Artstorm: Why Art? Why Now?

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.— Edgar Degas

Welcome to Artstorm!

We’re a new addition to Barnstorm, created with the goal to incorporate original visual artwork, paintings, photographs, and drawings into the design of our selected fiction, non-fiction, and poetry pieces. We are seeking to expand the conversation between written and visual art forms, one in which each piece helps tell the story of the other.Why art? Why now?As artists and storytellers in the digital age, we often find ourselves creating for an anonymous, faceless audience. It can feel as if one’s words, images, and thoughts have fallen into a collective abyss. In order to fight against these forces of anonymity, Barnstorm has made a commitment to curate the visual aspect of our literary journal, to give credit to artists where credit is due, to fully acknowledge all that goes into creativity, to storytelling, and an ever-evolving cultural aesthetic.Now is the time to pursue original means of expression, to establish both deep and tenuous connections, and celebrate the art of storytelling. In the battle to create meaningful work in a world consumed with “content,” we enlist you, dear readers; we enlist painters, poets, photographers, and writers. For all artists are told to incorporate all our senses when creating a visual world. What better way to engage with words than with the use of visual art?We seek to pursue more original means of expression. To find work that thematically resonates with the written word. To marry our very visual world with the written word. We wish to heighten our reader’s experience and honor the work of living artists. 

Kelly Dalke & Amy Neswald

Art Editors