︎Work

The Underscore Journal is a student run publication at SCI-Arc.

The underscore puts an emphasis on a word or a phase. It also indicates a space that needs to be filled. It is typically found upon opening a new page to see nothing but the underscore symbol - flashing, waiting. The underscore is an invitation to write.

Through the translucent vellum on the cover one is perhaps intrigued - or offended - being flipped off by the halftoned image. The middle finger is, however, more than a merely playful gesture for the ludic issue. It is a statement from the journal creators as a collective. Whether it be a self-deprecating joke about how the majority of our writers are young and our voices may be deemed crude and uninformed, or a sign of us siding with Gehry - the original finger-giver’s intention for it to be a response to the accusation of architects practicing “showy architecture”. The finger represents a message we hope the first issue of underscore will convey, and set down a foundation for many more volumes to come.

The back cover subtly displays the return submission postcard on the previous page, ending the first issue of underscore by inviting the reader to contribute back into the journal’s collective thought.