unseen

site launch, yay!

2009-07-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

unseenmag.com is launched!

right now it's basically a template for what's to come...my little knowledge of web design made for a pretty simple site. but i wanted to have something to show people so we can start publicizing the mag more and getting lots of submissions.

a while back i made fliers to hang up around whatever town you find yourself in. i'll work on linking it in pdf form so you can print it out. would be great to have a street team to help spread the word.

meanwhile, i would love for all of you to work on some submissions! right now i want to get as much work as possible so we can put out a really dynamite issue.

besos--
a

Sorry to take up space.

2009-07-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

I know there are some writers in this group. I'm interested in where you went to school and how you like it? Sound like I'm interested in becoming a writer? You would be correct.

Oh, and where is the website? Is it launched?

Thanks!

Jackie

Also, has anyone been to India?

homepage designs

2009-06-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

here are some designs i've been working on. what are your thoughts? also accepting any suggestions for ideas--
more to come!

UNSEEN MAG WEBSITE LAUNCH

2009-06-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

so maybe you thought unseen had faded into the oblivion of good intentions and failed follow-through. no so!

the unseen mag website launch will take place on july 1st. until then, i'll be slaving away to make something really pretty that we can show people that don't know what this is all about and they will feel so obligated to submit something that we will get stuff from like, famous people. or else we'll all just become famous. i can deal with that.

yay! be on the lookout. also i might be asking for suggestions here, so keep checking back. since i know you check unseenmag.blogspot.com daily.

2009-05-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

j currin 1991

hello unseen.

bea arthur naked and i would like to know how projects in progress are going. let's get this show on the road.

hiiiiiiiii

2009-03-27T12:55:00.001-07:00

oh unseen, my dear blog that has gone long neglected.

things are happening! just behind the scenes.

here is a flyer. once the site is up we can throw these around our respective towns like some wicked flurry of snowflakes in canada. get ready!

response to le website interface post

2009-02-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

i have nothing to say about that .gif, i just thought it was funny.

i find a simple interface really, really appealing. especially as we are dealing with involved content (i.e. essays, photography, articles and art) that asks your conceptual participation... i feel like a convoluted website would be overkill. sexy, simple, with essential information.

example of bad, convoluted interface: fecalface. that, and the name is really kinda unbearable (i'm sure people would disagree with me) BUT the content is awesome BUT the homepage makes me panic. literally panic. okay not literally.

profiles and links to artists' sites: good idea. especially for people who are trying to get their work out there and circulated. if the printed media is where we are really going to concentrate on putting together pieces of artwork into an integrated, whole work then allowing the website to give us more context is a great idea (context i.e. who the artists are, what they do individually, their statements and bios etc.)

actually i like that. the magazine and the website are complementary. text and context.

so. would that image in the previous post be the actual homepage? if so, i like it. i also think, though, that instead of the sleek and quiet fonts that perhaps allude too much to interior-design-webstores and the like, what if we did something with the same simplicity but more flesh and color:

http://www.bloomsberry.com/
new zealand-based chocolatiers . find their website really appealing bc it has the simplicity of something you could hold. it's charming, it's simple, slightly sinister, and it's not trying too hard to sell itself or genre itself. and i don't panic about where to find information. it's just simply pleasing.

click around on it - it's awesome. and i call and talk to the people about what/who they are using to design this - we carry their chocolate in the store where i work.

well. i was going to linkup http://www.cranbrookart.edu/Pages/Ceramics.html (cranbrook academy of art) because they used to have an interesting and appropriate website for their different disciplines - each was different based. but. it's a little less interesting than it used to be. worth it to look around on, anyway.

brian knox (who isn't reading this blog or the emails but soon will be... as soon as i remember to email him) has a 2d design style that i would love to be visually associated with - rich color scheme, ambiguous imagery, not serious, not overly ironic, and what i find most appealing - it's like nothing i've encountered. i don't know his level of experience with putting together a website. hah. great with photoshop though! surely those skills transfer.

alright that's all i have today.

website template

2009-02-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

randomly generated tags that link to artwork and artist pages. people can add tags to any work to create a growing, interactive space. "unseen" links to an about page for the magazine and more structured links to artists and types of artwork.

thoughts?

submission

2009-02-11T10:55:00.000-08:00

okay since the library won't let me post to blogger - here's what i'm submitting. the two files "heart irregularities" and the two files "the second half"

hugs

drop.io/submissionunseen_

sorry!

