MASKS, the Journal: Journal of Dissimulation in Art | Architecture | Design

MASKS, THE JOURNAL: JOURNAL OF DISSIMULATION IN ART | ARCHITECTURE | DESIGN —founded by Clemens Finkelstein and Anthony Morey— emerges from students in the MDes Studies program at GSD, specifically what was then the History and Philosophy of Design concentration.

Its inaugural issue, MASKS O: NIX, positions the journal as being at the crossroads, in a space of “nothingness” from which to define itself: “MASKS accepts that the truest truths may be built on lies. Lies upon lies, lies and lies, laying upon each other to raise truth to untouchable heights.” In a parallel editorial, “MASKS seeks to explore the aggregate of present, past, and future disciplinary structures in and between the fields of art, architecture, and design. We are not trying to reinvent what a journal is, but MASKS aims to display and extend the gestures of dissimulation that define our fields.” True to this mission, the issue presents and an intentionally eclectic and heterogeneous selection of contributions —works that both embody and interrogate dissimulation—demonstrating the breadth and depth of inquiry among these GSD students.

Global in scope, exploratory in tone, and positioned outside the academy, the journal declares itself “—intentionally polarizing—to kick off a discussion and incite institutional exchange across the globe, diversifying academic exploration with practitioners’ voices from all walks of life.” The essays traverse a wide range of subjects: from society and spectacle to paradox, nature and reason; from art as translation rather than invention to the notion of becoming; from tarantulas and tarantellas to the private lives of others, lived 24/7; from the unfolding and collapsing of time to reflections on memory, moments, and history. Each contribution draws the reader deeper, inviting discovery of philosophies of life through varied and unexpected lenses. This is a student publication that astonishes with its outrageous inquisitiveness —soaring beyond the usual canons of academia even as it inhabits them — yet its relentless obsession edges on a strangely endearing form of flânerie. It is, moreover, exquisitely designed. Since its inaugural issue founded at GSD, the journal has expanded its mission: “to construct a framework for young practitioners, theorists and historian in design and intersecting discipline to foster pedagogical experimentation” —with contributions “orchestrated in two zones: AD (essays, fictions, illustrations, …) and AB (events, exhibitions, lectures, performances, …).” Over the years, the editorship has shifted, the publication has moved beyond the GSD, and it is now released online. Currently on its sixth issue, it is led by editors Zahra Safaverdi and Edward Jiaolin Yu.