CSULA's 2015 Literary Magazine: Statement

     CSULA's Statement Magazine has been running since the spring of 1950. With a few awards & prizes under its belt, the journal is running strong. According to their website, it has even featured Charles Bukowski, assumably sometime in the early '90's. This edition being analyzed is the 2015 copy, featuring an array of young artists along with Cal State LA's alumni and professors. 

     The magazine has an abstract slip cover with artwork on the inside resembling something similar to mitosis, or solar flares. This image wouldn't be seen unless the cover were slipped off. It aligns almost exactly with a reversed image on the inside, which is the front cover of the magazine. Later, the image occurs as a pseudo-watermark, again, hidden between the pages. 

 

     The outer slip cover is minimalistic, fantastically serving (like a menu) the table of contents before opening the magazine. It is not solid white but imperfectly grainy, to add a bit of visual texture. Having the table of context outside forces the reader to see the artists and writers names, connecting them initially before opening to the first page. The magazine under the cover is a quickly contrasting sleek black with a slightly glossy finish. 

  

     Inside, the magazine begins with a portfolio, introducing the first writer and his works. The artwork and literature pieces are evenly distributed throughout the text. There are no specific sections as to where the art pieces or stories are. A series of photos will be consecutively placed after a piece of poetry or vice versa. 

     The benefit of collaborating the different arts creates synchronization, which spawns an overall theme to the magazine, even if it is vague. Otherwise, each individual piece would feel displaced and uncategorizable. Next to each other, the artwork and literature can be critiqued independently, but still feel purposefully in place.

     The magazine also portrays a great execution of color use and contrast. Gray pages are given life with the simplistic placement of art pieces. To keep things fresh, artwork is not bound by a specific orientation. They're not always centered, nor are they always portrait. Though some artwork is in landscape format, the minimalistic approach flows well with the leftover empty space. Aesthetically, it is the most entertaining.

     The font is consistently thin besides signatures and artwork titles. It seems to be Times New Roman, though it could be something lighter. Titles are enlarged and bolded, but not exaggeratedly. Overall, the styles feel sophisticated and clean. If there were bigger, bolder fonts, the attractiveness would come off as cartoonish and childish, or out of order.
     The portfolios of the writers help give insight to their poetry and short stories. Connections made between the writer and the work give a higher aspect of reflection and thought. There are also several translated poems, lined up side by side with the originals in Spanish. Being able to compare the two poems with contrasting word choice in language also gives an expanded point of perspective. Interviews with the artists and writers before or after displaying their works further explains the inspirations implicated and life stories they have.

   
     When comparing Statement Magazine to El Camino's Myriad, the main thing I would like to see changed is the repetitive, uninspired, formatting. Although the 2016 Myriad is simple in style, it is a bit bland and lacks noticeable creativity. I would like to see that change. My suggestion then would be to avoid using bolded block print throughout the journal and have a well-varied assortment of artwork between poetry and stories, not have them separated individually by category.