Dear Reader,

I recently noticed scribbles on the backside of an East Village bathroom door here in New York. “The party ended in the 80s,” it read. “Now is the beginning of the price, and this time it will cost every living thing on this planet.” I know. It seems a bit dramatic, and probably is. Unless I’m watching a post apocalyptic film or pondering the Holocaust, a quote like that is a bit dark for my taste. But seriously, what exactly are we doing right now in this country?

It seems as if we are a bit more than confused. At the very least, we’re grasping at phantom straws. Straws that include invading nations to secure natural resources that are (naturally) dwindling before our very eyes. Straws that include blaming homosexuality for things like 9/11 (Mr. Falwell, idiotic remarks have become your calling card). Straws that include outlawing marijuana while fostering a culture that encourages the abuse of synthesized, life-threatening pharmaceutical drugs. (As a genetic scientist in a former life I did enough research on the medical affairs end to understand why we typically administer three drug trials and not just one.) Straws that include keeping the classes in this bountiful country ours so far apart we’ll never truly need to reform the educational system, standardize healthcare, or feed and house the homeless. These are pretty big straws we’re grasping at, phantom or not. We’ll need something bigger to find a solution.

Enter little triplet named “www.”

This big thing called the Internet is changing lives. Once we get beyond the clicking and programming (and customer service calling), the Internet does give us the means to make a difference. And that’s what Urban Molecule is here to do: make a difference. So should you.

The only problem that stems from democratizing the way we communicate in this big world (oh how it feels so small sometimes), is that we might feel lost. Lost in a sea of ones and zeroes, words and images (I can hear you now: “oh, how my eyes hurt!”). But even though you might feel invisible, adrift on a sea of conceptual madness, your ideas can make a difference. And if you’re still figuring out how to make your mark on the world, why not experience what others have to say first?

Sometimes it’s not so much about having the answers as it is about asking the questions. That’s why Urban Molecule’s mission is to find “invisible” artists - the molecules - that have the guts to ask the really difficult questions. To go against the grain. Why?

Because questions allow us to progress, to evolve.

Enter solution A.

Art is the language of the soul. If the soul holds our collective and individual desires, shouldn’t art then be the first place we look for new ideas? I hope that as Urban Molecule grows we’ll see a clear connect between art and social progress, perhaps even art as an articulation of that progress. Think of that as this journal’s thesis.

As UM launches we spotlight an eclectic group of painters, writers, and filmmakers who have fearlessly expressed themselves in ways that turn the tables of expectation. For all of you who may not be so art-inclined, no worries. This art-centric view doesn’t mean to exclude other important types of discourse; indeed it’s my hope to expand the journal to cover the life-sciences, politics, socioeconomics, and activism. Why not? We can find important questions there, too.

In short, you can come to Urban Molecule to enjoy art for art’s sake. And if you’re feeling particularly lucky, you can come to look deeper, to glean the rich and associative commonplaces that bind us — the tiny parts of this gigantic organism that is the twenty-first century global village — together. Come often. Bring your friends. Subscribe to the RSS Feed to receive updates on contributor events, landmark interviews, and reader commentary. Invisible can be strong.

So with the launch of my new zine I invite you to consume your culture. Be an Urban Molecule.

Sincerely,

Christopher de la Torre

More about Christopher
photo credit: Jose Salamone