loud paper

it's official, zines in LA

Poster design, Tim Durfee

Yep, that's right. A Few Zines is heading to Los Angeles. The little exhibition that could will do a star turn on Hollywood Blvd thanks to the help John Southern, Tim Durfee, and Mohamed Sharif. The LA Forum hosts the insta-show for three days.

The festivities kick off Friday, August 14 with a panel discussion and opening party. Our lineup of panelists is huge. I'm joined by Juliette Bellocq, Todd Gannon, Wes Jones, Ted Kane,
Paul Petrunia, Margi Reeve. John Southern is moderating.

I'll be hanging around the gallery Saturday and Sunday, so come on by, bring along a coffee or a beer, read a couple zines, and have a chat.

Opening Events:
Friday, August 14, 2009
Panel Discussion: 7:30 – 8:30 pm
Exhibition Party: 8:30 pm ‘til late

Gallery Hours:    
Friday, August 14, 7:30 pm 'til late
Saturday, August 15, 12:00 – 7:00 pm
Sunday, August 16, 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Location:
Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design Gallery
6520 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA

The opening-night panel, Marginalia, includes:   
Juliette Bellocq, Osborn Architects
Todd Gannon, SCI-Arc
Wes Jones, Jones, Partners: Architecture
Ted Kane, Polar Inertia
Paul Petrunia, Archinect
Margi Reeve, Otis College of Art and Design
Mimi Zeiger, loud paper

Moderated by John Southern, Sumoscraper and Urban Operations Studio

Marginalia: Edge Conditions in Publishing and Practice looks at the role publishing—blogs, journals, zines, and magazines—plays in shaping contemporary speculative practices. The title, Marginalia, is drawn from the term for a scribbles or editorial comment made in the margin and, in this context, refers to notes on the edges of the discipline. The show explores future publishing models and how self-publishing, blogging, and social media give designers the tools to shape alternative practices.

Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design Gallery:

Founded in January of 1987, the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design plays a vital role in Los Angeles by initiating and supporting events, publications, and symposia in this city and beyond.

Since 2008 the Forum has shared a gallery space with Woodbury University, whose generosity has made seasonal exhibitions possible.

quick draw

This past weekend I attended the NYC Zine Fest 2009 held at the Brooklyn Lyceum. I hadn't been to a zine gathering like this in years. It was fantastic to see self-publishing still going strong and I was struck by the intimacy and personal connection that each booth held. It was hard for me to make quick progress through the Fest because at every table I got into conversation with a zine or print maker about their work or where and how they print. (I loved the prints from Just Seeds.) 

Next to the the Printed Matter table hosted was a collection of art zines commissioned by The Holster, an art collective publishing group based in Brooklyn, NY and made up of Gary Fogelson, Phil Lubliner and Soner Ön. They had set up a print-on-demand service for the zines (see above diagram), which straddled the gap between intimacy and automation. Each artist submitted a PDF that was then selected by a visitor and printed in real time.

forever young (er than jesus)

Espresso malt balls from Economy Candy = fountain of youth. They are the fuel that powered me down the street to the New Museum and up four floors in the apple-flavored Jolly Rancher green elevators. The sugar rush lead to the zine exhibit on view as part of The Generational: Younger Than Jesus. Several dozen recent publications were laid out on a low table ready for reading. Paging through them affirmed that self publishing is going strong. Even as some of the works bridge between print and online, they still need to assert their objectness.

And I was thrilled to find a number of that were publications featured in A Few Zines included, thanks to Brian Sholis, who helped organize that part of the show.

Junk Jet.

Citizens of No Place.

Thumb.

Pin Up.

in defense of print

Gearing up here at the loud paper headquarters to move A Few Zines northward and a host panel ready to take on publishing and practice, it seems appropriate, if not imperative to post What Type's posters protesting the end of print. Pedro Monteiro challenges What Type readers to be participants and print out the posters and place them where the message can be read loud and clear: a real-world means to support the newspaper industry. Sure the move is a bit idealistic, but I'd be a grade-A cynic not to want it to work.

Or, as Monteiro puts it:

By supporting your newspaper you will fight for your own voice. By telling what you want and expect from a newspaper, one that’s worth both your money and your time, you will be fighting for a better world.

