea Randall, Melissa Santoyo, Laila Simone Robinson, Danielle Spitz, Lisa Vicini + Ava White June 2021 03

CARLY WITTEMAN LOS ANGELES, CA FRESHMAN EDITORIAL "Van Gogh’s 'Sunflowers' is probably the piece of art that has influenced me the most. I remember recreating it in a first grade art class and loving each and every brushstroke and color shade in it. A few years later, I was able to visit the National Gallery in London and see it in person. I turned to my dad and said, 'Dad. I never thought I would get to see this in real life.' That is the first memory I have with art, and it has shown me the power in the stories art can tell."

RUTH ELLEN BERRY MEMPHIS, TN FRESHMAN DESIGN "I’m influenced most by artist Ashley Longshore and almost all of her work. The Louisiana-based artist is known for her pop art style with outrageous and unusual messages. Some of my favorites are Audrey Hepburn portraits with gaudy butterfly headpieces, astronauts with Birkin bags, and foil balloons with 'inspirational' messages. Her confidence and creativity is obvious in all of her work, and inspires me to create unapologetically."

KIMBERLY CRUZ LOS ANGELES, CA SOPHOMORE SOCIAL MEDIA "The piece of art that has influenced me the most is probably the animated movie ‘Coraline’. I was honestly terrified of it the first time I watched it, which was when I was around 8. But, as I grew older I absolutely loved looking at the small details in the animation and the color scheme of the movie. The characters and the overall unique plot has greatly influenced my creativity and has pushed me to try and think outside the box when working on different projects."

JULIA GREENBERG POTOMAC, MD SOPHOMORE STYLING "The piece of art that has influenced me the most is the album 'How to Be a Human Being' by Glass Animals. Each song tells a different story representing the unique characters on the album cover. The album comes together in a cohesive piece that depicts the raw emotion and narratives of being human -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. Finding meaning in their lyrics helped me understand a lot of my experiences, and I often associate their art with my own coming of age moments."

contributors

thoughts F R O M

T H E

E D I TO R S

This issue represents the beginning of a cycle and the end of another. While we transition out of the pandemic, STITCH embarks on a new era with new Editors-in-chief, a new executive board and 26 new members. It is with great pleasure and excitement that we share our Spring 2021 magazine: The Art Issue. Though many of you reading this may have a clear understanding of what art is, whether that is a sculpture in the Louvre or an assignment you did for Intro to Drawing last quarter, we challenged ourselves this quarter to examine and expand our definitions of art and what it represents. We engaged in discussions about representation in European art, the intersection of art and fashion and how we experience art in our everyday lives. In Rebecca Aizin’s article, Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning costume designer Sharen Davis discusses the intricacies of costume design as one of the few Black costume designers in Hollywood. In the “We Are Your Museums” photoshoot, our photo and styling teams spotlight queer artists and models in a museum setting to show how intertwined queer culture has been with various art forms. This issue also features creative writing pieces from the talented Nicolas Gonzalez and Gia Yetikyel that tackle the complex relationship between the artist, the art and the viewer. Throughout the Art Issue, we hope you explore these various definitions of art and consider the identities of those who are often overlooked within it. We hope to make you think, to spark a conversation about the purpose of art in our lives, and to motivate you to expand its definition.

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RECLAIMING HERITAGE AND FEMININITY THROUGH ART By Carly Witteman Designed by Jess Chen Art is not always a Vincent Van Gogh painting hung in the Louvre or an interest exclusively for the elite. Art is made for everyone, and for Northwestern sophomore Catie Moore, art was made for her. At 9 years old, Moore’s mother enrolled her in extracurricular visual art lessons hoping that it would spark an artistic flame. It was here that Moore gained her technical knowledge of painting and drawing, learning about important concepts like value and color. “I took formal lessons until eighth grade,” Moore says. “It really taught me more about the art classics and basics.” As she grew into adolescence, Moore ravenously practiced illustrating the human face by copying portraits from magazines, newspapers, billboards and anything else she could find.

