YOULITMagazine

VOLUME 2ISSUE 2

YOULIT

YOULIT Magazine Teen Editors Briana Matthews Kailah Lee Kali Johnson Ethan Doris Alisha Stalling Marroz Franklin Christine Jordan Sekani Reed Nathaniel Knize Antonio Bacon

Managing EditorMarcus Lumpkin

Magazine

2 Op-Ed Intro PageBackground Image by: Ethan Doris1 Editor’s Page

3 Op-Ed by: Matthew Byrd

4 Photography Page by: Kali Johnson

5 Comic Art Pages by : Kailah Lee and Sekani Reed

6 Photography Page by: Kali Johnson7 Interview with artist

Nathaniel Knizeby: Christine Johnson

8 Poem by: Nadine FieldImage by: Alisha Stalling

9 Photography intro Pageby: Ethan Doris

10 Ethan Doris Photography Feature

11 End of Summer Issue by: Kali Johnson

YOULIT MAGAZINEOPPOSITETHEEDITORIALPAGE

The final night of the Republican National Convention in Tampa had two key goals. One was to trump up support for a candidate, Mitt Romney, whom even the party’s base is lukewarm about. The other, to convince the American people that President Obama has failed to end the economic crisis he inherited four years ago and does not deserve a second term. However, both of those goals were overshadowed by the bizarre piece of performance art that was Clint Eastwood’s speech.

Yes, the Republicans dragged out Eastwood, the 82-year old Academy Award-winning actor/director and moderate conservative who supports gay marriage, abortion rights, and environmentalism, to give a rousing speech calling out the “evils of Obama” and praise the glory that is Mitt Romney. What they got was a rambling, ad-libbed speech where Clint Eastwood proceeded to have a ten-minute conversation with a chair that contained an invisible version of the leader of the free world.

You read that correctly. Perhaps the most iconic actor of the 20th century got up on stage, and carried on a conversation with an invisible person in front of millions of people both at the convention and watching on television. In what will surely go down as one of the most memorable moments in convention history, Eastwood conversed with invisible Obama on topics such as the President’s failure to turn the economy around, why Joe Biden is an idiot, and why lawyers shouldn’t be president (ironically Romney holds a law

by Matthew Byrd

Clint EastWood

and AfghanistanINVISIBLE OBAMA

degree). Invisible Obama then proceeded to tell Clint Eastwood to shut up (obviously Invisible Obama hasn’t seen enough Clint Eastwood movies to know that that is a horrible idea), and told Romney and Eastwood to go f@#* themselves (something the President clearly has a record of doing).

While this strangely awesome bit of experimental theater was entertaining, there was a section of this “performance” that was oddly poignant and offered real insight into the priorities of both parties in this presidential election season. At one point, Eastwood chided Invisible Obama for not pulling out of Afghanistan, a conflict which has just taken it’s 2,000th life, 1,000 of which have been taken in the past 27 months, mostly due to the escalation of the conflict coming from the President’s surge of troops into the country. Not only that, Eastwood questioned the whole purpose of going into Afghanistan in the first place, saying “…you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean — you thought that was something worth doing. We didn’t check with the Russians to see how did it (sic)— they did there for 10 years.”

While criticism of the Afghan War and the President’s handling of it aren’t new, what was new was a mention of the war at the convention or in the campaign in general. Before Eastwood’s speech the war was persona non grata at the convention, with most of the speakers

preferring to talk about the President’s economic record instead.

In general, on both sides, this campaign has been free of a discussion about the Afghan War; a war which has claimed 2,000 lives, gone on longer than any other war in American history, and has cost the American government five-hundred and sixty-one billion dollars. All of this for an Afghan government which seems at the brink of collapse and an Afghani populace which just wants us to leave. The lack of attention paid to the war by both sides of

the political aisle is a national embarrassment and is a slap in the face to all the soldiers, living and dead, and their families. The fact that the first substantive mention of it at one of the two major political parties conventions happened during a strange, rambling, ad-libbed speech really says something about how much of a priority our politicians place on the war and the people who have had to fight it.

This essay was published from Matthew Byrd’s blog site. Read more at

byrdsplace.tumblr.com and libraryofgames.org

“The lack of attention paid to the war by both sides of the political aisle is a national embarrassment...”

Kali Johnson

“We are super proud of our latest creation. Our growth as artists and writers is marked since the last issue of YouLit Magazine was released. We hope that you guys enjoy Sekani’s watercolor work and my storyline as Mosley finds where she fits in the world with a little guidance from a fiery firefly”.

The dynamic comic book duo is back! Sekani and Kailah have collaborated in another epic comic short. This time, they’ve brought you “Mosley”, a thoughtful and imaginative 11 year old who learns lessons through unanticipated misadventures.

youlit

comics

Kali Johnson

NATHANIEL KNIZEYOULIT magazine sat down with Nathaniel Knize to talk about his work and the inspiration that drives his unique art.

Interview by: Christine Jordan

Ceramic necklace with gold beads.”

“ ...it ended up looking rustic, I just didn’t want it to appear superficial.

Nathaniel Knize is a junior at Northside College Prep. Besides creating art he is also a diver and is a representative of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation. He frequently visits YOUmedia at the Chicago Public Library and attends art programs with Marwen and Gallery 37.

