Volume 4

June 3rd, 2023

The Awakening answers this volume’s questions with one word: Energy. This volume is an encapsulation of ethereal vibrations. A collection of prayers attempting to capture a momentary glimpse into the creative process.

What more can we say about Volume 4? A crowd favorite? We found the perfect model behind the mask? The planets aligned? Something in all those energy drinks with the Red Bulls on them? Shhiiiii… whatever it was, it gave birth to Volume 4. It gave birth to the red man, Quixote, or Q for short.

Before we realized his bigger purpose, his potential, or even his name, he came with a bang.

There is a strange feeling, maybe a recollection, that this volume initially started with the idea of taking off the mask. Funny enough, we might have done the exact opposite. We expanded and began to reform inside the mask, filling it out. Embodying this flowery figure, the mask became ever present. To keep things simple, we loved it.

But before the birth of the Flower Mask, we had no idea what we were going to do for the cover. We had a full weekend photoshoot with our model wearing a green mask. The goal was to digitally remove his face or alter it somehow. In hindsight, it might have been another attempt at removing the mask as a theme or aesthetic choice.

As we approached the deadline to post the cover, we knew we needed something different. That is when the Flower Mask came in. Truth be told, most of the work we made prior to that was scrapped in favor of it.

After the submission window closed, we found ourselves back in The Beast. The curation process returned, now expanded to 80 pages. This is where we cemented the internal concept of a “commercial” page, our interpretation of meditative and meaningful breaks within the magazine.

In previous volumes, we had already laid the groundwork for this idea. The table of contents, donors, playlist, “who do you love,” even “cowboys double speed.” These moments act as space for introspection or rest for the viewer.

A curator guides the viewer, and with this new influx of information, it became important to offer pauses. Moments that allow thoughts to form. In simpler terms, the viewer needs space to sit with the work, even if only for a second.

As we wrapped up production and prepared for print, we began working on events. The Volume 4 gallery was held with our friends at All Kinds Studios, along with a gallery curation at Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo, California.

Volume 4 felt like running for the first time. Dynamic in creation, dynamic in submissions, and dynamic in its release. The mission statement, which had gone through countless rewrites, finally felt like it was becoming real.

P.S. Thanks for letting us shoot you shirtless, Jayson. <3