Conceptual Blogging: The Seventeen Magazine Project

Jaime Keiles, an 18-year-old high school senior living in Pennsylvania, has a very interesting writing project. From 5/21 to 6/21--the date of her high school graduation--Jaime will be living "according to the gospel of Seventeen Magazine" and blogging about her efforts. As BoingBoing comments, "The result is a funny, witty observance of the discrepancy between what's being marketed as teen culture and what actually is--at least in her life."

For my part, I read this project as an example of how the techniques of conceptual art and performance have bled out into the culture and become ordinary, widely-accepted ways of thinking critically about the world--placing "conceptual writing" on a continuum with teen blogging. Jaime's blog is *not* conceptual writing in any sense, because it does not use the rules or constraints she has laid down in order to capture language primarily; however, it is documentation of what is effectively a piece of conceptual performance.

Here are the parameters of Jaime's work:

"The goal of this project is to simply explore a dying aspect of teenage culture. I will live my life according to the tips provided by the June/July issue of Seventeen magazine and Seventeen.com from today until the weekend of my high school graduation (June 21). Conveniently, this project will also span the Most Important and Magical Night of My Teenage Life (i.e. senior prom). I will use this blog to record my findings, and to provide commentary on teenage life/the adolescent experience.

Here are the rules of the project:

• I will read the entire June/July issue of Seventeen magazine from cover to cover.
  
• Every day I will utilize at least one "beauty tip" (hair/makeup/skincare/whathaveyou) and one fashion tip.
  
• I will follow all diet and exercise tips provided in the issue to a T.
  
• I will participate in every activity recommended by the magazine (i.e. host a fright night, score your hottest summer hookup ever, be confident in a bikini, etc.)
  
• I will apply for every single "freebie" offered by the magazine, every day.
  
• I will consume all media recommended by the magazine at least once. (books/movies/music)
  
• I will hang all provided pictures/posters of "hot guys" in my living environment.
  

Hopefully in following these rules I will be given the opportunity to shed some light on the modern teenage experience. On this blog, I will document my project, as well as offer commentary on media and teenage culture."

Read it here: The Seventeen Magazine Project