Kalopsia
Kalopsia (n.) - the delusion of things being more beautiful than they really are
Editor's Note
Editors-in-Chief, Kyrsten & Annie
Kalopsia – the delusion of something being more beautiful than it really is.
Beauty lives in the mind’s eye. It’s beholder: a storyteller, tasked with weaving the threads of truth together like tapestry, and capturing Kalopsia.
As 2023 comes to a close, it is with great delight that we bring you our annual Winter issue, Kalopsia. This year, our Vertigans had the chance to volunteer at San Francisco’s annual Fleet Week, working the ever-popular merchandise booth where hats and jackets flew like the planes printed upon them. We fell back into a rhythm with workshops at Peet’s Coffee, and picnics outside the Cupertino Library.
We’ve been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to share what we’ve been working on! So we invite you, our reader, to dive below the surface of the fishbowl and taste the sweet sheep candy this issue has to offer. Bid adieu to water striders and hello to symphonic violin romance; rise with Icarus’ waxen wings, and set with the last light of the sun.
Deception lurks in the in-betweens, so we urge you read closely and carefully. After all, we know better than anyone that something can be more beautiful than it seems.
Table of Contents
Art
Hannah Liaw – Invisible
Maya Swaminathan – black swan pas de deux
Allison Lin – Enmity
Michelle Jiang – the soil of which flowers grow upon
Alex Cotterel – untitled
Annie Yao – Setting Sun
Anton Zhou – Home
Aanya Mishra – serpentine
Julia Xu – Isn’t That Just What A Story Is?
Helena Ho – Pictured
Amber Lai – media
Lorie Wu – Illusions
Mia Liu – final departure
Samantha Tang – idol
Emma Ha – Water the Garden
Chelsea Li – Untitled
Elle Gasper – Fabricated
Torxia Xu – Fish Bone
Writing
Crystal Zhu – sheep
Daphne Zhu – bitterweet
Bethanie Lee – fish
Emma T – dissonant
Emily Pedroza – Skimming Fishbowls
Christina Zhou – who are you when you’re not performing
Madeline Chang – sandcastle
Dorothy Ko – lost in the flower fields
Sophia Zhang – The Cliff’s Serenade
Olivia Tu – Fleeting Snapshots
Daniel Wan – The Glass Half Empty
Angelina Feng – fish tank
Charlotte Bolay – Disconnect
Charlotta Dai – Instructions from the photographer