ein magazine #1
DESCRIPTION
“I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it.” John Cage, “Lecture on Nothing” (1949)TRANSCRIPT
EIN magazine
editorial
EIN magazine is a digital photography
magazine that provides an exhibition
space for conceptual and experimental
photography. It presents critical projects
made without any boundaries in the cre-
ative process. Not only is it to promote
creative talent in the international arena
but also to serve as an inspirational and
stimulating material for you the reader
and the participants of EIN Labs run by
TA Collective.
The magazine tackles the problem of cre-
ativity. The word "creative" has become
almost a mantra for contemporary infor-
mation and technology oriented Western
society. Getting into a creative process
involves a person on psychological and
cognitive levels. It is, first and foremost,
a conceptual activity that may be easily
restrained, interrupted or limited. One
way of overcoming any block to creativ-
ity is to invert it: to use it somehow as an
element of the process. Each of the EIN
magazine issues is based on a theme that
represents a creative block.
The magazine tackles the problem of creativity.
Dominik Tarabański, 2011
Martyna Rudnicka, 2011
Hayden Fowler, 2011
Cover: Matthias Schade, 2010
“I have nothing to say”
The theme for the first issue of EIN maga-
zine is “I have nothing to say”, which
we see as representing the inability to
express something because of lack of
competence, confidence, power or will-
ingness. It took a long time for the edito-
rial team to deal with this topic and to
say something about it. This is because of
the variety of perspectives which range
from such themes as an artist-spectator
relationship, through postmodern scepti-
cism to the photographic medium itself.
We also doubted if such a creative block
actually exists. But apparently it does, if
we feel we have nothing to say about “I
have nothing to say”. We were ready to
send out a questionnaire to artists with
hope that this would shed some light on
the problem. In vain. The editorial page
stayed blank. The words were typed and
then erased. They never reached the end
of the line.
Always ending in the half- sentence.
Paused again and again.
“Nothing” was overwhelming.
“I have nothing to say
and I am saying it
and that is poetry
as I need it.”
— John Cage, “Lecture
on Nothing” (1949)
Ambiguity and changeability of the
meaning of a photograph enables artists
to focus on its form and representational
conventions. Changing “something” to
“nothing” turns attention to the question
“How things are represented?” and hence
focuses on the photographic medium it-
self. The projects presented here explore
poetic possibilities of photography. Like
in poetry, they use metaphors, ambiguity,
symbolism, irony or rhythm. They explore
the aesthetic aspects purely within the
medium or by mixing it with painting,
drawing, installation or decorative art. Fi-
nally, they subvert some representational
conventions within portrait, landscape,
architecture and illustration photogra-
phy. All of this enables us to view each of
the projects in “I have nothing to say” as
visual poems. We hope this can become a
subject of further discussion.
Ania Pabis, 2012
I have nothing to say.
I s s u e # 1
f r o m t h a t
w h i c h a c t s
t o t h a t
w h i c h s e e s
Barbara Hovens, 2011
c o n s i d e r a t i o n
Benten Clay, 2011
Benten Clay, 2011
Benten Clay, 2011
Benten Clay, 2011
Benten Clay, 2011
Karolina Jonderko, 2012
s e l f - p o r t r a i t
w i t h o u t a f a c e
y o u r
d e c o n s t r u c t i v e
v i s i o n w a s
m a k i n g m e
n e r v o u s
Frederik Heyman, 2011
i t h a s t o o m a n y
l e g s t o b e a s p i d e r .
Violeta Leiva Martinez, 2011–
n e w
r o m a n t i c
Hayden Fowler, 2011
Hayden Fowler, 2011
Hayden Fowler, 2011
w h i t e l a k e s
Jan Von Holleben w/ Michelle Jezierski, 2009
Jan Von Holleben w/ Michelle Jezierski, 2009
Jan Von Holleben w/ Michelle Jezierski, 2009
“ I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it.”
— John Cage, Lecture on Nothing (1949)
TA collective
TA collective was set up by two like-
minded artists Ania Pabis and Aleks Slota
in order to share our knowledge of art in
and outside of the formal education. Our
aim is to encourage exploration of the
personal creative voice in exciting and
nurturing settings such as: workshops
(EINlabs), residencies (EINlab: Interact!),
exhibitions (Transmotion) and the EIN-
magazine. Our skills can be characterised
by a passionate approach, creative solu-
tions, stimulating themes, professional
preparation and of course a sense of hu-
mour. Currently, we reside in Berlin, but
we are open to projects all over Europe—
get our newsletter to stay updated.
See
is a laboratory for photo-shooting (out
and indoors), image analysis, practical
exercises (photography, drawing, crafts)
and interactive activities (discussions,
brainstorming) to learn how to use your
technical skills in accord with your visual
competencies. We experiment with: light,
camera, perception of depth, perception
of colours, composition, imagination,
knowledge and memory. This Lab is to
encourage experimentation with visual
perception and to stimulate creativity.
You will not learn how to take a “proper”
photograph, but how to use your skills
and knowledge to subvert, reconstruct,
imitate or fake the standard rules in
search for new visual possibilities and
experiences.
Try
is the laboratory where we explore your
doubts and insecurities as an artist and
try to answer the following questions.
Are my ideas original? What is original-
ity? How many ideas can I come up with?
What is my art about? Who am I as an art-
ist? What do I do now? When stuck how
do I get unstuck?
You’ll learn how to use pro-active solu-
tions to address these questions. We’ll
learn and use practical exercises to gen-
erate new art ideas. You’ll explore your
inner creator to better understand you as
an artist. You’ll leave the lab with a set
of tools to be utilized when those nasty
doubts, insecurities and blocks come
back. You’ll learn how to train, stimulate
and maintain creativity.
credits & links
Artists:
Barbara Hovens
from that which acts
to that which sees, 2011
Benten Clay
“Consideration”, 2011
Dominik Tarabański
“Size 36”, 2011
Frederik Heyman
your deconstructive vision
was making me nervous, 2011
suicidal rooftop, 2010
Hayden Fowler
New Romantic, 2011
Jan Von Holleben
w/ Michelle Jezierski
“White Lakes”, 2009
Julien Menand
VUE 8503, 2009
The magazine is a result of participatory
design: cooperative work between artists
Ania Pabis and Aleks Slota (TA collective) and
graphic designer Adria Chilcote.
The concept of EIN is based on the beta
version of the magazine titled dyspnea. See
EIN magazine and get the newsletter to be
updated on EIN magazine, workshops, residen-
cies and exhibitions by TA collective.
Special thanks to Adria Chilcote, Julian
Menand, Marta Szymanska and all the friends
of EIN for your support.
Berlin, August 2012
Karolina Jonderko
“Self-portrait without a face”, 2012
Katherina Heil
Transformation Process, 2011
Martyna Rudnicka
“Untitled, 2011”
Matthias Schade
(un)defined space, 2010
Melissa Steckbauer
Untitled, 2011
Sabina Malanowska
“human form before”, 2011
Valarie Schmidt
“The Crocodile”, 2009
Violeta Leiva Martinez
It has too many legs to be a spider.,
2011–
einmagazine.com