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CATIE MOORE

FACES & SPACES

“I used to rip pages out of Vogue magazine and try to replicate their faces in my drawing,” Moore says. Once she reached high school, Moore could identify the moment she transformed into an artist. “At that point, my art became a lot more about not necessarily learning how to draw a face the right way or how to translate a photo into a drawing or a painting, but how to take that knowledge of technique and then turn it into something that showed my voice in an original way," Moore says. Moore enjoys all sorts of art: drawing, painting, collages and more. Regardless of the form, most of her pieces involve human subjects. She often searches for interesting faces as a jumping off point for any given piece. “I use images of faces and build off of them so it becomes less about my work being a portrait of a face, and more about my work serving to represent a face or a larger meaning,” she says. With her own artistic voice and perspective, Moore often takes inspiration from beliefs and experiences she holds as an Asian American woman. In a recent piece she created,

Moore focused on feminist scholar Anne Cheng’s theory of Ornamentalism and the intersectionality of misogyny and racism toward Asian American women. Moore is halfChinese and found that Cheng’s theory resonated deeply with her own lived experiences, giving her inspiration for this particular piece. “As an Asian woman, I took a lot of the ideas [Cheng] explored and wanted to create a portrait that expressed Asian femininity,” Moore says. “I think it is my favorite painting I have made.” Representation of marginalized voices in the Western, white and patriarchal art sphere is important to Moore. Lately, synthesizing the westernized version of art she was taught and the Chinese motifs and symbols in her life has been one of her artistic goals. She also enjoys portraying femininity and the female form in her pieces for the same reasons. Western art often involves a male artist depicting or objectifying women and their sexuality. Moore wants to change this narrative “I feel like the female figure can be used by male artists as a way to sensationalize their art and create a response,” Moore says. “I want to reframe the female figure from a woman’s point of view in a way that is not sexualized or objectified.” As a fellow member of STITCH herself, Moore has always taken note of the crossovers between fashion and art. In fact, one of her artistic hobbies has been painting on various forms of denim to create something new.

“Painting on clothing or reworking old clothing is such a great way to explore the artistic side of fashion,” she says. Moore describes all of her work as an “idea collage.” She believes the key to her process lies in piecing many separate parts together until they create a cohesive whole. Moore says that creating outfits is just another idea collage. What is fashion if not collaging pieces of clothing to create an organic whole, an outfit that speaks without using words? “Putting together an outfit is such an idea collage. There is such art to creating a look,” Moore says. “Fashion and art are more interconnected than they may seem.”

"FASHION & ART ARE MORE INTERCONNECTED THAN THEY MAY SEEM."

YOU MAY NOT KNOW HER, SHAREN DAVIS SHARES AN OVERVIEW OF HER CAREER AS AN OSCAR-NOMINATED COSTUME DESIGNER From fitting costumes on Beyoncé for the 2006 film “Dreamgirls” to brainstorming superhero costumes for the HBO original show “Watchmen,” Sharen Davis has had a prolific career in the world of costume design. The Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning designer discovered her passion for costume design unintentionally. Davis began her career as an aspiring actress, but since landing her first gig as a costume designer on set for “Equinox,” a 1992 horror film, she hasn’t left the industry. Since that time, she has worked on classics like “Rush Hour,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “The Help'' and “Dreamgirls,” while also dabbling in television with “Westworld” and the pilot episode of “Watchmen.” As a Black woman in the costume design industry, Davis has had to contend with racism throughout her career. At this year’s Academy Awards, all of the nominees for the costume design category were white, despite some nominated movies being centered on non-white cultures, including “Mulan.” This trend is one that Davis knows all too well — she’s observed it in the Academy and the industry throughout her career. She says the problem in the Academy lies in the individual academy members rather than the whole industry, as the voting process for awards is private. 08

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By Rebecca Aizin Designed by Isabelle Hauf

While the identities of the over 6,000 Academy members are kept secret, a 2012 investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed only 14% of members were under 50 years old and 94% were white. As long as the awards remain in the hands of older individuals, little progress will be made, she says. “People go with what they know and understand; if they don’t understand the concept of the story, they don’t vote on it even if the costumes are great,” Davis says. “It’s the individuals who need to find the beauty of the story and understand the history.” Despite the lack of acknowledgement women of color often get in the industry, Davis was originally drawn to costume design for the art of it. The creativity involved allowed her to explore as she designed costumes herself. “It wasn’t just shopping for clothes. I got to design and come up with creative concepts,” Davis says. “This is the kind of show or movie I always want to design — something that really makes you use your imagination.” Davis had the opportunity to apply her creativity in “Rush Hour,” one of her earliest endeavors. The characters wore everyday clothing, posing a challenge

as to how to make the clothes unique or imaginative. Davis combatted the problem by deciding on a color scheme for the good and evil characters, ultimately going with shades of gray for the “bad guys.” At the time, gray wasn’t in style, so it gave the characters a contemporary edge while also evoking a sour feeling. When costumes require more shopping than designing, Davis swaps out buttons or other accessories to add her own twist to the look. Her favorite projects, however, are ones where she is able to design the wardrobe herself from start to finish. That opportunity came when she worked on “Dreamgirls,” which eventually landed her her second Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. Describing it as a highlight of her career, Davis sketched every outfit and worked closely with the cast. After observing the choreography, Davis figured out what costumes would work best, taking inspiration from icons like Diana Ross and Cher. “Due to the fact that there was dancing, that would inspire me to figure out what they should wear,” Davis says. “A lot of my inspiration came from girl groups in the ‘60s and ‘70s to come up with original concepts.” After making a move toward television with “Westworld,” Davis took a step into the world of comics and dystopian fiction with “Watchmen.” She designed for the pilot, “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice,” which featured a mix of apocalyptic and superhero costumes. The show, which explores both the impact of the

