This week Whitman’s literary magazine blue moon went 3-D. On Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m., blue moon hosted “Install Me,” an exhibition of performance and installation art on campus. For one hour, the entire campus became a gallery of student art that couldn’t be printed in blue moon.

Kate Rosenberg, editor-in-chief of the magazine and creator of “Install Me,” chose installation and performance art specifically because they are underrepresented on campus.

“This is the first year we’ve ever done anything like this with blue moon before, and we’re hoping to overwhelm the campus with this art,” said Rosenberg. “Install Me” was originally planned for a single venue, but the magazine staff decided instead to allow entrants to choose their own sites. During the event, campus maps were handed out highlighting the positions of every artist.

“Install Me” was the second event put on by the magazine this year, but the first with new content. In November, Verve Coffeehouse downtown hosted “Big Art,” a showcase of work from last year’s blue moon. Rosenberg chose these events to keep the magazine a presence on campus, even before its April release date.

“I really wanted blue moon to be a yearlong program, and not just something exciting at the end of the year. The combination of these two events is a really good way to build momentum, getting different kinds of artists involved in the program. We’re building more of a community at Whitman.”

More than anything, Rosenberg hopes “Install Me,” which took place the week before general submissions for this year’s blue moon are due, encouraged students to send their work in. For submission guidelines, visit whitman.edu/bluemoon.
“The magazine is great for presenting art in a professional, 2-D format, but performance and installation art can convey a wider range of messages. That’s what we’re hoping to see brought here,” said Rosenberg.

In order to boost submissions, every member of the blue moon staff was required to either submit or sponsor a submission to the event. The deadline was extended several times in order to allow for more entries.

“It’s scary, in an academic environment like this, for students to take part in an art form that’s more deeply personal and exposing,” said Rosenberg, who had a piece in the show entitled “Oh My God, How Was It?” performed in the entrance to the library.

Art Selections Editor Adriana Piazza was also excited for the variation from the norm promised by “Install Me.” Her installation was edible, and also in the entrance to the library.

“There’s going to be a much bigger range of people involved in this project,” she said last week as she prepared for the show. “It’s a good opportunity for people who don’t necessarily think of themselves as artistic, who aren’t art majors. We’re hoping to attract people who weren’t familiar with installation of performance art before this, and who got excited about it through the advertising.”

The staff for blue moon have advertised constantly this school year, using the venues of Facebook and YouTube as further ways to reach large numbers of students. Students can now join a Facebook group which links to blue moon’s Web site and updates members on news about the magazine.

Campus has also been bombarded with blue paraphernalia, which changes week to week. The presentations have no identifying mark on them, other than an occasional reference to the submission deadline of Feb. 4.

Last week an advertising installation next to Memorial was taken out of the tree branches where it hung and was left on the ground. This event took place at the same time that the horse sculpture on the edge of Ankeny, which had been wrapped in blue plastic sheeting, was covered in Kappa Kappa Gamma advertising. Magazine staffers took down the Kappa posters immediately, which were unrelated to blue moon and “Install Me.”

Last week the blue moon in the windows of the library was also unveiled.

“It’s a keystone of advertising for the magazine,” said Piazza. “The horse worked out well because it was right before the moon went up on the library. Now hopefully people know what the horse was about.”