Vol 26, Issue 4: Control

CONTROL

VOLUME 26 / ISSUE 04

CONTROL

EDITOR’S NOTE So much about our life can be consumed by what we can, or can not control.

We have been conditioned to run away from fear or discomfort, but truly facing it straight on is the only way for growth.

The only thing that I have found to actually be in control of was letting go of being in control, releasing control in a conscious way, embracing the fear of the unknown and the unconscious.

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In this issue, we are embracing different aspects of control that surround us and the aspects that are also within us. Our selected contributors have created vulnerable pieces that we are honored to share with you today. We believe that work, coming from such a personal place not only allows for a cathartic experience for the maker but for the viewer as well, forming shared connections between private experiences. This issue features all realms of art such as poems, performances, paintings, photography, animations, and illustrations to name a few.

Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, we offer our readers a content warning. We encourage you to observe the issue as not only an exploration of the artist’s perspectives but as one within yourself to acknowledge the control you’ve been captive to.

Signing off now.

Love, The VO Team

VISUAL OPINION TEAM Srishti Dass Editor in Chief Aline Rubin Head Designer Ori Haiblum Managing Editor Cheryl Okonkwo Editor in Chief Intern Haze Hyejin Ryu Design Intern Calvin Sheely Managing Editor Intern Maria Rovira-McCune Staff Advisor

CONTENT WARNING

The artworks in this issue contain strong and sometimes challenging imagery, including some depictions of violence, sexual violence, and suffering.

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CONTRIBUTORS 2

EDITORS NOTE

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CONTENT

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HUNTER BLU

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AMINA FOFANA

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JONATHAN GLAM

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AMINA GINGOLD

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ARIEL MINER

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JONATHAN GLAM

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KES TRAINOR

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YANG YU

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HUNTER BLU

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LI SHUYU

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EMILY CRAWFORD

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MIA GAHRMANN

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NIAYA DELISIO

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BRIGITTA BENGYEL

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SIMONE RICCARDI

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MARK ANDREW

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JAN MORALES

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AMINA GINGOLD

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CHELSEA FENG

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NIAYA DELISIO

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HUNTER BLU / BFA Photo and Video 2021 BLU BLOOD

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AMINA FOFANA / BFA Photo and Video 2020 UNTITLED

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JONATHAN GLAM / BFA Photo and Video 2021 MONUMENT

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AMINA GINGOLD / BFA Photo and Video 2020 MY MEMORY

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Up and over.

Up and over.

Up and over.

Blood never looked so nice before‌ Ruby - satin streaks travel the length of your neck.

Your legs revealing themselves on each side of me.

Lifeless.

Pulled back, from behind, you will notice a girl kneeling down at a tree.

Her skirt fanned out, knees pressing down into pinecones and multicolored leaves.

It is Autumn.

The scent of peaches fills the air. I think about my grandmother and her silky - curled hair.

I guess this is what love looks like.

My devotion to destruction.

The quickening pace of my chest collides with the emptiness of my body.

I appear to be nowhere outside.

Yet my hands are still covered in ruby - satin, printed all over and dried.

ARIEL MINER

/ BFA Illustration 2022

RUNRABBITRUN

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JONATHAN GLAM / BFA Photo and Video 2021 EDITH

Once she looked back She must have realized It burns when the atomic structure of your body Is being broken apart, changed and revised As looking at the fire Is being in the fire Is the lack of self-discipline Once she looked back She must have realized There is violence in the turn of the neck

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There is violence in the turn of the neck And after the neck comes the body Compelled to face the heat Similar to the face But as an independent object A collection of parts that reacts And follows the twisted neck Let me ask to revise again And let her exist as a giraffe in the desert Known for the strength and beauty of her neck When molecules are being broken apart In the name of punishment It may seem There used to be A memory of sodium and chloride left behind Bonded together By the same fire Allow me to become a pillar of salt.

Not a wife, not a righteous man But a pillar It wasn’t a weakness But a calculated rebel Edith knew pillars are stable This is, and will always be, a draft

KES TRAINOR / BFA Visual and Critical Studies 2022 INDUSTRIAL

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YANG YU / BFA Photo and Video 2021 RESTRAINT AND INDULGENCE

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HUNTER BLU / BFA Photo and Video 2021 GGG

G 5 6 7 8 . Gee Fi Fo Fum . Gee O I U 6 7 8 . 9 2 4 8 1. Gee seven undaunting ungiven , getting gassy in gallows and waning gibbous . Giving graciousness , getting greater , got no favors , see you later , Gee 7 9 2 get me out soon . Gee 9 5 2 get me home boo . Gee 1 2 I don’t love you . Gee i left my keys . at home getting cold , giving bone , got no phone , gas and smoke , gas my hopes , gas my tank , games all day , gracious thanks , gracious days , getting laid , getting gay , getting paid , getting o hey , in a minute , see you there in the kitchen see numbers and patters on the wall , trippinggg into corners faded skies from adolscent alcohol . afterall the overdoses and adderall still can’t see you get up after a fall , homeless partners incorporating lonely martyrs , how you think it matters if you think it matters anymor.

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LI SHUYU

/ BFA Design 2023

JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES

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EMILY CRAWFORD / BFA Illustration 2020 THRALL OF A HARLOT

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MIA GAHRMANN / BFA Photo and Video 2021 COUNTING

I have gotten very good at counting.

One pound up Two pounds down .03 ounces up Two and a half hours on stationary bike Three mile intervals One hundred and thirty-seven calories each set Eighteen miles Eight hundred and twenty-two calories Peach for lunch Sixty-nine calories Too many Spit half out Thirty-four calories Three pounds down Five this week Four more Meeting mom at the diner Six blocks .03 of a mile 2mph pace Fifteen calories Fall, but it’s still hot Account for sweating Twenty calories Two slices of bread Two eggs Too much I don’t finish.

This will be praised later.

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NIAYA DELISIO / BFA Photo and Video 2021 STRIPAWAY

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BRIGITTA BENGYEL

/ BFA Fine Arts 2020

RINSEREPEAT

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SIMONE RICCARDI / BFA Illustration 2020 ARTUR

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MARK ANDREW / BFA Fine Arts 2020 CHROMA

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JAN MORALES / BFA Photo and Video 2021 HAIR PERFORMANCE

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AMINA GINGOLD / BFA Photo and Video 2020 STRANGE WOMAN

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CHELSEA FENG / BFA Illustration 2020 UNTITLED

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NIAYA DELISIO / BFA Photo and Video 2021 PEEL CUT

peel cut rip away the concavity

that seeps beneath falls

into

us

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strips away you and I into that and this

and do and tuck and suck

VISUAL OPINION VOLUME 26 ISSUE 04

CONTROL

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VISUAL OPINION STAFF SRISHTI DASS / EDITOR IN CHIEF ALINE RUBIN / HEAD DESIGNER ORI HAIBLUM / MANAGING EDITOR CHERYL OKONKWO / EDITOR IN CHIEF INTERN HAZE HYEJIN RYU / DESIGN INTER CALVIN SHEELY / MANAGING EDITOR INTERN MARIA ROVIRA-MCCUNE / STAFF ADVISOR

VOLUME 26

ISSUE 04