Thanks to Vittore Baroni's help - who guest edited the project - K17 is out.
Here's a review by Maria Zarro of Astrobabble fame (great zine for astro nerds and beyond)
http://astrobabylon.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/bizarrism-12-kairan-17.html
Monday, September 24, 2012
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Blue Cubicle Press #2
The two issues of The First Line (see previous entry) actually were not what I had traded for with David LaBounty. David is a very generous guy, so he sent me a whole lot of nice booklets (in a very professional-looking cardboard box). What I was really looking forward to, though, was his travel zine Bookstores and Baseball.
The two issues of The First Line (see previous entry) actually were not what I had traded for with David LaBounty. David is a very generous guy, so he sent me a whole lot of nice booklets (in a very professional-looking cardboard box). What I was really looking forward to, though, was his travel zine Bookstores and Baseball.
This is not your average zine. It's a full color beauty, printed on good quality paper, and with a nice cover. If picture quality was a tad better, it could be mistaken for a mainstream publication. Apparently this little jewel is not for sale. At least according to the review I read in Xerography Debt, this is trades only.
Now, if you hate baseball, don't worry because this is mostly a travel/perzine with a lot of space devoted to books and bookstores. If, on the contrary, you love baseball, get it as soon as possible because there's a lot for the sports lover too: nice pictures of the stadiums the LaBounties visited, fun facts provided by David's son Gabriel, etc. To tie it all, David's writing is solid, funny and informative, and the zine's intro (Batting Practice, as he calls it) features some of the best writing I've seen lately. Nuff said.
The first three innings of B and B are already out, and I sure hope this zine is going to extra innings.
Blue Cubicle Press #1
Independent publishing is full of literary journals, some of which overlap with the zine network. I find the people (mostly men?) behind such enterprises a bunch of DIY saints of sorts. Think about it. Nearly all zine makers are a one-man band and usually write most of the content, if not everything. But editors of literary journals actively look for other people's stories, then spend their time, energy and money to circulate them.
I confess I don't really care for such publications - or most zine fiction, for that matter. When I want to read a novel, I prefer the classics. A few days ago, though, David LaBounty sent me a couple of issues of The First Line, and I found myself reading these booklets cover to cover.
Independent publishing is full of literary journals, some of which overlap with the zine network. I find the people (mostly men?) behind such enterprises a bunch of DIY saints of sorts. Think about it. Nearly all zine makers are a one-man band and usually write most of the content, if not everything. But editors of literary journals actively look for other people's stories, then spend their time, energy and money to circulate them.
I confess I don't really care for such publications - or most zine fiction, for that matter. When I want to read a novel, I prefer the classics. A few days ago, though, David LaBounty sent me a couple of issues of The First Line, and I found myself reading these booklets cover to cover.
The genial idea behind this project is clearly stated in the journal's name: Every three months, the TFL editors challenge potential contributors with a line of prose (e.g. "Working for God is never easy") and all the submitted stories must start with this same line.
Each issue features about ten stories ranging from one to eight pages. They are nicely printed and put together, and the stories are of above average quality. All in all it was a very nice surprise.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
KAIRAN Zine update
Job, existential angst, the recent quake and my chronic laziness have temporarily taken my mind away from mail art-related things, but my zine KAIRAN is still alive - sleeping but alive. The latest issue I've published is #16, while two more are ready and I "only" have to do the layout and the usual boring stuff.
For many years I kept reprinting the old issues in order to make them available to as many people as possible, but from now on I want to use my limited free time to create new works insted of keeping xeroxing, folding, and stapling the same stuff. So when the few copies of the back issues are gone, they are gone for good. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The issues listed below are still available (remaining copies in brackets). Issues #1, 3, 9, and 12 are out of print, but issue #12's guest-editor Bernd Reichert may still have a few copies left:
- #2 (3) has various articles, essays, etc.
- #4 (3) is devoted to mail art in former Yugoslavia
- #5 (4) is a homage to Robin Crozier ("the most famous unknown artist in the world")
- #6 (1) focuses on art & money
- #7 (3) is devoted to mail art in Latin America
- #8 (1) is about femail artists
- #10 (6) & 11 (5) explore the huge poetry network(s) including traditional, experimental, and visual poetry, with tons of essays, interviews, etc.
- #13 (11) is one of my favourite issues ever. Find out why.
- #14 (8) & 15 (8) are the two volumes of the catalogue for my project on copy-art (or xerography)
- #16 (many) is the first volume of a three-part interview project (an update to Ruud Janssen's m.a. interview project of the '90s)
Many of these issues also feature rubberstamp art, stickers, and artistamps.
One issue is US$ 4.00. The two-issue sets are US$6.00.
Please send well-concealed cash or pay through Paypal (ilovemondo@yahoo.co.jp).