2009-01-19T16:41:00.001-08:00

i swear to god i'm posting.

one of my siblings got arrested and i had to fly town.

but i'm submitting as soon as i can get back and scan.

submit, bitches!

2009-01-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

first submissions are in! i've got mine a-brewin' too...

i know some of you are finding it hard to find time to do something...and i just want to encourage everyone to put something out because there's no way to make this awesome without all of you awesome people involved! but if you're having trouble please send me an email and let me know.

xoxo
a

the real unseen

2009-01-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

So the one thing that is for sure unseen right now are works in progress. I think it'd be cool if whoever has something to post as work in progress did so. But I mean, it's whatever. Thus, I'll post a couple... tell me if they make sense for boundaries?

Paris? Burning?

2009-01-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

Someone posted something about Paris burning, and it showed up in my Google Reader. But here on the site its gone, vanished, like it only existed in this ethereal realm of RSS feeds, distributed for some other ghostly stranger. But that other stranger was me.

So I started poking around, wondering if Paris is Burning was code for some piece of art or trendy band. There were a few music videos on youtube that caught my eye, but then I got distracted because what else does youtube do to you?

And a few hours later I'm reading Henry Miller, come across a passage that stands out as though emblazoned -

"Paris hadn't been good to him, any more than it had to me, or to anybody, for that matter, but when you've suffered and endured things here it's then that Paris takes hold of you, grabs you by the balls, you might say, like some lovesick bitch who'd rather die than let you get out of her hands."

And I remembered my first night in Paris, hunched under a heavy backpack, alone, confused by the language, “les” and “las” and diacritical marks. Ended up on the wrong train to one of those suburbs that was plagued with race riots and burning cars a few years ago. Slept on the grass in a park under a canopy of leaves and stars, my pack nervously fastened to my belt, anchored for the night.

So maybe Paris needs to burn, or already is burning, its long history of strife and injustice, filth and violence, from the line of Louis to the Third Reich, even its ideological high point rising to the cry of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity guillotined, drowned out by the farcical cry for blood.

Maybe all that is part of the appeal.

Ah, beautiful place, Gay Pari'...

Me? I prefer New York’s particular brand of misery.

2009-01-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

Open Question:

2008-12-31T22:56:00.000-08:00

How's the work going?

Also:
Happy New Year.

hmm.

2008-12-21T23:18:00.000-08:00

guys and ladies. what do we do about this.

i say we ignore it and make something cooler. eh?

uncool

2008-12-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

i have cool friends.

2008-12-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

alright--i suppose i can do the introductions, since i know everyone here. feel free to adjust this as you see fit. there are people that aren't yet listed as contributors, so i will introduce everyone and if something appeals to you you can email them and maybe bring in people that haven't yet involved themselves. i'll also try and say where i know them from, so you can get some spatial understandings in mind.

avery white: uga. art, women's studies major. photographer and misc. artist. incredibly creative and doing some really cool stuff.
cari ann: found her through flickr. great photographer. see her stuff here.
dani harris: app state graphic design major. hopefully will help out a lot with layout and the feel of the mag. excellent taste.
derek wycoff: app state ids major (??) that does web design, is a drummer, and is generally useful and innovative. hopefully will help set up an excellent web presence for us.
doug blaney: i don't even know who this kid is. ha. app state ids major that thinks about a lot of things and writes brilliant poems and other things.
erin hawley: app state art history and philosophy major that has a superb sense of visual aesthetic and very refined taste. will hopefully be helping with layout and submission selections. (if we happen to receive an immense amount of work.)
gabriel krieg: app state ids major (ish) that is on his way to becoming a published poet and has a strong knowledge of indesign and layout stuff.
jackie karsten: robin's fellow intern at national geographic (d.c.) that does photography and writing and geography things and knows lots of good people to know.
jaymeykay young: app state photo major. this girl is a baller photog. see her stuff here
jay wentworth: app state professor (ids/watauga college) of poetry, all things japan, life in general. published poet.

