Contrast Volume 9, Issue 2

CONTRAST

Vassar’s Art & Style Magazine Vol. 9, Issue 2

Letter from the Editors

This issue of Contrast was a bit of a passion project that we’ve wanted to do for a long time.

The connection between art and style, that we don’t celebrate enough, is the physical body. The nude. The sculpture. The curves, and the edges. We drag our bodies out of bed each day, throw some clothes on them, and use them to power our ways through the world. But they are not just vehicles for action, but beautiful creations that we wanted to showcase.

We often discuss our bodies only when it has problems and aspects we want to fix. You “have” to shave your legs. You gained 5 lbs. Your chest is too flat. You skipped leg day.

Contrast wanted to show the body in a different light. Showing off the body as art, as a style icon, as something to be celebrated, in all its glory.

From armpit hair, and leg tattoos, to hand painted bodies, please enjoy this issue, and thank you for reading.

Thank you and enjoy,

Lauren Garcia & Olga Voyazides

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Contents Where Art, Cooking, and Organic Farming Meet: An Interview with Miriam Rossi ..................4 - 5

by Clara Pomper

Unconventional Canvases ...................................................................................................6 - 11 A Liberal Arts Fashion Week .............................................................................................12 - 13

by Alex Masters

Derma Drawing ...............................................................................................................14 - 17 The Unfulfilled Promise of Side-Bangs ................................................................................18 - 19

by Caitlin Moore

The Five Senses ...............................................................................................................20 - 25 #FITNESSGOALS ............................................................................................................26 - 27

by Arden Shwayder

Poetry .............................................................................................................................28 - 31 Follicle Appreciation ...........................................................................................................................32 - 37 Contrast Executive Board ....................................................................................................................38 - 39

Collages by Fanni Somogyi

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Photo by Parisa Halaji

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Where Art, Cooking, and Organic Farming Meet: An Interview With Miriam Rossi

On Thursday, April 14th, photographer Francesco Mastalia came to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center as part of a panel with Chemistry professor Miriam Rossi and Art Center curator Mary-Kay Lombino to discuss “the unexpected intersections between organic farming, art, science, and food” (FLLAC website). Mastalia was accompanied by Brother Victor, a monk who is part of the local farming movement as well as the subject of one of the three Mastalia photographs exhibited at the Loeb. Brother Victor and his homemade vinegars are no stranger to Vassar: every semester, students in Professor Rossi’s “Culture and Chemistry of Cuisine” class get the chance to see his process for themselves on a class field trip. Contrast talked to Professor Rossi about the function of chemistry in our food, and the need for people to understand where their food comes from and how it’s processed.

Contrast Magazine: How did you meet Francesco Mastalia?

Miriam Rossi: I met Francesco through Brother Victor … He [Francesco] has a book called Organic where he went around the Hudson Valley and photographed different people involved with making food, or farmers, or even restaurant workers. On the other side of the page he interviewed the person and he would ask them what the word ‘organic’ meant to them, what organic farming meant to them.

CM: It was interesting to hear that so many farmers who would fit the assumed definition of organic, as in, sans pesticides, don’t actually have the official certification, simply because of the price of that label. Can you tell me more about your Cooking and Chemistry class?

MR: The origin of the class was because I had a [now retired] colleague in Biology, and he and I would always say, ‘what do you think is going on, when you have this kind of effect in your cooking,

when you’re trying to make bread?’ And we decided we should offer a class on this. The class is open to anyone, it’s a 100-level, designed to talk about some of the chemistry and the biology that happens as you cook and even in your metabolism.

We meet twice a week, and one time [a week], we’ll actually do cooking, we’ll make bread, or hollandaise sauce, or mozzarella cheese, or rice.

We’ll make some very simple truffles, and try to see the chemistry behind chocolate. One of the things we focus on is doing things with as little processing as possible, so when we make our foods, we’ll make them fresh and use local ingredients. Part of the idea is to demystify cooking, that in some ways, it’s not that difficult, and it’s also very forgiving.