My address hasn't changed:
Gianni Simone
3-3-23 Nagatsuta
Midori-ku
Yokohama-shi
226-0027 Kanagawa-ken
Japan
Order today some of these great zines, so you don't have to go all the way to the MOMA in New York, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo or the Staatliches Museum in Schwerin, Germany to read them.
End of transmissions.
Job, existential angst, the recent quake and my chronic laziness have temporarily taken my mind away from mail art-related things, but my zine KAIRAN is still alive - sleeping but alive. The latest issue I've published is #16, while two more are ready and I "only" have to do the layout and the usual boring stuff.
For many years I kept reprinting the old issues in order to make them available to as many people as possible, but from now on I want to use my limited free time to create new works insted of keeping xeroxing, folding, and stapling the same stuff. So when the few copies of the back issues are gone, they are gone for good. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The issues listed below are still available (remaining copies in brackets). Issues #1, 3, 9, and 12 are out of print, but issue #12's guest-editor Bernd Reichert may still have a few copies left:
- #2 (3) has various articles, essays, etc.
- #4 (3) is devoted to mail art in former Yugoslavia
- #5 (4) is a homage to Robin Crozier ("the most famous unknown artist in the world")
- #6 (1) focuses on art & money
- #7 (3) is devoted to mail art in Latin America
- #8 (1) is about femail artists
- #10 (6) & 11 (5) explore the huge poetry network(s) including traditional, experimental, and visual poetry, with tons of essays, interviews, etc.
- #13 (11) is one of my favourite issues ever. Find out why.
- #14 (8) & 15 (8) are the two volumes of the catalogue for my project on copy-art (or xerography)
- #16 (many) is the first volume of a three-part interview project (an update to Ruud Janssen's m.a. interview project of the '90s)
Many of these issues also feature rubberstamp art, stickers, and artistamps.
One issue is US$ 4.00. The two-issue sets are US$6.00.
Please send well-concealed cash or pay through Paypal (ilovemondo@yahoo.co.jp).
My address hasn't changed:
Gianni Simone
3-3-23 Nagatsuta
Midori-ku
Yokohama-shi
226-0027 Kanagawa-ken
Japan
Order today some of these great zines, so you don't have to go all the way to the MOMA in New York, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo or the Staatliches Museum in Schwerin, Germany to read them.
End of transmissions.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Mini Zine Gathering, Shinjuku, Tokyo, July 30th, 2010
One night after infiltrating the Tokyo Book Fair, I found myself in a small bar in Shinjuku with a much smaller but infinitely more exciting group of people.
But let's take a step back and start from the beginning, i.e. when still-unknown (at least to me) Aussie zinester Jeremy Staples mailed me and other Japan-based zine-makers out of the blue announcing his coming. A little scared by his huge beard, wild look and strange zines, I wasn't really sure I wanted to meet him in person, but good Jeremy turned out to be a mellow guy and great conversationalist.
When, on July 30th, I arrived at our meeting place, I found Irregular Rhythm Asylum's Kei-san, Wasabi Distro's Andrea Hope and lilmag's Momo Nonaka (together in the picture below)
Tattoed Jeremy (sporting a less intimidating beard) was sitting next to Ian Lynam, a veteran zinester from US who now lives in Tokyo.
I'd never heard of Ian until a couple of days before when for a strange coincidence I read an interesting interview to him in the latest issue of Xerography Debt.
We were later joined by Takurock, who's running a library to document the history of Japanese zines
a bunch of Japanese zinesters and, last but not least, the omnipresent Jennie Hinchcliff hot from the Book Fair.
All in all it was a fun night of zine trading, free-wheeling chatting and plotting for future actions and publications. I'll keep you posted on future developements.
Jeremy Staples: http://beardedhobo.com/index.html
One night after infiltrating the Tokyo Book Fair, I found myself in a small bar in Shinjuku with a much smaller but infinitely more exciting group of people.
But let's take a step back and start from the beginning, i.e. when still-unknown (at least to me) Aussie zinester Jeremy Staples mailed me and other Japan-based zine-makers out of the blue announcing his coming. A little scared by his huge beard, wild look and strange zines, I wasn't really sure I wanted to meet him in person, but good Jeremy turned out to be a mellow guy and great conversationalist.
When, on July 30th, I arrived at our meeting place, I found Irregular Rhythm Asylum's Kei-san, Wasabi Distro's Andrea Hope and lilmag's Momo Nonaka (together in the picture below)
Tattoed Jeremy (sporting a less intimidating beard) was sitting next to Ian Lynam, a veteran zinester from US who now lives in Tokyo.
I'd never heard of Ian until a couple of days before when for a strange coincidence I read an interesting interview to him in the latest issue of Xerography Debt.
We were later joined by Takurock, who's running a library to document the history of Japanese zines
a bunch of Japanese zinesters and, last but not least, the omnipresent Jennie Hinchcliff hot from the Book Fair.
All in all it was a fun night of zine trading, free-wheeling chatting and plotting for future actions and publications. I'll keep you posted on future developements.