jessie pickren: uga art major. unfortunately i can't say much because she's sean's friend, but i've heard very good things. works in fabric/3d (?)

js makkos: cleveland based poet/word artist. effectively insane. :D

kate shipley: copy editor currently living in merced, ca. grammar genius that will hopefully help out with editing.

laura henley: app state art major. super talented painter and doodle extraordinaire.

layton williams: currently living in austin, but she's a uga english major. writer (just finished her first draft of her novel) and filmmaker.

mark williams: ma in english (?) from app state. prime prose poet.

matt cronheim: app state political science major. writer of poems and dense academic texts. among other things.

meg hanna: app state ids major. prose writer, poet, filmmaker, audio documentarian. definition of interdisciplinary. and creative genius.

megan webster: app state history major and biology minor that writes profound poems and draws very excellent caricatures.

morgan salyer: soon to be (maybe?) an app state student. excellent photographer with a very fashionable eye. mostly shoots very cool portraits.

peter lundblad: app state english (or theatre/drama? not sure here) major. comically gifted. as in, is funny and awesome. playwright.

preston craig: ruler of the atlanta hip scene. poet, dj, collaborator and networking jackpot.

robin wertheim: atlanta originator, now lives in d.c. interning at national geographic. uga geography major; world traveller and mapmaker. fiercely intelligent.

sadie starnes: app state art major. works in paint, mostly. and magic.

sean piazza: app state pr (? sean i never remember if this is right) major. this guy was made for pr and will take unseen to the national level. have no doubts.

tim donlan: (brother). atlanta originator (ish), now living in manhattan. writer (mostly dark prose and short stories). a bit delillio-ish.

tom anthony: tom lives somewhere in texas and is an awesome graphic designer that is currently working in the field and has some sweet published work.

feel free to offer corrections. i'm sure i didn't do any of you justice--

oh. and me.

anna donlan: app state photography major, currently living in atlanta trying to defeat boredom by waiting tables and working at a photography gallery. i take pictures sometimes. some are here. but i'm sure you already knew that.

...apparently so. nonetheless, douglas. think again.

2008-12-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

so i work at mellow mushroom now

and yesterday i saw somebody wearing this totally sweet hat

and i was like, "whoa, there's a greensboro in south carolina too?"

commencement.

2008-12-15T23:57:00.000-08:00

good good; i suppose that is enough of a response.

ok.

theme: boundaries.
deadline: i don't want to make this too quick so as you don't have enough time to work, especially because some mediums (i.e. painting) take longer than mine. but i also don't want to give you so much time that you're lazy and you put things off and then do something shitty. what with the holidays and all it seems silly to make it january 1...so let's say we give it a month. january 16. expect an email.

brainstorms are welcome as far as what you're thinking about the theme. i think it would be sort of neat to work in a void, but i don't want us to be out of contact. i am excited about mulling this word over, drawing it out, sucking it back in again, seeing what happens. go crazy.

o hai

2008-12-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

alright kiddos. let's get this ball rolling. no moss gathering here.

the to do list included mission statement and then the development of themes. i think that the basic jist of this thing is: unseen is a means to encourage creation. this is open ended as hell, but i think that themes can give us more structure on that.

the more i think about it, the more i do like laura's idea, but i also think that it could be very difficult to carry that out, and i want to avoid potentially losing a lot of time trying to work out the logistics of that. laura, perhaps you could collaborate with a smaller number of people and that could be a submission series? i think that would be really excellent. and give you a bit more freedom with it. even though i feel like you are wanting less freedom...anyway. let me know if you want help getting that set up.

so. do we want to stick with having a one word theme and just let you go? or do we want to do the one element common to each piece or something else? i don't want to impose too much but i have no aversion to just deciding something so we can just go and see what happens.

