Celebrating a year of gorgeous creativity

A few days ago we published the first journal from Obscured – an attempt to condense a year’s amazing creativity down into a few short pages. At the bottom of this page are the links to the journal itself, but first of all a response to the publication by member and contributor, John Waiblinger;

Wow, I’m sitting down this morning with my printed copy of ‘We Are Obscured, Journal – 2014/15’, which arrived in the yesterday evening’s mail. What a joy to peruse the actual print copy rather than just viewing it online. I still enjoy the tactile experience of actually holding and paging through a paper copy of the works I enjoy, and what a wonderful print job it is. The quality of the paper and how the images pop off the page are superb, well worth the small investment of getting the print copy.

The artists included in this first issue are some of my favorites in the ‘Obscured Community’ and it has been a delight and revelation to see their work in a printed format. What I have found most interesting is the written commentary about the artists and their work, provided by both interviews with the artists and Paul Sergeant’s essay on his own fascinating project. To see the work accompanied by the artist’s reflections about their work and ideas is not only informative, but to me inspiring. There are ideas here, and self revelations, that have made me dig deeper into my own process and I will return to these pages for continued inspiration. What more could one ask from an art publication!

I’d like to congratulate (editor), Johann D’Nale on his selection of the art to include – it’s a wide range of styles, yet cohesive in its theme of exploring how we both mask and reveal ourselves in the images we share with the world. And, of course, as a viewer of these same images one gets to explore the meaning of one’s own reactions – I find that process most fascinating. The interviews by both Richard Glen and Johann were most illuminating in deepening that experience for me. And again, I’m just enjoying the experience of holding the magazine and flipping through the pages, back and forth, and then stopping with an image or some words that cause me to think deeper about this whole self-revealing process.

I appreciate the thought and work that went into putting some of the images I’ve enjoyed on Facebook into a coherent, themed presentation that reveals further, and deepens our perspective on, how we both mask and reveal ourselves. Great work, great layout and great cover! If you, too, enjoy the tactile experience of seeing the work in its physical format, getting the print issue is a really affordable way to have that.

We Are Obscured Issue 1 can be view in it’s entirety on Issuu or, if you are so moved, you can buy it in print or digital format on Magcloud. 

John, along with contributor Chad MItchell has recently published HomoEros: Meditations on Gay Love & Longing, click the link to buy it on Amazon.

For a list of John’s fellow contributors – and their weblinks – visit the contributors page.