1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the comic book of the same name, posed a new challenge for Davis. The material itself was heartfelt and emotional for her, which motivated her to take on the project in the first place. “The [crew] didn’t have fear to bring out this story,” Davis says. “It was a story that needed to be told, a history that was hidden.” Davis drew most of the costumes herself, coming up wih new concepts that pushed the boundaries of what she’d done before. “I had to come from a different angle. I had to really think, ‘I need to make these costumes for people who aren’t really superheroes,’” Davis says. “They can’t look like Marvel, they need to have their own look.” The disguises needed to look like they could be easily taken off, since the superheroes were everyday people who were just “slightly enhanced.” Davis didn’t take too much inspiration from the comics since the original characters didn’t appear in the pilot. While Davis’ career has seen incredible highs and great accomplishments, the Academy has a long way to go in acknowledging the work Davis and other Black women have done. Until then, Davis will continue to design, putting her creative mind to use on projects that require her to think outside the box and tell meaningful stories. For her, it boils down to the simplest of joys: “I like the idea of putting a puzzle together, and creating a beautiful story or an amazing film.”

Photos (Left to Right): Walt Disney Co. Paramount, Dreamworks Warner Bros. Co., HBO

the of FINE ART and FASHION How art museums are shaping the runway

BY VITORIA FARIA DESIGNED BY AGNES LEE

n many ways, art is inseparable from fashion. Clothing pieces are often works of art themselves, but high fashion brands have also historically collaborated with a wide range of visual artists when designing new collections. However, some high fashion brands have taken their inspiration from the arts to new heights, as Louis Vitton and Christian Dior both used some of the most iconic and ornate buildings in Europe to showcase their new designs.

Art & Louis Vuitton’s Women’s Fall-Winter 2021 Fashion Show Louis Vuitton debuted its Women’s Fall-Winter 2021 collection at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Louvre is the world’s largest art museum, home to famous works like the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. The museum has an immeasurable amount of history: built in 1190, the building used to be a medieval fortress before becoming the residence of kings like Louis XIV. In 1793, right after the 1789 French Revolution, the building became a museum. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Louvre has closed twice and suffered a large decrease in visitation and revenue from ticket sales. According to an article 10

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by Claire Selvin for ARTnews, the museum suffered losses of about $110.3 million. This is one reason why Nicolas Ghesquière, the creative director for Louis Vuitton, decided to set the brand’s Women’s Fall-Winter 2021 Fashion Show in the museum. Louis Vuitton is one of the biggest donors to the Louvre, and Ghesquière thought that hosting a popular fashion event in this atypical setting could attract more visitors to the museum when it reopens. “I wanted something impactful, something that conveys hope and joy for what’s coming next, and for people to have a good time watching,” Ghesquière said on a Zoom call with several media

outlets after the show. And he did just that: Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter 2021 fashion show highlighted Ghesquière’s ability to reinvent the ancient past through Renaissance, modern and contemporary styles of art. Within the museum, the show took place specifically in the Michelangelo Gallery. Named after the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, the gallery features Italian sculptures from the 16th to the 19th century. When we think about the fashion of this era, we think about rigidity, as corsets and panniers under gowns were causing women discomfort. In this fashion show, Ghesquière

subverted this early modern notion of beauty. He said in the Zoom call, “Comfort is not something we associate with beautiful fashion, but now my clothes are padded and soft as well as being highly decorative.” The rigidity of stone and marble pilasters as well as bronze sculptures beautifully contrasted the billowy pieces at the show. Ghesquière also took inspiration from Italian artist Piero Fornasetti,

as seen in Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter 2021 capsule bag collection. The bags sport Greco-Roman iconography, a staple feature of Fornasetti’s work. Contemporary art was also present at this fashion show. According to the Guardian, Ghesquière “wanted something that would bring a jolt of energy to an audience watching at home,” so the show’s soundtrack was set to the contemporary French

electronic duo Daft Punk. There is also an ecological benefit to this unusual setting for a runway show, as using the sculptures from the Louvre’s collection eliminated the need to produce new set pieces for the runway. According to Louis Vuitton’s official website, the company was able to reduce the material used by 70%, and what was used will be recycled into new sculptures.

