It only comes out once a year, compiled of a handful of selections made by hundreds of applicants in art, poetry, and prose. Whitman College’s student-staffed art and literary magazine “blue moon” celebrated the release of its 22nd volume last Sunday, April 26 on the Reid side lawn. Though perhaps not as explosive as former parties, the release party was a warm, refreshing experience for some attendees.
“This release party is a testament of Whitman creativity on campus,” said first-year Aaron Aguilar as he fingered through the glossy pages of his personal copy.
Everyone who attended the party received his or her own free-copy of the magazine. Students had the opportunity to nibble on a few bite-sized treats, listen to original music, and explore the different media displays throughout the side lawn, including a video discussing the history of “blue moon” and a look at some of the copies of the original artwork fastened on surrounding trees.
“I wish they had these pictures hanging around campus all the time. They are gorgeous. We just need more art up on display on a regular basis,” said first-year Jessi Whalen.
Artistic contributors of the Blue Moon felt the same way, including the artist of this year’s cover, senior Jessica Conrad.
“I am so excited that my artwork will become part of the Whitman community and it is so wonderful to be able to share your artwork and ideas through ‘blue moon,'” said Conrad.
Conrad’s cover design is an abstract, mixed-media piece. The piece originally had a black background, but it soon transformed into a multi-layered three-dimensional piece created from acrylic, glass, and gesso. Conrad’s piece was not the only one that made into the volume; thirty-five other pieces including acrylics, prints, photographs, lithographs, oil paintings, polaroid emulsion transfers, ceramic, graphite, scratch-board, and other mixed media pieces made the cut.
Other contributions included 15 works of poetry, 12 works of prose, and a DVD insert featuring Tyler Calkin, Sean Day, Obreanna McReynolds, Jessie Neil, Sam Alden, Tim Shadix, Alex Thomas, and Zach Ellenbogen.
Each year the mixture of artwork, poetry, and prose is completely different than the year before. This year, “blue moon” started accepting film and animation submissions to expand on the already diverse forms of media.
“It’s interesting because all the staff members choose separately so a lot of us don’t know what’s coming from other genres and it’s a total surprise to see how they all mix together and form one publication,” said co-editor in chief and Jenna Mukuno.
Though on the smaller end than previous issues, Mukuno says the blue moon is a worthy buy.
“It’s a slightly smaller publication than year’s past, but we’re really passionate about every piece that’s in there,” said Mukuno.
Copies of the new “blue moon” volume will be on sale in the Reid Campus Center at noon. Whitman students will receive free copies, while non-Whitman students must pay $12.