CM: You also mentioned that you go on a field trip to visit Brother Victor.

MR: We go on a couple of field trips to local farms, usually Brother Victor’s, and this year also Hawthorne Farms. … [At Hawthorne] they try to do things in such a way that they don’t purchase anything from outside, what they call a ‘biodynamic farm.’ It means that instead of purchasing fertilizer, they use the manure from the animals, and they grow all the feed for the animals on the farm. …

They’ll make some cheese, and they’ll sell raw milk, and they make some products like different sauerkrauts.

In this course, one of the things that we talk about a lot [is] that what you eat is pretty important, because it’s the fuel that your body uses. The other big take-home lesson is that cooking is not that difficult, sometimes it takes time, and it’s a lot more fun to do when you do it with a group.

Interview by Clara Pomper

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UNCONVENTIONAL CANVASES

Artwork by Zerlina Panush, Annie Duncan, Paige Auerbach, Saskia Globit

Photo by Lucas Kautz

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Photo by Lucas Kautz

Photo by Parisa Halaji

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Photo by Parisa Halaji

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Photo by Parisa Halaji

Photo by Parisa Halaji

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Photo by Lucas Kautz

Photo by Parisa Halaji

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A LIBERAL ARTS FASHION WEEK

I was supposed to arrive at 8:30 a.m. I got to BPCM’s office at 8:25. Pretty proud. I took the train from Poughkeepsie at 6:14 so I could get in with time to take the subway over and grab breakfast. BPCM is a fashion PR firm in Chelsea. No one except for the Executive Assistant was at work yet. By 8:40, when no one working New York Fashion Week Men’s (NYFWM) had shown, I called the Intern Coordinator to ask what was up.

Ah, I was supposed to be at the site at 8:30, not at work. My stomach sank; I shot up and headed out.

I arrived 45 minutes late. Dressed in all black, the Account Executives (AEs) were standing at a check-in table backstage. I apologized profusely, but it was fine; they were happy to see me again. I asked what I could do, whatever was needed. Nothing, for now. The show wasn’t set up yet. We’d wait and then put out the run-of-show and seating cards.

Another intern described working fashion shows perfectly: “waiting on high alert.” We, especially as interns, were standing there waiting for orders, waiting to quickly distribute the cards symmetrically, waiting for something to go wrong and to feel relatively helpless as the AEs took care of it. After all, they are paid to know what to do.

So, working NYFWM was a mixed experience. First, I grew restless anticipating orders.

Then came nerves and eagerness to impress.

Finally, melancholic euphoria as the two shows I worked that day began. The music blasted as the lights dimmed and the models made their way down the runway. Euphoria: the music took over; I focused on the clothes (from the back of the crowd); I was part of the hype. The new interns watched wide-eyed.

Melancholy: I fell back into a schism I first experienced after finishing my internship the 12

previous summer. One of the shows I worked left my Vassar self in limbo. The designers, two white men, drew their inspiration from the film Juice (1992), which starred, was written and was directed by black men. Their inspiration was markedly front and center. But, Vassar students would see cooptation of black streetwear and exploitation of black culture. How are the designers approaching these issues, if at all? A fashionable, diverse

Another intern described working fashion shows perfectly: “waiting on high alert.” crowd snapped photos of a few black models.

If a black man wearing a green Kanye for President poncho is there, is it all okay? Intersectional questions of race and class flooded my mind as I reminded myself of where I was: Fashion Week.

In the end, fashion is still fun for me. I enjoyed my internship. I enjoyed working Fashion Week, because I like looking at the clothes and aspects of the fashion world lifestyle attract me. Is that just society telling me what to value? If so, is that escapable? Does it matter? At twenty-two, it’s hard to know. I do know that I still want a pair of Saint Laurent Chelsea boots.

Alex Masters ‘16

Photo courtesy of Alex Masters

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Derma DRAWING Elena Riecke 16 My half sleeve was my first tattoo. That’s my “mommy” tat-- it’s a snapdragon flower that I got to represent my mom. I got the first half done before I went abroad and the second half done right after I got back. It’s definitely been as much about the tattoo process as it is about the image. Tattoos are an act of body reclamation for me.