present

2008-12-14T23:27:00.001-08:00

sorryihavenotparticipatedintheprocesshitherto.

eventhoughihavebeeneavesdroppingonalltheconversations.

iaminfull-tiltapply-for-law-schoolmode.

andiamnotthetraditionalcreativetypethatisinthemajorityhere.

butiamexcitedaboutalltheideas.ithinkitisgoinginthedirectionofintent.

ihavebeenlookingforareasontoteachmyselfwebdesign
andthisjustmightbeit.i'llgetonthat.

andifthemagazineneedsalawyerin3.5years,icanhelpinthatfield.

sorryaboutthespacing,butthespacebaronmykeyboardisbroken.
nojoke.latz.

multimedia adlib

2008-12-14T10:07:00.001-08:00

i like the mission statement.

okay. i feel like this proposal is a little ostentatious, but i'm going for it anyway: this is an idea for an entire issue.

the adlib game. you play it in a group, just a piece of a paper and pen. the first person will write a sentence then hand the paper to the next person, who draws a picture in response. then the second person folds down the sentence so only the picture is showing. she passes it to a third person who then write a sentence describing the drawing, folding down the drawing and passing on the sentence to repeat the thing over and over again...

everyone know this game?

okay. instead of sentences and drawings, what if our responses were as varied as our different medias? video, poetry, painting, installation, photography, etc. etc.

what if we did this as an entire issue? it's chronology and logic would render unnecessary too many worries about layout as we would just document in the magazine, page by page, the process as it happened from one creator/contributor to the next. moreover, it's a theme that is easy to follow for a magazine whose direction and mission is so wide open we risk seeming to readers, not to one another, ambiguous art snobbish etc. etc.

also - i love the idea. but! this is just a jumping-off point, this idea should evolve, i just think it would be a very interesting dialogue.

problems i can forsee: this would require deadlines, as we'd have to be passing the product on from one of us to another (or maybe works in progress could be passed on?)

it seems a little elementary (although, this is also one of it's strong points)

idea. i'm not attached to it. but i think it's an interesting way to start collaborating.

a distant figure in a photograph

2008-12-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

I've been in a school coma for about two weeks now. I want to just say this is going great so far. I haven't put my thoughts in yet, but I will. Once my brain unthaws. Mad props to Anna for getting together this eclectic group of creators.

sign me up

2008-12-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

I truly love all of these ideas being expressed. I have been a bit slack as well, finding only a few moments to escape to the computer this past week to read over the accumulated emails and blog posts. I must say though, Anna darling (and all really), I am incredibly inspired and excited about all this and very much want to be a part of it. As far as my organization skills/technological skills go--they are horribly lacking—but I have faith they can be acquired :). I am not sure what more to add at this point as far as the foundation for a lot has been said already. As far as ideas about where we can go with the theme and direction of magazine overall–firstly, I love the quote from Faulkner, and I feel part of bringing forth something from what was once not there is shedding light and making beautiful what is there but can only be seen, felt, or sensed in any way at all, with a tender sensitivity to the cadence of the earth and all its life and matter. I feel like this is one thing the world craves without even realizing its cravings. And I feel like it is the duty of the artist to illuminate these things-- To satisfy not only our own individual cravings that cry out from the core of our very being, but because the world needs creativity and newness.—and from the sounds of it, I feel like this is a lot of what Unseen is striving to do. hooray! :)
I like the idea of a theme and us all chasing after that in our different environments and coming together with what we create from that. I have some questions though—do we take this theme (say, for the first boundaries) and just go with that word and use whichever art form we want to work with–film, poetry, music etc. (I am assuming we can post music and video files..honestly, you all, my internet/blog/anything technological knowledge is so so limited)? I don’t know if we have put limitations, as far as what forms we want to use.
Some other ideas—I am sort of stealing this from Miranda July but I love it! --if you haven’t checked out her website, http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/book.php and book with Harrel Fletcher, you should. It is incredibly inspiring–Anyhow, I like the idea of creating specific assignments along with the theme. That way, in one breath, we have us all going out capturing/creating things from our individual environments with just the small connective thread of this one word (the chosen theme). But also, (with the assignment(s)) we can create a different dynamic by connecting us through something that, in one aspect, is more restrictive, yet also, can be fascinating to see the variations that exist by a simple change of space/place/people etc. even with such a strong mutual variable. I like this idea, but please, feel free to disagree. That is all I have for now....I really am loving all that everyone is saying and can’t wait to see where this goes.