You can download the posters here, here, here and here.

at last, out loud

A couple technical snafus had to get worked out, but finally, a recording of the January 8 A Few Zines panel at Studio-X is online.

Catch the dulcet tones of moderator Kazys Varnelis, listen to Luke Bulman on shopdropping tactics for publishers, Mark Shepard on digital media, Felix Burrichter on making architecture sexy and entertaining again, and myself waxing poetically about anarchist print shops in Berkeley and the smell of fresh ink. Stephen Duncombe gives a fantastic paper on zine culture as a foil to pervasive capitalism and how that changed with online publishing. It's good stuff.

Download it here.

And mark your calendars for the Boston panel, Grafting, Publishing as Practice, on March 6.

so long soho, we're beantown bound

This is the last week to see A Few Zines: Dispatches from the Edge of Architectural Production at Studio-X. The show closes on Saturday, February 28. There's been so much good feedback: artist Karen Finley took her students, Abitare blogged us, as did the Architects Journal.

On March 6, A Few Zines remounts at pinkcomma gallery in Boston.

New Englanders rejoice. A whole new opening-night panel, entitled Grafting: Publishing and Practice, kicks off the exhibition. And, watch out, I'm moderating this line-up.

Grafting: Publishing and Practice comes at a time when the economic crisis is wreaking havoc on both the architecture and publishing professions—shelter magazines closing, new construction stalled out. Speakers from a wide range of architectural media: blogs, journals, zines, and magazines, will look at the state of architectural media, consider its role in practice, and explore future publishing models.

Braulio Agnese, Architect magazine
Chris Grimley, over,under
Ryan McClain, ArchitectureMNP
Quilian Riano, Archinect.com
John Southern, Sumoscraper and Urban Operations Studio

Opening Event
Friday, March 6, 2009
Panel Discussion 7 – 8:00 pm
Exhibition Party: 8 – 10:00 pm

pinkcomma gallery
81B Wareham Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02118

a few zines: action shots

Just in, a few shots of the January 8 opening and panel. A Few Zines is up at Studio-X until the end of February, so be sure to stop by and read a few zines and grab a loud paper broadsheet.

Thanks again to (R-L) Kazys, Felix, Luke, Mark, and Stephen.

And everyone who came and asked questions, like Molly.

And to Gavin and the Studio-X/C-Lab crew.

 

increasing the volume

Last night was friggin awesome. My endless gratitude goes out to Gavin and everyone at Studio-X who helped put together the show, including the C-Lab interns; the panelists: Felix, Stephen, Luke, and Mark; our moderator, Kazys; and finally, to all the friends, colleagues, and publishing enthusiasts who showed up. The discussion ranged from the democratic nature of the historic zine subculture to the role of self-publishing in the online mainstream and what this means for architecture, place, and community. The turn out was great and I couldn't have asked for more. Thank you.

Also, Interview magazine just published an online piece about the show, a typically loopy interview with me.

The opening of A Few Zines coincided with the release of a new loud paper broadsheet designed by Chris Grimley at over,under. One side is loud paper, one side is the catalog of the show. In the next few days I'll figure out a Paypal method for sending out the issue to people. I'm also working to get a podcast of the panel pulled together. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here's a PDF of the broadsheet.
Download Broadsheet_final_44

a few zines, now 30 minutes earlier and with gin

UPDATE:
There's been a time change for the A Few Zines panel and opening. All things self-publishing will begin at 6:30, not 7 as previously listed.

See you Thursday at 6:30. Gin to follow.

A Few Zines: Dispatches from the Edge of Architectural Production
January 8–February 28, 2009
Studio-X, 180 Varick Street, Suite 1610, New York, NY 10014
Between King and Charleton Streets, 1 train to Houston

citizens of no place

Just as I promised liberty bell a few photos of Jimenez Lai's comic book, Citizens of No Place, the Chicago-based author surprised me by saying he'll be at the opening on Thursday. Needless to say, I am thrilled.

Also, Gavin, Astra and I installed the show over the weekend (thank you!) and the Velcro worked. Big relief. A couple pics are below.