Art & Christian Dior’s Fall 2021 Ready-To-Wear Show Similarly, Christian Dior showed its Fall 2021 Ready-To-Wear collection in the Palace of Versailles. In 1631, Louis XIII decided to rebuild a small country royal residence into what we know as the Palace of Versailles. In 1833, after the 1830 Revolution, Louis XVI removed Versailles’s status as a royal residence and the palace became a museum featuring various mediums of art such as paintings, sculptures, drawings and engravings. The fashion show was held in a wing of the palace called the Hall of Mirrors. In this extravagant 17th-century Baroque room, crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling and the walls are covered in works of art. The show, titled “Disturbing Beauty,” aimed to explore the idea of being vanguard and escaping from limiting standards of art and fashion. Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s creative director, came up with the idea and invited the Italian contemporary artist Silvia

Giambrone to execute her artistic vision. Waxed mirrors with thorns were placed in front of the actual mirrors on the Hall’s walls, and the distorted reflections of the models were rendered invisible. The thorns coming out of the waxed mirrors contribute to this reflective impossibility, and critique the idea of female vanity — including the contemporary practice of taking selfies. When could we ever imagine that a model wearing an overcoat and baggy jeans would march where Marie Antoinette once lived? This unique runway for Dior’s collection highlighted the disruption of fashion styles through artistic creativity. At the end of the show, a model marveled at the horizon on Versailles’s steps and ran into the gloomy woods, implying the desire to achieve liberty and distance from beauty standards established by the elite. Although both Versailles and the Louvre currently serve as

museums, they were previously residences of French monarchs who embodied and supported limiting notions of beauty. Ultimately, this was part of the reason their use as fashion show venues proved to be so striking. While the ending of “Disturbing Beauty” critiques humans’ long-standing practice of marvelling at their reflections in mirrors, the Louis Vuitton show highlighted the power of traditional art in shaping beauty ideals across time. In other words, one show used art to challenge beauty standards, and the other used art to re-emphasize them. As high-end designers turn art museum galleries into runways, the connection between art and fashion is reinforced. Interestingly, when mixing these two areas of creativity, new meanings and messages are being created in addition to portraying the unprecedented ways in which fashion and fine art complement each other. June 2021 11

Renaissance Renaissance Reclaimed Reclaimed Black women create fine art every day. They pioneer our fashion, music, dance and visual spaces yet our judgment of “fine art” is conditioned through a European lens. STITCH looks to reimagine and reclaim the portrayal of Black women in fine art to reflect their contributions that consistently inspire and define our culture.

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Photographer: Maryam Ikuforiji Photoshoot Directors: Amina Elmsary, Sierra Turner & Sara Gronich Styled By: Julia Greenberg, Daisy Brockhouse, Anna Biasco & Amina Elmasry Photo Assistants: Sarah Loper & Jay Towns Models: Anastacia Chineme, Shira Nash & Rwan Ibrahim Designed By: Margeaux Rocco

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PORTRAITof

fro

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SOMEONE

om a DREAM BY NICOLAS GONZALEZ

I noticed the first verification of my healing mind through a dream one night.

situation and were now conjoined, never to separate again. It felt as if we both had found what every inkling of our minds had ever wanted, whether we realized it or not. The feelings I experienced that night could not be compared to anything I had experienced in the past. What I felt that night was something that had been planned long ago by my second mind; it was something that only a very privileged few get to experience, and yet, for me, it was inevitable.

Somehow I knew their name was Alessi. Their gaze disarmed me — their light green eyes gained a celestial quality as they pursed their lips and gently tucked their hair behind their ear. When we kissed I was enveloped in an incredible warmth. It was inconceivable that any amount of anything would ever satiate our mutual longing for each other. We didn’t speak or stop to look at each other; this was all we needed. And yet, it didn’t feel like an empty satisfaction of our carnal desires. It felt like there was something more, like our deepest wills had manifested this

That night, something grew inside of me. The dream about Alessi gained more nuance as I pondered it further. A dream that affects

one so deeply must surely have a larger meaning. I was drawn toward this mystery person in a mystical way — as such, I devised a special plan. I’d draw my dream person as I best knew how, and then I was sure to have a more structured idea of who they really were. This would be hard to do, as I only remembered some key details, and the rest of them manifested as feelings and swirls of color. I recalled a rousing danger in the form of a steely silver ring and, within it, a thick sensation of relief. In order to learn how to draw a human face, you must first learn how to draw a skull. After you have mastered the skull, you may move on to the muscles and tendons. Only thereafter may