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Photo Credits: Parisa Halaji - Elena, Chelsea, Kristall Emma Butensky - Ingrid, James, Adam Dana Chang - Dana Billy Porges - Phoenix

Chelsea Carter 16 I like to think of my tattoos as little reminders. They remind me to breath, to relax, and to love. They also remind me to open my eyes, to deconstruct, to unlearn and relearn, and to reimagine the world around me. For, my anxious, imperfect, and unfortunately privileged self can often forget to do these things.

Ingrid Matison 19 My tattoo is based on an art piece that I drew myself. I like it because it scares old men and not everyone has a tattoo of a drunken squirrel on their thigh. Bonus: it kind of looks like Jimmy Fallon, which is a fact I’ve come to terms with.

Dana Chang 19 It’s a stick and poke of a chrysanthemum and really has no set meaning. A friend/mentor once told me not to get a super specific tattoo because over time you change and so does your perspective on life and your experiences. So its meaning shifts depending on the state I’m in or really whatever I’m feeling.

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James Falino 17 This fox is about the first before / after moment of my life, and about taking on different identities as you learn about yourself.

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” - Walt Whitman

This Chrysanthemum is about creating home as I grow up and move around, creating opportunities along the way.

“I’ve got a hoe and I take it everywhere I go, cause I’m planting seeds so I reap what I sow.” - Erykah Badu

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Kristell Taylor 16 Pisces often get a bad rep, as we are known to be pretty emotional and sensitive. On the other hand, we are also very intuitive, determined, and creative, so I find something somewhat empowering in identifying with this sign that may often not be taken as seriously. My logic was that if I got a tattoo, it should be something that means something to me since it would be with me forever, so the Pisces symbol made perfect sense to me because my astrological sign is never going to change. And blue is my favorite color, so it really doesn’t get more “me” than this.

Adam Senack 18 I love Gwen Stefani and her clothing line is called Lamb. She’s an icon and I wanted her to be with me forever.

“Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” (her first album) is a really inspirational message because it’s the four things she needs in her life to be happy, so the lamb is something that just makes me really happy.

Phoenix Kenney 16 Last spring, I was studying abroad in Nepal when a huge earthquake hit. Upon returning to the states and Vassar, I was having really terrible anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms. I immediately got the first moon, about 1/3 full, symbolic of its stage the day of the quake. Since last April, I’ve learned how to live with the memory of ground moving, understanding life as a cycle of healing.

I added three more moons - a crescent in front, a half and a full following - to remind myself that the world is constantly changing but that it will always come back around.

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The Unfulfilled Promise of

Side-bangs

By Caitlin Moore

I have a long, complicated, and generally well-conditioned relationship with my hair. If you’ve met me, you’ve probably noticed it. In fact, you’ve probably commented on it. You may even have tried to run your hands through it unsolicited. You’ve probably told me what you think about it. There’s a good chance that you’ve compared me to a lioness, inside your head or out loud. (Author’s note: Lionesses actually don’t have manes. Male lions have manes.) But enough about your rudeness, I want to talk about the most influential haircut I ever had.

I’ll never forget where I was when it happened.

It was a Saturday morning, approximately 10:04 am. I’d already been in my hairdresser’s basement for an hour and a half at this point. This was my life from ages 11 to 16: waking up at the ass-crack of dawn three Saturdays a year to go to Griselda’s house for a relaxer. The hours were hard and the chemicals were harsh, but at the time, the results were worth it.

