For the artist, the world is drawn in thick, black lines that simply need to be colored in. Margins in a biology notebook are not empty and stale, but instead, waiting for their lines to be crossed and covered with verses of poetry.
The unsung artists of A&M have a new outlet with which to share their creative works in The Eckleburg Project, A&Ms newest literary magazine. The magazine was created by eight students, who say the purpose of the project is to open the door for a greater appreciation of the arts.
The new student run and written magazine, sponsored by the University Writing Center, is accepting submissions from creative writers, photographers and artists for its first issue.
The Eckleburg Project will be important for A&M students because right now there are few mediums on campus through which authors and artists alike have the opportunity to express themselves, said Amanda Yanes, senior psychology and English double major and editor-in-chief of the magazine. I think that art, in all its forms, is important. Not only because it is beautiful, but because it contains answers or poses questions that only the artist has. In short, art teaches.
The Eckleburg Project takes its name from the pages of F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, where the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg look down from a billboard at the world.
We took this symbol and put our own spin on it, Yanes said. Part of the job of writers is to examine their surroundings to see the world around them, and then, through art, tell a truth about what they see. We picked Dr. Eckleburgs eyes as our namesake because we want the authors of A&M to tell us what they see.
The staff is composed of Yanes, as editor-in-chief, two fiction editors, two poetry editors, a head of design and two publicists.
A&M is a great University, but one that lacks in opportunities for creative majors to think and express themselves, said Madison Parker, senior English major and publicist. The magazine is a great tool to allow creative Aggies to express themselves and provide a more well-rounded experience to all those who pick up the magazine, even if they are not artistically minded.
Shannon Bump, senior psychology major and head of design, said she knew she wanted to get involved as soon as she heard about The Eckleburg Project.
I knew I’d found people that thought the way I do, felt the way I do and immersed themselves in words the way I do, Bump said. The Project isn’t just a bunch of words on paper, it’s the souls of our Aggies, written down, put in print and exposed for all the world to see.
Allison Mock, freshman English major and poetry editor, said the liberal arts are a much bigger part of the world than some people realize.
We are the basis of our culture, Mock said. One day we will become the Shakespeares, the Austens, the Brontes, the Fitzgeralds. We could be the Dalis, the Warhols, the DaVincis. Whatever we may be, we are history in the making.
The goal of the magazine is to give a voice to an otherwise almost unheard group on campus.
I want to stand up for the creative writers, the artists, the photographers and all the people that often fly under the radar on campus, said Amanda Hendrix-Black, senior English major and fiction editor. The Eckleburg Project is a force of creative freedom, and I’m so proud to be a part of making it all happen.