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you draw the skin. It is a threestep process, incredibly tough in nature, but I didn’t need to be perfect — I just needed to find them. I learned all the peaks and crevices of the human skull and, as my pen scratched and glided over the paper, I appreciated the menacing beauty of that face even more. The glamorous cheekbones that caused the appearance of their hollow cheeks, the delicateness of the chin and the valiant jaw that accentuated their small lips. I wished I’d been born centuries ago. I’d have sat for hours looking into the skull’s hollow eyes, imagining the face it used to be. Since I wouldn’t desire to even move a muscle, this scene would be painted by Frans Hals and hundreds of years later the painting would arrive at a Museum of Art in Spain, where crowds would gather and speak about the

myth of the man who fell in love with a skull. Muscles gave the face a more lively look, and I could now see a bit more of Alessi. I understood exactly which movements manifested all their memorable expressions. The physical form of a human is made up of three layers — those that I have already named. I was madly in love with all three of Alessi’s layers. However, there is a fourth that is essential to each and every human: that of the mind. I was scared of this one in Alessi, but when I got past that cold, steely, silver ring, I forgot all about it — that was it, I was theirs. It must be obvious now that, at this point, I was convinced that the person from my dream was real. After weeks of staying up late

Their emerald eyes seemed to cast a green tint on mine and their white-gold hair was as precious as I remembered. 24

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with dry, tired eyes, a vile stench permeating through the walls of my room and a rash, frangible shaking in my hands, I was done. I held up the drawing, convinced that it was the person from the dream. Their emerald eyes seemed to cast a green tint on mine and their white-gold hair was as precious as I remembered. Their steely callousness was there, and so was their disarming embrace. Dark, heavy lines caressed their jaw, and a mischievousness was produced from their playful lips. My involvement in the arts and my continuous thoughts about the person from my dream seemed to have brought my health to the

best condition it had been in all winter. My headaches ceased and, though I was still not able to perform any sort of exercise, the aching in my joints took on a weaker presence when I walked around my apartment. My guilt faded slightly, as my thoughts were preoccupied with a perennial excitement — the passing of each and every second was a reward, as it brought me closer to my dream person. It brought me closer to Alessi. It was an amazing feeling, a joy of life, a gratefulness for the passing of time! A sensation like that has got to be the greatest treasure life can ever give. A pleasure conceived from something that is unending and instantaneous; with every second

came a renewal of my elation! A pleasure of this nature makes man an empty shell. The search for pleasure is our sole drive in life. Without it, man is unmoving — that simply can’t be. All of life, from the time of its genesis, is meant to lead somewhere. Every living being, from the beginning of creation to the end of time, has a purpose it must fulfill in order for life to go on, and all of these actions intertwine. I, by somehow achieving a pleasure that shouldn’t exist in the mortal world, lost the motivation to fulfill my purpose. Thus, I threatened to throw into disarray this perennial system. Yes… maybe that was my great misfortune.

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we are your museums we are your museums we are your museums we are your museums Art history is queer history and art’s future is queer future. Highlighting today’s queer artists to confront yesterday’s erasure and celebrate tomorrow’s determination. Photographed by: Grace Deng Photoshoot Directors: Sara Gronich & Amina Elmasry Styled by: Lisa Vicini & Melissa Santoyo Photo Assistants: Sara Loper & Jay Towns Models: Olivia Liu, Lucy London & Filet Mignon Designed by: Ashley Xu

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Model: Lucy London 28

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Jenie Gao

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Special thank you to the Evanston Art Center for allowing us to use their amazing galleries for this photoshoot. If you would like to learn more about the Evanston Art Center, you can visit www. evanstonartcenter.org. 32

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One Indian American girl’s ode to henna

By Vaibhavi Hemasundar Designed by Meher Yeda 34

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When I think of henna, I think of myself as a child, peeling the dark brown paste off my hands in my family’s car on our way back from the annual spring picnic hosted by our temple. The henna on my hands smells earthy and bright: like eucalyptus leaves and dirt soaked in rain. The smell diffuses through the car, and my mom sneezes. “Can you open a window?” She says to my dad. “The smell is a little strong.” I, on the other hand, can't get enough of it. I lift my hands up to my nose and inhale. I’ve chosen an intricate pattern. Large orange circles fill both of my palms, the base of a sun with curved rays spiralling out to the edges of my hand. Each bend in my fingers is covered with lines of henna, and my fingertips are decorated with several delicate dots in the shape of a flower. I know that I shouldn’t peel off the design before at least an hour has passed. Otherwise the stain underneath will turn out an understated orange rather than the preferred deep rust color. But I can’t help it. As the henna on my skin dries, it creates an itchy crust, and I’m impatient to get it off. I scratch at the crust, which falls in little flakes onto the car seat. My fingernails will definitely be dirty for the foreseeable future. But I don’t mind. Playing with henna was a staple of my childhood. The decorative dye is created from the leaves of Lawsonia inermis, also known as the henna tree, which are dried and turned into powder or paste. The word henna is derived from the Arabic hinna. It’s also called mehndi in Hindi and Urdu, mardaani in Tamil and camphire in English. The practice has been part of South Asian, Southwest Asian and North African cultures for over 5,000 years, making it difficult to determine where it actually originated. Because of henna’s cooling effect, the people in these regions applied dots of it to their