The year was 2009. Lady Gaga had just burst on the scene and her trademark blunt bangs were sweeping white America. I was obsessed with them. I cannot tell you how badly I wanted to be a part of blunt bangs. For a year I dreamt only of blunt bangs. Blunt bangs and Pete Wentz. Unfortunately, the system was trying to keep me down. Griselda, in an act of principle, refused to cut me the bangs that I longed for so deeply. “They’ll ruin your complexion, you’ll get bored with them, you’ll have to flat iron your hair everyday,” she warned like the Ghost of Haircuts Future. Somewhere deep inside of myself, I knew that she was right. First of all, I had the round, pre-pubescent face of a Gerber baby. The bangs were only destined to heighten the number of times a week that I was compared to a Cabbage Patch Kid. Second, as you may have noticed, I have very, very curly hair. (Author’s note: I do not mean to imply that people with curly hair cannot have blunt bangs. You do you. I do mean that at age 13, I did not have the styling skills or follow-through to commit to making blunt bangs work every day.)

I went to elementary school in a white neighborhood and thus many of my childhood friends were white

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people. There are many realizations about hair that you come to as the one black person in a predominantly white friend group.

Number 1: Everyone is spending remarkably less money on the hair than I am. If you’re white, seriously take a pause and be grateful for the ways in which you have commercially profited from racism. Just know that combination shampoo-conditioner and $15 haircuts are not something afforded to all of us.

Number 2: Everyone is spending much less time on their hair than I am. It is a myth to imply that black hair is some how more difficult to deal with than white hair. It is true however that because whiteness is valued as the foremost standard of beauty, black people are expected to put in the work to get our hair to “comply.”

That means my white friends could not appreciate how difficult it was to slick my hair into the perfect tight ponytail or how long it took to blow dry it straight every single Sunday afternoon. Maybe then they all would have calmed the fuck down when I didn’t want to be a party of all the impromptu water balloon fights. (Author’s note: Is there anything dumber than a water balloon fight? You spend three hours filling balloons that as delicate as fuck for maybe four minutes of fun.)

Number 3: The latest “cool” hairstyles will almost never be meant for you. Perhaps one of the greatest sins ever perpetrated by Seventeen magazine was the use of Taylor Swift as the curly hair model for every hair issue since 2008. If that’s the end of the curly hair spectrum, then apparently there are no hairstyles out there for some of us.

But back to my formative life experience. So there I was, under the dryer in Griselda’s basement, flipping through a hair magazine, and suddenly, there it was. On page 48, a glossy photo of Vanessa (Anne) Hudgens with long wavy hair and side bangs. SIDE BANGS. OF COURSE. The answer was there all along! The perfect compromise between blunt bangs and no bangs. The edgy cousin of the bangs family. Could it really be that easy?

When first introduced, side bangs sound like an enticing and entirely reasonable option. All the fun of bangs with less commitment, salvation for the heartshaped faces, and a perfect gateway to the world of clip-on blue streaks from Hot Topic. Not to mention the ultimate bonus: they could easily be integrated into a curly hairstyle if you ever wanted to go natural. For me and side bangs, it was love at first sight. I fell hard and fast.

The first year of side bangs was like the best of whirlwind romances. It changed me, you know? Preside bangs, I had been a Limited Too-shopping, headband-wearer. Side bangs changed all of that. First of all, I started shopping at PacSun. Ever heard of it? I bought skinny jeans. I had a Billabong hoodie. I wore those color-coded sex bracelets even though I had no idea what they meant. I listened to All Time Low. I knew someone who went to Warped Tour. I was firmly entrenched in the fringes of scene-kid culture.

The nice thing about side bangs is they’re pretty easy to integrate into other looks. In the two years following my scene kid glory days, the side bangs still worked pretty seamlessly into my identity. In fact, I was cool with my side bangs all the way to college. Around 2013, the tide started to change. College brought with it an awakening on multiple levels. As I realized the ways in which oppression was constantly alive and well around me, I also realized that I wanted a different haircut, ASAP. I did

not want to spend time and/or money straightening my hair all the time just for the sake of these so-called “easy” side bangs. Believe it or not, side bangs didn’t actually work that well with my curly hair.

Whoever cuts your side bangs will probably tell you that they’ll be easy to grow out. That is a lie. Getting rid of side bangs is like trying to quit a Girl Scout troop and quitting a Girl Scout troop is like trying to get gum out of your side bangs. I say this to say it is hard, nearly impossible. You can run, but you can’t hide. No matter who cuts your hair, they will find the side bangs hidden within.

