a few zines

A couple of days before I took an extended Thanksgiving holiday, a fellow zinester dropped off the full run of Infiltration at my apartment. All twenty-five issues of the staple and fold zine by Ninjalicious, the intrepid urban explorer who passed away in 2005. Each one about places where you are not supposed to go. To say I was giddy would be an understatement. The feeling was matched a day later when a comic book by Jimenez Lai hit my mailbox. There is something magic about these little publications. In the time since I last was trading in zines, I had nearly forgot the immediacy and intimacy of peering into a moment in history—someone's labor of love.

But I've been collecting again. I'm bringing together publications for the exhibition A Few Zines: Dispatches from the Edge of Architectural Production, which opens with a panel discussion on January 8 at Columbia's Studio X. Now before you can say Clip/Stamp/Fold, I'll let you know that this exhibit covers 1990s architecture zines and a few contemporary publications with similar attitude.

Keep checking back here more info on participants.

Here's the press release (PDF below):

A Few Zines: Dispatches from the Edge of Architectural Production
January 8–February 28, 2009
Studio-X

In the 1990s, zines such as Lackluster, Infiltration, loud paper, Dodge City Journal and Monorail subverted traditional trade and academic architecture magazine trends by crossing the built environment with art, music, politics and pop culture—and by deliberately retaining and cultivating an underground presence. Much has been made of that decade’s zine phenomenon—inspiring academic studies, international conferences and DIY workshops—yet little attention has been paid to architecture zine culture specifically, or its resonance within architectural publishing today.

A Few Zines: Dispatches from the Edge of Architectural Production does both. Rather than attempting to present an exhaustive retrospective of architecture zine culture, it highlights complete runs of several noted zines that began in the nineties. The exhibition also features contemporary publications that continue to draw inspiration from the self-publishing tradition, such as Pin-Up, Sumoscraper, and Thumb.
 
To launch this exhibit, curator Mimi Zeiger has published a new issue of loud paper and organized a party and panel discussion, including:

Luke Bulman, Thumb
Felix Burrichter, Pin-Up
Stephen Duncombe, NYU professor and author of Dream and Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture
Andrew Wagner, Dodge City Journal and currently, American Craft
Mimi Zeiger, loud paper

Moderated by Kazys Varnelis, AUDC

When: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 7 pm
Free and open to the public
RSVP: gdb2106@columbia.edu

Studio-X, 180 Varick Street, Suite 1610, New York, NY 10014

Exhibition hours: Tuesday-Saturday, noon-6 pm

Contact: Gavin Browning, Programming Coordinator, Studio-X, (212) 989 2398, gdb2106@columbia.edu

[Studio-X is a downtown studio for experimental research and design run by the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation of Columbia University.]

Download A Few Zines Press Release

Comments

[Karynn Ikeda]

This sounds like an exciting exhibit! If I'm in NY I'll definitely drop by

[liberty bell]

So wait...I've been wanting a/that comic book by Jimenez Lai ever since Archinect profiled him and I can't figure out where I can get one - can you share your source?

[mimi]

It is awesome, I have to say. Jimenez hooked me up with a copy, worth asking him. I'll put up a couple pics.

[liberty bell]

God his drawings are so amazing, would love to see them if you post some. And I'll see if I can get straight to him. Enjoy!

[Aaron Plewke]

so bummed i won't be able to make the panel discussion. great idea mimi. i'll definitely check the exhibit out.

[Aparna]

His drawings are so amazing, can you share some other post.