feet during hot summers. Noticing that it left lasting orange stains, this translated over time to the use of henna for body art, usually in intricate patterns. Henna is often applied for holidays and has no distinct religious association. Jews, Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Zoroastrians living in areas where henna grows often partake in a prewedding tradition called The Night of the Henna, where the bride and groom are adorned with henna. The plant paste is said to bring barakah, or blessings, so it’s used to spread both beauty and joy. Henna is also affordable, making it a popular wedding accessory in place of jewelry. Even from childhood, I understood that henna signified grandeur. A cousin of mine performs bharatanatyam, a form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu, the state my parents emigrated from. For each of her performances, she paints a large circle of henna on the inside of each palm and caps each of her fingers in the plant mixture. After leaving the henna on her hands for several hours, she washes off the dried crust to reveal a deep brown design. Then she applies heavy black winged eyeliner, ties her jewel-toned sari around her waist and emerges ready for the stage. As she snaps her hands into precise formations, her inked skin is visible for even those in the back seats

to see. Henna reminds me of celebrations with my loved ones in India. On one trip, my family members threw a coming-of-age ceremony for me wherein they painted the soles of my feet with henna, braided jasmine into my hair and dressed me in a royal red silk sari and bangles. In that memory, the smell of henna mixes with the taste of sugary laddoos fed to me by my aunts and the sound of my uncles chanting prayers and ringing little golden bells. But most of all, henna was a way for me to keep in touch with my Indian roots while I grew up walking a tricky tightrope between two cultures. As an adolescent, I constantly doubted that I was Indian enough, so I rejected several aspects of Indian culture. However, henna, as a form of art, always felt like a safe activity — one that I could engage in without feeling like I was doing everything wrong. During trips to the Indian grocery store, my sister and I would stock up on henna cones wrapped up in flashy pink and purple aluminum foil. When we returned home, we would search for common henna designs on the internet and practice drawing mangoes, swirls and sunflowers on each other’s palms. As novices, our hands would shake and even the most basic shapes would turn out lopsided, but it didn’t matter. Even the mere act of gripping the henna cone always felt like reclaiming pride in our heritage.

LEAVING HER FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME A Journey Through Beyoncé’s Music Video Masterpieces By Molly Van Gorp, Designed by Ruth Ellen Berry

Beyoncé makes a royal entrance in an iris Dundas cape, renaissance-inspired dress and delicate teashades for the opening night of “On the Run II Tour” in Cardiff, Wales. Image via Harper’s Bazaar.

It was a warm summer night in early August. I stood in the packed stands of Soldier Field, munching on jalapeño-laden nachos, excitedly awaiting Queen B’s arrival. This was the second leg of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 2018 “On the Run II Tour.” I’d been listening to “EVERYTHING IS LOVE,” the couple’s first joint album, on repeat since June. When the lights finally dimmed, the stadium erupted in cheers, and the entire field was illuminated by flashing words: ON . . . THE . . . RUN . . II. For the next three hours, Beyoncé performed every hit imaginable, from “Irreplaceable” to “Formation” and “APESHIT.” Her impressive choreography and seamless outfit changes breathed life into every lyric, instrumental and beat drop. In a whirlwind of leopard print, head-to-toe metallic and gold gilded garb, Beyoncé proved, yet again, that she is the ultimate artist in every sense of the word. As a global face of music, dance, fashion, scenography and visual art, the hip hop legend’s artistic prowess is truly unrivaled. Since her Destiny’s Child days (19972006), Beyoncé’s developed an impressive discography. Over the course of seven studio albums (totalling nearly 9 hours of music) and dozens of collaborative efforts, she’s championed racial equality, celebrated Black Girl Magic, redefined beauty standards and forever changed what it means to be “Flawless.” On March 14, she won her 28th Grammy Award, making her the most decorated artist in history. Imagine wandering into the

Below: Beyoncé dominates the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004, winning “Best Contemporary R&B Album” for “Dangerously in Love.” Via People Magazine.

"the power"

Above: “BLACK PARADE” receives the award for “Best R&B Performance" 2021. Via POPSUGAR.