Assuming that there is a reason that this one chunk of your hair is shorter than the rest, they will continue to cut it. You are stuck in a forever loop of 2010 coolness, a perpetual Vanessa (Anne) Hudgens.

My words of advice to anyone who is trying to escape side bangs purgatory: stay strong and stay persistent.

It may not be today, or tomorrow, but someday you will not have side bangs anymore. Be honest with the people who cut your hair. Be not afraid to say, “Please don’t cut my hair like this anymore.” Experiment with barrettes. Try out some fun half up/half down styles. You’ll make it. It is 2016, but I am finally free of side bangs a mere seven years after this journey began. Do I regret it? No. Would I do it again? Probably not. I leave you with one last piece of wisdom. If you’re thinking about cutting side bangs, don’t. Or do. It’s your hair, I don’t really give a damn.

Photo courtesy of Caitlin Moore

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FIVE

SENSES

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Photos by Lucas Kautz

Photo by Parisa Halaji

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Photos by Parisa Halaji

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Photo by Lucas Kautz

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Photos by Lucas Kautz

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#FITNESSGOALS

16 oz of quinoa at Whole Foods: $9.99.

Lululemon yoga leggings: $118. Average gym membership (including initiation fee): $550.

These are just a few “essentials” in the latest trend sweeping America: maintaining an organic, non-GMO, gluten and dairy free, yoga and meditation filled lifestyle. Obviously, eating a balanced diet, exercising, and taking time for self-care is something that everyone should strive for. But why is this “lifestyle” trendy, and why is it so expensive?

It is a well-known fact that, over time, different body shapes become the fashionable, “in” kind to have – and usually, it is the rich, dominant cultural groups that determine what sort of body is in vogue. In ancient Rome, having a tan, muscular body was the ideal; having the body of the gods indicated that, clearly, you had the time to lay out and tan as well as spend hours at the gymnasium building up the right kind of muscles. In Victorian era Britain, women went to great lengths to have a ghostly pale complexion and an hourglass figure. These features indicated that the lady could stay inside and corseted, avoiding hard labor outdoors.

Now, the latest trend across America is to have a healthy body coupled with a highly documented, healthy lifestyle. Arms and abs toned through Pilates and boutique ballet classes, fueled by kale smoothies, and donned in Nike, Outdoor Voices, and Lululemon (just to name a few of the luxury athletic wear brands dominating casual wear today) are the ideal, and featuring your hard work on Instagram is a must.

Perhaps the wave of obsessing over ingredient lists is in part a reaction to the industrialization of the food industry in the United States.

Documentaries such as Food Inc. illuminated how the capitalist desires of major agricultural and food corporations have worked hand in hand with the government to put toxic and unhealthy products on our plates to make a profit.

For some, it may have to do with the environment. As the Earth’s temperature rises, bloggers, celebrities, and the United Nations alike have pointed to the animal product industries as a major source of damage to the environment. In fact, in 2010, the U.N. urged people to take up vegetarianism as a way to combat the agriculture industry’s massive fossil fuel consumption.

But are these really the reasons why so many people have started doing juice cleanses and religiously perfecting their vinyasa flows?

I don’t think so. To me, the trendiness of living healthy goes hand in hand with the age of the Internet and the rise of social media, particularly Instagram. It’s relatively easy to get fit without a gym membership or Nike Frees, but you get more credit for your work if you post about it online. In the self-congratulatory cycle of social media, those who can buy in to the latest trendy athleisure lines, superfoods, and Victoria Secret Angel approved workouts, win. And let’s be honest, I bet that green juice tastes a lot better when your ‘gram of it has at least fifty likes.

Arden Shwayder

In the self-congratulatory cycle of social media, those who can buy in to the latest trendy athleisure lines, superfoods, and Victoria Secret Angel approved workouts, win.

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New Diet Fad: A Love Poem I am trying to love while loving myself But things tend to come easier Through words than actions.

You caress my rolls, Pinch at my dimples, Whistle at my sway.