Just checking in

2008-12-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hey dudes,

This isn't productive or anything, but I haven't been able to check on the blog for a few days, but I'm definitely still interested in being fully involved. I've got to finish up this beast of a novel tonight, but I'll catch back up tomorrow and add some input.

(Layton)

too many verbs?

2008-12-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

"unseen exists as a sanctuary.

a sanctuary that longs to inspire a creation. to inspire an appreciation. to inspire the connection; to inspire the reconnection.

to embrace that which was unseen."

ok... talked this over w/ anna, the second part is a little vague. but i didn't know how much longer you'd want it, without it losing a mission statement feel. but encouraging a lot of different people with different ideas, and different motives as well... basically i just tried to say that we're fighting apathy, we want people to connect and be interactive with their environments, and themselves, through creation... all while trying to seem a lil humble.

is this the wrong direction? did i miss the essence?

also respecting meg's note, i wanted to keep it somewhat simple. obv i couldnt find a middle ground, so i need help from a little more poetic people than myself. ha.

just trying to put something out there from anna's ideas.... let me know.... i'm studying for a geology final... which actually ends up becoming a time for this, so i'll be around.

anywho, rip it up.

brainstorming for mission statement

2008-12-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

because i need a savior.

from boredom, laziness, lack of motivation, fear of my own self-imposed identity. because i need to create to be happy and because i avoid creating--

why create? why be prolific? what are we doing and why do we want to do it?

in the corridors of the pompidou, under the grand ceilings of the louvre, something calls to us.

unseen magazine exists because i want motivation to explore. pressure + deadlines = production. we have given ourselves the identity of artists but there is not artist without art.

unseen is different because we want to stretch boundaries, to do new things, to feel fresh. this isn't about showcasing our best work. this is a conversation starter, a visual brainstorm, a dialogue between the artist and the art and the audience.

we are here to create. can creation be the end itself?

(very preliminary. the thing is, when i developed this idea, i just wanted a forum for creating new work, and inspiring others to do the same. i hate to say that it's not much more profound than that. should it be? your thoughts are appreciated/necessary.)

addendum:
quote from faulkner reading that doug shared--
"I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory, but to make out of the material of the human spirit something that was not there before."

"the basis of all things is to be afraid"

i think this is partially what i'm getting at

The Low Down:

2008-12-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

I suppose to thin this shiz out, and catch others up, this is what we've decided we need:

A seasonal magazine (about 4 issues/year), something creatively and economically feasible
A mission statement (suggestions? obv. Anna needs to be involved in this (obv), as well as Doug.)
More input on the proposed first theme: "Boundaries"
And I'm trying to line up a solid printing connection for late winter/early spring. This is not set in stone, but just provides a timetable for action--and reminds us a spring release is totally possible-- exciting! Plus, the person I'm talking to gets commission, so it is in our favor on all sides... aka: we may get a discount.
On Doug's idea of a street crew (leaving a magazine w/ contacts). I'm not sure if we'd be able to do that large scale, but creative marketing never hurt anyone. It leaves a strong impression... it makes a person's experience interactive and emotional.

