The Art of the Pinch
As she finished up her time as The Pinch’s Art Director, Annalee Elmore sat down with another of our wonderful MFA candidates, Lily Kate Anthony, to discuss the art of The Pinch.
Annalee Elmore is a poet and visual artist who received her MFA in Poetry from The University of Memphis. She was awarded the 2021 Deborah L. Talbot Poetry Award and was nominated for the 2021 Best New Poets anthology. Her poetry has been published by The Academy of American Poets, Anti-Heroin Chic, and Apricity Magazine.
Lily Kate Anthony is a second-year MFA student at the University of Memphis. She graduated from Rhodes College in 2017 with a degree in Creative Writing.
LA: Annalee, you served as art editor for two consecutive editions of The Pinch—Volume 42.1, which launched in the spring of 2022, and 42.2 which launched just a few weeks ago . What aesthetic continuities would you draw between the two editions, and how did you see them differing? Do you have an intuitive preference between the two?
AE: 42.1 is saturated with portraits and collages, with paintings at the focus. In 42.2, I wanted to highlight other media that doesn’t necessarily get the attention it deserves. Paintings seem to always get the clout, so for 42.2, I wanted to reach out to artists who work in other media, such as fabric arts and ceramics. Even with the paintings that are going to be included in 42.2, the artists I reached out to are super inventive with their techniques and add other media to the paint, such as Swarovski crystals, glitter, or sand. Although I’m proud of both editions, I took a little bit more time with issue 42.2 to really dig around and look for art that was doing something different.
LA: We’ve worked hard as an editorial staff to unify our vision for The Pinch, meditating routinely on what makes a literary work definably “pinchy.” We tend to target complex and off-kilter pieces with some sort of unexpected twist, which is a theme that I see reflected in the texture of the multilayered, collage-like mixed media prints. Additionally, we prioritize pieces with emotional impact, which mirrors much of the curated portraiture. What elements do you emphasize when sourcing the art, and how do you think that adjective, “pinchy,” translates into the visual realm?
AE: To me, “pinchy” is the embodiment of “quirky” or “other.” When I was looking for art for The Pinch, I targeted artists who were doing something new or different with their medium, who crossed the boundary of traditional technique or subject matter. I also looked for a certain level of refinement within the work. A question I often ask myself when searching for artists is, “Could just anybody make this art, or is there an elevated sense of skill present here?” To me, that juxtaposition of otherness and finesse is what makes the Pinch aesthetic so distinguished.
LA: When it comes to our magazine, the quality of written content speaks for itself, yet the art enriches the reading experience in an entirely indispensable way. What, in your opinion, are the benefits to peppering a literary magazine with visual supplement?
AE: The juxtaposition of art and writing is something in which I’ve long been interested. Both literary works and the artworks can speak for themselves. At the same time, there is always a conversation happening between the two. Just as specific diction can provide imagery and provoke emotions, so can color and visual arrangement. The artwork adds another layer in juxtaposition to the writing, and vice versa— both parts have deeper aspects that come together for a greater narrative. The reader then can draw out meaning from the issue as a whole.
LA: How would you summarize your process of recruitment for contributing artists? Which artists were you most excited to work with and feature in the magazine, and why?
AE: I mostly found the solicited artists through surfing Instagram. I would follow accounts like New American Paintings and would search certain media hashtags, #CeramicArt or #FabricArt for example. Eventually, my entire “explore” page exploded with cool art; as an artist myself, this has been a perk I didn’t know I needed. Once I found the artists I was most interested in, I would directly message them from my personal Instagram and ask them if they wanted to be part of our journal. I've really enjoyed getting in contact with these artists. I feel grateful to be in contact with such talented people.
LA: Are there any other literary magazines that you’ve employed as a muse? Would you cite any specific galleries, exhibitions, collections, etc. as creative inspiration?
AE: Especially when I was preparing to look for pieces that would go in issue 42.1, I went to local galleries and museums to look for contemporary artists. I found a lot of inspiration from a show at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens. The show contained varied media, ranging from paintings to fabric art, to paper installations of a galactic universe. That show really jump started my imagination in terms of what could be featured in The Pinch. Other notable museums and galleries around Memphis are The Brooks Museum, David Lusk Gallery, L Ross Gallery, and The Metal Museum, to name a few. Juxtapoz is a highly reputable art magazine that I really admire. New American Paintings also features a lot of great painters who are doing something different with their medium, so I found a lot of inspiration from that and even found some of my artists through their Instagram. Some literary journals with killer art are Copper Nickel, Waxwing, and Ninth Letter.
LA: Finally, what do you and the editors find yourselves looking for when selecting a piece for the cover? Are there any covers from Pinch issues past that stand out in your mind as successful illustrations of the essence of The Pinch? My personal favorite continues to be laser-eyed bison of 40.2, by Jeff Carter.
AE: When looking for the cover art, you really want to think about the composition; you want the art to take up a lot of space without being too busy. There needs to be some room for the journal title, and for the eye to rest since the entire page is used. You also want the cover to be eye-catching. I love having something a bit different or brightly colored to draw the reader in and welcome them to the world of Pinch. The past four issues of The Pinch have some really lovely covers. I think my top two favorite covers of past issues are either 38.2 or 41.2.