Carters’ Bel-Air home and seeing more than two dozen glittering gramophones arranged on a shelf, or perhaps sparkling behind a custom glass display case. The power. But most noteworthy is her revolutionary approach to video production. With Beyoncé, it’s not just about the songs, it’s about the visual presentation of those lyrics through cinematography, scenery, costume and lighting. You don’t just listen to

“Drunk in Love,” you’re immersed in it through visual aesthetics central to the Beyoncé brand. Thus, the Queen and her team have helped revamp the once humble music video into something sophisticated, refined and worthy of attention in its own right. Watching the “Single Ladies” or “BROWN SKIN GIRL” music videos for the first time is like hearing these songs all over again. To pay homage to her cinematic successes, let’s relive some of Bey’s most iconic music video moments, beginning with the video that started it all. June 2021 37

"crazy in love" MTV Video Music Awards “Best Female Video," "Best R&B Video" & "Best Choreography” (2003) Directed by Jake Nava, the British talent behind many of the classic Britney Spears and Adele music videos, “Crazy in Love” features shots of Mission Road and the Fourth Street Bridge in downtown Los Angeles. It has all the right ingredients for a Y2K hit: dramatic costume changes, dizzying camera shifts, cutoffs with heels, a gushing fire hydrant, the occasional burning car — you know, the usual craziness of true love in 2003. Toward the end of the compilation, somehow, everything works out for the best. Beyoncé emerges from a rain storm onto an abandoned runway. She effortlessly swaps her drenched streetwear for hoops, glossy lips and orange and pink Versace. Compared to today’s music videos, this all might seem like a bit much. However, this is precisely why 18 years later, we still can’t get enough of it. Beyoncé’s Versace dress was previously listed on WorthPoint Corporation (a digital platform for researching, valuing and selling/buying vintage collectibles) for $1,000. The dress was part of Versace’s Spring 2003 Ready-To-Wear collection, and according to the listing “Two identical dresses were made for Beyoncé by Versace . . . This [the one listed] was fitted especially for Beyoncé.”

"run the world (girls)" MTV Video Music Award “Best Choreography" (2011) Beyoncé and her clan of girl-warriors transport us to a post-apocalyptic desert filled with lions, twin hyenas of mammoth proportions, burning cop cars and miscellaneous 21st-century debris. “Run the World (Girls)” is directed by Francis Lawrence and filmed in California's southeast Mojave Desert and Inglewood 38

June 2021

Image via Getty Images

Image via Your Next Shoes

neighborhood. Through a series of extraterrestrialinspired battle footage, opening with Beyoncé’s entrance on horseback, it becomes obvious that 1) the earth is in a dire state of chaos and 2) Beyoncé and her girls are ready to take charge and do what they do best, which is, of course, run the world. Each outfit screams goddess-gone-gladiator. A red and black puff-sleeved Alexander McQueen dress and Grinling Gibbons thigh-high show boots compliment the sea of red “B” flags. This dress was released as part of McQueen’s Fall 2010 collection, which was tragically the last collection he designed. Interestingly, in a 2011 article for the blog “Your Next Shoes,” Erika Hansen notes that in the scene featuring McQueen’s look, every woman is wearing an article of clothing from Beyoncé’s own closet. After seeing the work of Tofo Tofo, a three-man Mozambican dance group, Beyoncé was inspired to integrate their style of dance into her video. In fact, she ended up collaborating with the dance group and even featured them in the final video. What really distinguishes “Run the World (Girls)” from other music videos is the absurdly avant-garde footwear. If these Gareth Pugh Starship Enterprise heels aren’t proof enough, I don’t know what is.

"18 years later, we stilL can’t get enough of it"

"the carters reimagine eurocentric standards of 'fine art'"

"apeshit"

MTV Video Music Awards “Best Cinematography" & "Best Art Direction" (2018) “I can’t believe we made it (this is what we made, made)” reverberates off the Louvre’s walls. While the artists represented in the capital of Parisian art may not “believe [Beyoncé and Jay-Z] made it,” we certainly can. In “APESHIT,” the Carters reimagine Eurocentric standards of “fine art” by bringing Blackness to the Louvre's historically exclusionary environment. Trap lyrics play as the couple stands in monochrome pastel pantsuits before the Mona Lisa. Stylist Zerina Akers is the mastermind behind the video’s breathtaking looks. A caramel-colored MCM buster and trench coat pair nicely with the Egyptian “Great Sphinx of Tanis.” Versace’s iconic Baroque print makes an appearance during interspersed shots of the Carters relishing in their masterpiece of a music video. In one scene, Beyoncé lies at the foot of the

