Duality

Two sides of a coin, opposites that attract, the meeting of hot and cold— this edition of The Criterion explores the relationship between two concepts or media through art. What does duality mean, and how do we express it?

Oil on Canvas

The Duality of Yourself

Kaitlyn West is a senior at Columbia College pursuing majors in Studio Art and Psychology. This is her first art publication.

The Duality of Perspective

For this ekphrastic feature, two poets interpret the same work of art.

Tiger
by Hailey Mixan

Charcoal and Oil pastel on Paper

Hailey Mixan is an artist and a senior at Columbia College where she is pursuing a degree in Studio Art with a minor in Art History. When she's not attending classes, she enjoys holding arts and crafts workshops at the Thomas Lee Hall library. She's passionate about drawing, painting, and photography.

Tiger Head
by Erica Hernandez

What do you see, Feline?
Are you shocked? Or,
Are you in a primal temperament
Tasting and smelling every face
That appears to you
You are white 
With the pureness
Of a housecat
Waiting to see its owner
Green, with a certain cat-like curiosity 
Waiting to see the world
Waiting for the angle of your glare
To change into something New
Really, what do you see?
Standing in front of you?
I see an orange and black divinity
Diminished to something duller
Mouth agape
Like you want just to bellow out 
To whoever is examining 
This small glimpse of you
“I can be more!”
Yet, here you are, Feline.
Are you content?
To be stuck here?
Still waiting to be more,
And waiting to be whole.
You will never be anything
Past the strokes of red in which you exist.

Erica Hernandez is a junior at Columbia College pursuing a major in English and a minor in creative writing. She enjoys analyzing and writing about media.

Friend or Foe?
by Janiah Perry

As the painting comes into frame,
I wish I said my goodbyes
Stomach churning and sweating in fear
Seeing the feline, so close and so near

Blood pools around him
And the greenery?
Now bathe in a liquid red
Its paws covered in a
Thick, crimson film

Growls and roars
Turn to meows and purrs
I turn to my right to see
My beloved furry friend,
My lovely pet cat

Was it all a dream?
It had to be right?
My cat wouldn’t dare give such a fright
But his stance, ready to pounce

My dear cat, standing so
Intimidatingly sweet
So now I wonder
Is my beloved furry feline
A friend or foe?

Janiah Perry is a Junior at Columbia
College pursuing a major in Speech Language Pathology and a minor in Creative Writing. She is also President of the Student Government Association and serves as an SLP representative on the Student Advisory Committee.

Patchwork Person
by Samantha Wilson

My thoughts are quotes from movies, my songs

the chants of others. The meter on my mind strains

at the post, needle bowing past full, leaking out 

around the edges of my lashed together truth. 

Droplets of regard pool into interests I cannot relate, 

dashed to a spray of contempt by apathetic peers. 

My persona a misshapened shroud with blocks and sashings 

of felled idols. A magpie’s nest peppered with the shiny patterns  

and habits I carry with me, the crumpled allegiances from ruined 

kingdoms. None of me is genuine, a mimic seeking out 

more rituals and rites to hoard. To stitch into my fabric 

of self, to cherish and store, like baubles of childhood 

long deserted. They will collect dust and fade,

and be eternally bound to other threadbare relics,

in an endless pall of the quilt that is me.

I commit to nothing, with an unquenchable thirst 

for everything. If I capture your attention, you’d be advised 

to ignore, for with one cute quirk, one thing uniquely you,

I will cut it out, swatch it away, and with a silver thread 

of consciousness, I’ll patch it to me.





Samantha Wilson is a returning student in her second year at Columbia College pursuing a degree in English. She is a US Army veteran, mother of two, and a local native. She aspires for a future career in editing/publishing, and this is her first poetry publication.

Hel The Goddess of Death
by Cooper Ricard

Digital work

Cooper Ricard is a senior at Columbia College and is pursuing a major in Studio Art. They have previously graduated from Midlands Technical College with an associates in the same major. They mainly work in digital art on their iPad and plan to pursue a career in graphic design.

Sadie Brown

On the Other Side

Oil on Canvas
Sadie Brown is a first-year student at Columbia College, double-majoring in Studio Art and Social Work. She is a self-taught artist with a background primarily in oil painting, and her work has previously been shown at the Creative Culture Art Expo, 2023. Her work stems from the appreciation of women and their forms from a non-sexual perspective.