YL: We are curious about your art and its meaning. What’s it about? NK: It’s usually about emotion. I make a political statement sometimes, but I try to only talk about things I truly know. My artwork, the pattern animals, is a grouping of patterns connected in order to form a statement. I came up with this pattern language art style one day while doodling on the back of a worksheet for my seventh grade algebra class and have been working it out ever since. Each pattern has connotations and forms crude sentences, the system is still very new to me. I have to change meanings of patterns a lot to work out kinks.My pieces that aren’t patterns have a variety of different meanings. I like representing decay but my more realistic pieces are usually about my feelings toward people in my life specifically.

YL: What material do you use to make your pieces?

NK:What I’m really into right now is brass etchings. I like collage sources, which I will use in its pure form or a wintergreen transfer process which is basically a relief. I

also really like ink, usually with brushes. Recently, I made some 3D pieces out of ceramics, but I don’t have access to those materials at home so I probably won’t be making any more soon. I have usually worked with 2-D materials.

YL: How did you find out about this medium and processes? NK:I learned about the etching process through gallery 37. It was a class on constructing metal shadow puppets, which I chose because people always said my artwork looked like indonesian shadow puppets, so I saw the correlation and decided to go for it. In the class I saw

how beautiful and permanent metal could be as a material. I have been into it ever since. A lot of my other processes I found out through an after school art program called Marwen. They were more of a foundation to me and helped me learn my basics. I want to work with them again.

YL: Were you interested in art as a young child? When did you develop an interest in art?NK:My father is a photographer. Surprisingly, he never pushed me in that direction. I never really liked art until I was in seventh grade. That’s when I started classes at Marwen. I’ve

loved it ever since.

The best piece I have ever made I gave to Lady Gaga actually. I t was a falcon etching, the etching color came out to be just beautiful. It was the first piece of artwork I’ve ever given to someone I didn’t know personally, so it was kind of hard. It was my best piece, but I’m glad I gave it to her.

YL: So, who or what has inspired your recent work?NK:It has no direct inspiration. For my lines and patterns, I have never really sought out any patterns to use, I seem to find new ones by chance and I incorporate them into my pattern language. I find that my work has a deep similarity to different polynesian art processes; particularly indonesian shadow puppets, and south asian artwork. I do not like to see other patterns because I immediately get influenced toward a new direction and my pattern language attempts change at a pace I can’t keep up with. If anything, I find that I need time to get uninspired, to forget how to do it so that it doesn’t just become a formula.

YL: Could you see your art pieces in a museum one day?NK:Definitely, but not yet and probably not for a while more.

YL: Do you see art as more of a hobby or career passion?NK:It’s more of a passion. I find doing all the tedious line work really therapeutic , but ultimately It’s more creating for creation’s sake. I like being able to spend hours on a sheet of paper.

YOULITMagazine

The anesthesia felt like a disembodied hand covering my face.The smoke.No physical form.Soundless like a pen dropping in solitude.The scent,not pleasant.The mask....was the manthe man who had no face.the man who had no purpose but make me submit.Glossy lightsBlankBleakFear of the gas.I absorbed it in like water from a sponge.Dim.

Image: Alisha Stalling

Poem: Nadine Fields

YOULIT MAGAZINEPHOTOGRAPHYFEATURE

The Photography ofEthan Doris

My name is Ethan Doris.

No sunrise or sunset is repeated. Nature is different, unpredictable, the way light passes through the clouds is never the same, just like so many other things. These pictures inspired me through their sheer beauty and originality.

The camera lens can only capture so much, compared to the way colors are seen through the human eye. I sought to capture the sheer beauty of these images, from sunrise to squirrel, from tree to raindrop the way I see them through my eye without the medium of a lens. When I take the shot and feel that it is as close as I will get to my vision, I know I’ve captured the shot I was looking for.

All the images you see I took with an iPhone, a Canon point and shoot and a Nikon point and shoot. I enjoy, above all, seeing the evolution of the shot into what it becomes, going through all the attempts, the countless failures to catch the image of what I was trying to capture.

I’m mostly freelancing now. I am honored to say that I am currently working with a photographer who is considered one of the nation’s best. I am a production assistant and I do everything from making sure cameras are ready for use on demand, to running SD cards back and forth, to providing extra manpower for whatever shoot we are working on. It is truly something to be a part of such a large project, and contribute to the end result, success or failure. To hand the photographer his camera, to setup the equipment, to be a piece of the puzzle and help complete the puzzle is simply amazing. Experience and knowledge run the world and to have such experience under one's belt is invaluable.

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Photography by Ethan Doris

VOLUME 2ISSUE 2

! To all the people in YOUmedia who have worked to help us create this issue of YOUlit magazine, thank you. Your direction, ideas and training will be with us always. Thanks Stacy Allen for giving us your help and knowledge. Thank you James for sitting with us and giving us ideas. Thanks Matt for keeping us distracted enough to get things done and keeping the managing editor in check for the teens. Thanks Theresa for lending us tools to use. Thank you Sarah for deadlines that we never ever, ever missed, ever. Thanks Mike for broadening our views and Jennifer for starting something amazing. Thank you Taylor for helping us edit. Thank you...

Yes, YOU for reading YOUlit.

YOULIT MAGAZINE is contributed to, created by, and edited by teens.We work to bring teen writersand artists together to promote both their work and identities.We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this issue of YOUlit Magazine, the Chicago Public Library and our Library Commissioner Brian Bannon, YOUmedia, Digital Youth Network, and the MacAurthur Foundation.

For more information about YOUmedia please visit youmediachicago.org

Visit youlitmag.tumblr.com to find out about our teen group and how to submit your work.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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