And I'll add these, and see what happens:

Baller layout expertise (and input on here, maybe)
Website creation correlating with the first issue.. could be good to keep possible pre-order people in check... a reference for them, that we're the real thing. And that we'll rock. And something tangible to put on fliers/handouts/ads (Derek on website?)
Image. We need a logo/look/feel that represents what we want to do. This may need to come after a mission statement... but still. Are we trying to have a classic feel? a young feel? fresh? modern? image says a great deal about who will pick up our magazine

[SP]

Also, simply to inspire... I'm a team builder at heart:

not so meta

2008-12-12T00:41:00.000-08:00

with regard to striking a balance between online (blog/website) and print (glossy 120-page fashion magazine) publication--i think a middle road is realistic. i don't know the specifics on the sites you've all mentioned--lulu, exit--but i could see the print form of our work unfolding as an every-other-month kind of thing, with the website serving as a repository of everything we've done so far, no matter how large, small, or print-worthy. it might also be useful to conceptualize projects in terms of which outlet they're likely to be best suited for: is this a blog post or a long, polished rumination? what stage am i in with respect to revising this piece? how can i turn this thought into a finished work for the magazine next month? etc., etc.

here's my idea about printing: imagine every couple of months or so we print between 30 and 40 copies of a magazine, made up of our favorite online and/or yet unpublished content. each contributing member gets 3 copies, keeping one and placing the other two in strategic locations within our respective areas. i take one of mine to the beloved local coffeeshop in downtown greensboro and say, "hey, do you mind if i leave this here?" somewhere on the back cover (or inside, ?) is a statement saying something like, "hey y'all! you're looking at unseen magazine, put out (blah blah blah) by the folks at (blah blah website blah). we ask that you not remove this copy from its present location; the owners of (trendy pseudo-intellectual hotspot) have graciously allowed us to leave our work lying around in here, and we hope to reach as many of you as possible. so if you want more, check out our website (xxx.xxx.com) or email (whoever or whatever website) to receive your own printed copy. in the meantime, please leave this copy where you found it so your peers and fellow patrons can discover and peruse it just as you have, and don't forget to satisfy 'new content' cravings by checking out what else we have to offer on unseen's website."

the way i see it, this scenario allows us to print a magazine (hopefully at manageable costs), procure copies of said magazine, distribute said magazine to local establishments in a variety of cities, and establish a mutually-reinforcing and supportive set of readership "poles" around which it might be possible to generate something of a buzz. this may or may not work, and is also dependent on whether or not such small orders can be placed with any of the printing resources we've seen mentioned. between my desire to produce printed media and my lack of money to devote to such a goal, an idea like this seems to be lurking on the horizon of inevitability...thoughts?

authors/topics

2008-12-11T15:07:00.000-08:00

on a logistical note, i added everyone as authors to the blog. now, you can login as yourself, and everyone will be able to see who wrote which posts. yay technology.

as for topic of the first issue, instead of something wordy like "geospatial boundaries/maps," how about just

boundaries.

webbed

2008-12-11T14:47:00.001-08:00

this blogger is weird. do i have to be signed into to unseen's gmail account? keeps signing me into it. i hate blogger, but i suppose my hatred is counter productive, so ill give it a rest. do we have a website designer yet? if not, i say we recruit little boy genius, derek w. he's always looking for things to do to put on a resume, so i think he'd be game. ill ask him if we havnt already gotten that far yet. that way, while we are all tinkering away at our own projects, a site will be readying itself for our magic. lemme know if thats something you want me to do. or something you (anna) want to take care of. he's pretty good at creating something from a few key concepts. so, do we have those? what kinda format we want? etc.? - meg

themes.

2008-12-11T13:03:00.001-08:00

sean's right. we need some ideas, stat, to get this moving in a good direction. i am still feeling that wooziness of wait,whatarewedoing and so i imagine you probably are even more than me.

so. let's decide on a theme around which to create work. make whatever you feel like is your desired medium. once we have a good collection of stuff, we'll decide how to put it together. how's that sound?

so, i'll repeat some of the themes i've already offered up/have been presented and we can discuss from there:

hibernations/migrations/wintering

morning rituals

the constructed self

human connectivity/crossing geospatial boundaries/maps

human connectivity

2008-12-11T09:54:00.000-08:00

1

2008-12-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

so. how do we want to go about this? you all could be additional participants of the blog and publish posts, or we could have you respond in comments. that could be tedious.

let me know, in comments. we'll test it out.