“Winged Victory of Samothrace,” known more familiarly as Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory. She mimics the statue's marble elegance by wrapping herself in (yet another) cape. This time, it’s a ruffled white Alexis Mabille. These not-sosubtle gestures make it clear that Beyoncé is Nike, descending from Olympus to bring victory. After all, occupying the Louvre in such an impactful way is a victory, even by mythological standards. The choreographed dance at the feet of Jacques Louis-David’s “The Coronation of Napoleon” is another unforgettable scene. Candy Lang for Time Magazine explains that Queen Bey doesn’t need confirmation of her worthiness, just like Napoleon didn’t need the church to crown him emperor. Beyoncé’s a contemporary Joséphine. She’s built a career on breaking the rules and seeking endorsement from no one but herself — a strategy which has, to this day, proven hugely successful. Since “On the Run Tour II,” Beyoncé’s continued to wow us with stellar cinematography. Her latest — “BROWN SKIN GIRL” — dropped just last year, and, not surprisingly, won a Grammy for “Best Music Video.” I can’t wait to see what brilliance she has in store for us next . . . *manifests solo album #7.*

Beyoncé in Versace. Image via Vevo

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We all start as audience members to art. How do we find our own voice in that space?

Photographer: Wyatt Morris Photoshoot Directors: Sara Gronich & Max Han, Styled By: Lisa Vicini, Amina Elmasry Models: Lewis Oh, Olivia Leonardis & Caroline Campolo Designed By: Bailey Richards 42

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How can our identities as viewers transform into our art itself? How do we move from the seats to the stage?

Thank you to the Music Institute of Chicago for renting out the Nichols Concert Hall to us for this photoshoot. If you would like to learn more about the Nichols Concert Hall, you can visit www.musicinst.org/nch.

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In her, I saw the forgiveness The confusion of morning blinks in distant beds The quiet we wish we had when we spoke to the boys We claim to love In her, There I was, a clattering mess Too much space to bear my own weight I wish I didn’t own Because what is our own presence if not known by The flashbulb memories Illuminating somber faces Or the loss of seemingly immortal youth Leaving all too soonHow must I mourn her? When I can barely remember her Only bright bright Stars I swear I saw but Do not exist yet Only lullabies and goodbyes Only hellos and sugared snow cones At the carnival We almost kissed at How may I celebrate her? In all of her noises And all of her spite Her space With little to grieve With little to take But with all to give.

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How do we write in a way that honors all that was meant to be? We lose so much in the misremembering, in the blindness we misinterpret for truth. How do we mourn myths when they are all we are told? Voices echo until they are indistinguishable and there are no answers but two eyes asking to perceive me, waiting for permission, when there is no permission to give. I am to love and be loved by the greats. I will never have a time of death, only times of witness; where the world will ask and I will lie, blessing it to be true. The lie? I am one of the greats. I am the myth of which you’ve been told. I am the words you try to hear within the silence of a childhood bedroom, outgrown. I am the empathy you never received and all the answers you never believed in. In me lies the only meaning that mattered: my own.

The lie doesn’t need much explanation, nor help It is only when the rooms grow crowded with questions, all unwanted, Do I lessen myself to make space for you You: pointed and stressed and unforgiving— You are hidden in the shadows of my mirrors The forced crinkle of my brows And the phone calls from my parents, asking me to come home It’s far too dark for such a young Pretty Respectable Girl To be out doing who knows what Doing who knows who When all I want to tell them is, on these nights, they must let me go The places I go to drown out the questioning are the loudest And each time, I’m convinced I’m in love With myself With you With the girl dancing horribly And the boy counting on his courage to join her These are the nights I recall feeling most human Where my mouth may feel full of cotton, but To wake up To witness and to love because I can Because this type of love cannot be found in the whites of museum walls This is the love that asks me to remember and compose all the stories I have wished to tell But couldn’t The times I let myself think about you You— The quick whip ready on your tongue, unimpressed eyes, malnourished heart, Heaven Knows you’re Miserable all the time kind of you Those times I feel the most grief The most dread The most longing Where I will never change my house locks just to hear your voice, to hear your lies

You tell me you’ve only written ghost stories. You write them for the living. Of the living. How in the grief you create there is always anger, because somehow you are always part of the forgotten, always the ghost, and all these words, all these stories, are never dedicated to you. And you’re right. These words are not for you. They’re for me, for her, for him, for them, for anyone but you.

You don’t get to ask me questions anymore. You don’t get to see me mourn or laugh or grow in all the ways I know and don’t know quite yet. You forfeited your sight when you pressed your words into my side and gave them thorns and made them mine to keep and toss and hate: Why you? Why this? It’s been done. You’ve been done, you will say. If I have been done, then each life I have previously lived did not do it the way they should have, nor the way I would have wanted. If I have been done, then you would not have felt the desire to hold me and keep me held still. I love in the ways I know how. And for most of my days, that is more than enough.

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