And this is all glorious, But some mornings I cannot crawl out of bed Because the mirror has become my enemy, And the scale its ammunition.

Anxiety nibbles away At my gushing veins, Draining me of my Pride and self-assurance.

Is this where it all just falls away?

Nowhere to hide.

No one else to be.

I advocate self-love, But sometimes when you touch me, It feels like a lie.

Not from you but from myself.

And I hold my hand to your bare chest Where your heartbeat drums, Lulling out a soft quickstep.

In time, it sings out to me TRUST me. TRUST me. TAKE me.

I find myself So hopeful to not be hopeless.

I lay on top of you, Brown Skin to Brown Skin.

Your promise me that “Beauty is only skin deep,” But I’ve drilled past the epidermis And am still scarred.

Belief is something I struggle with.

But faith, I have faith strong enough to create mountains.

So why, Why is this mirror mocking me Loading its cannons And taking aim?

I’ve dreamt too much for one day.

I rest my head back on your chest.

Catch your pulse amidst the music.

(TRUST me. TRUST me. TAKE me.)

Mariah Ghant

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the shape of things in the dark tiny forest, one-tree patch.

Light says let her alone, she is not for possession or consumption. in shadow; good, sour drips of electrocute. an open mouth, screams silent fingers twirled in a cup of body wine, the soft throne heartbeat maker of humanity. The flower that blooms and hurts and blooms in reverse and blooms Vanessa Rosensweet

Collages by Fanni Somogyi

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Collages by Fanni Somogyi

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Every mother has an hourglass shape I was born headfirst like most I plunged not down but through

Freeze time a century ago & the parts of me yet to be imported hang like cosmic dust discoloring night Subduction is the force that makes continents collide

Seduction is making mountains bloom in a strange place

Somewhere in the midst of mother all that my blood has been came into me the way my lover comes into me

the body-planet brings itself to ruin

One day I’ll be a galaxy all sand & supernova Michaela Coplen

it’s trite to call anything a cancer, metaphorically. so let me just say that cancer is the humans of the body just as man em erges from his environment, is naturally selected for, cancer cells emerge from the body, metastasize throughout it, and in their quest to live destroy it. if you get far enough from Earth, the cities look like dark spots on my MRI. diagnose me with inoperable, late-stage capitalism.

Michael Fracentese

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Follicle Appreciation Photos by Parisa Halaji

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CONTRAST E X E C B OA R D Olga Voyazides - Co-Editor-In-Chief

Lauren Garcia - Co-Editor-In-Chief

John Wallner - Style Editor

Mollie Schear - Style Editor

Paulina Vigoreaux - Makeup & Hair 38 Editor

Katie Eliot - Layout Editor

Lucas Kautz - Photo Editor

Parisa Halaji - Photo Editor

Jackie Krass - Editorial Editor

Arden Shwayder - Editorial Editor

Ellie Winter - Publicity Editor Style Team

Jasmine Prasad, Madison Clague, Kirk Testa, Sam Greenwald, Dana Chang, Harriet Idle, Noah Jackson, Sydney Lee, Maynie Yang, Hannah Cho

Photo Team

Megan Forster, Ashley Pecorelli, Taylor Thewes

Nicole Schonitzer Publicity Editor Layout Team

Jasmine Prasad, Dana Chang, Harriet Idle, Alisa Vithoontien

Editorial Team

Alex Masters, Jane Pryzant, Clara Pomper, Caitlan Moore, Sam Greenwald, Fanni Somogyi, Megan Forster

Michelle Zhao - Treasurer Models

Sarah Freedman, Fiona Abrams, Chelsea Carter, Leah Pan, Nicole Gonzalez, Matt Foster, Joseph Szymanski, Christiana Bowman, Kirk Testa, Shiv Ruparell, Addit Vaddi, Rory Chipman, Alex Masters, Caitlan Moore, Hannah Harp, Maranda Berry, Mike Nesheiwat, Carrie Plover

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Contrast Magazine, Spring 2016 vassar-contrast.tumblr.com Instagram: vassarcontrast