Jeremy Staples: http://beardedhobo.com/index.html
The Tokyo Art Book Fair 2010
On July 30th - August 1st the good folks at Zine's Mate (a Tokyo gallery/shop that actually has almost nothing to do with zines) organised the second Art book Fair. If I bother to write about it here is simply because my good friend and mail artist Jennie Hinchcliff of Red Letter Day fame attended and was kind enough to include me in the guest list for the preview/party on July 29th.
I wasn't expecting anything truly special or particularly surprising and I wasn't disappointed in this respect: These people's idea of what an art book is supposed to look like is quite different from mine. I couldn't care less about all those slick publications. To me those are just common books whose content happens to be art-related.
Jennie of course shared my opinion. Among other things, she was also surprised by the tiny space each participant was allowed. Apparently it was back to school. Check those desks out!
The small room where Jennie was "relegated" actually was the wildest and most interesting. Her "neighbour" was a Japanese lady, Aya Muto, who lives in Los angeles and mostly works in America. Her picture zines are very elegant and poetic.
Useless to say, among all those people the real queen of the night was Jennie-chan.
If you want to read a longer & better story about the book fair you'll better check out Jennie's blog at http://redletterdayzine.wordpress.com/
Are you interested in Aya Muto's zines? Her address is ayamuto@earthlink.net
On July 30th - August 1st the good folks at Zine's Mate (a Tokyo gallery/shop that actually has almost nothing to do with zines) organised the second Art book Fair. If I bother to write about it here is simply because my good friend and mail artist Jennie Hinchcliff of Red Letter Day fame attended and was kind enough to include me in the guest list for the preview/party on July 29th.
I wasn't expecting anything truly special or particularly surprising and I wasn't disappointed in this respect: These people's idea of what an art book is supposed to look like is quite different from mine. I couldn't care less about all those slick publications. To me those are just common books whose content happens to be art-related.
Jennie of course shared my opinion. Among other things, she was also surprised by the tiny space each participant was allowed. Apparently it was back to school. Check those desks out!
The small room where Jennie was "relegated" actually was the wildest and most interesting. Her "neighbour" was a Japanese lady, Aya Muto, who lives in Los angeles and mostly works in America. Her picture zines are very elegant and poetic.
Useless to say, among all those people the real queen of the night was Jennie-chan.
If you want to read a longer & better story about the book fair you'll better check out Jennie's blog at http://redletterdayzine.wordpress.com/
Are you interested in Aya Muto's zines? Her address is ayamuto@earthlink.net
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Hinchcliff/Johnson
I saw the interesting movie Black, White + Grey: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe, a James Crump documentary about the famous American collector. Even though his relationship with Mapplethorpe takes center stage, the movie is mainly about Wagstaff, his life, and the people he met in the frantic NY art world - among them "an eccentric artist named Ray Johnson."
This same photo appears in the movie (Johnson is only briefly mentioned... let's say his part in the movie is about 2-3 seconds) and a zine I received from m.a. queen Jennie Hinchcliff.
I saw the interesting movie Black, White + Grey: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe, a James Crump documentary about the famous American collector. Even though his relationship with Mapplethorpe takes center stage, the movie is mainly about Wagstaff, his life, and the people he met in the frantic NY art world - among them "an eccentric artist named Ray Johnson."
This same photo appears in the movie (Johnson is only briefly mentioned... let's say his part in the movie is about 2-3 seconds) and a zine I received from m.a. queen Jennie Hinchcliff.
Bizarrism #10
When Dann Lennard is not running after his daughter Jones (see below) he's probably amusing himself with such a zine.
If people asked me what a zine is, I would show them this jewel from Australia. Admittedly, not all the zines out there feature weird people and tall stories, but all of them – and especially the best ones – approach their chosen subject without filters or inhibitions, and are refreshingly candid and honest. Add to all this a real talent for writing and you have Bizarrism. In issue #10 you will find, among other things, articles about the mystery surrounding Floreana Island; the horse mutilator of Albury; the Collyers Brothers, compulsive hoarders extraordinaire; and our favorite dictator, Uganda’s Idi Amin.
This could be considered as typical tabloid/trashy stuff, but be careful because editor and main writer Chris Mikul thoroughly researches his stories and displays a well-developed critical sense and a healthy dose of humor. This is what separates this zine from those whose only goal is to shock people. Maybe not a zine for everybody, but one which rewards the curious reader.
AUS$6.00/US8.00 postpaid/full size/40 pgs.
Chris Mikul, P.O. Box K546, Haymarket, NSW 1240, Australia
When Dann Lennard is not running after his daughter Jones (see below) he's probably amusing himself with such a zine.
If people asked me what a zine is, I would show them this jewel from Australia. Admittedly, not all the zines out there feature weird people and tall stories, but all of them – and especially the best ones – approach their chosen subject without filters or inhibitions, and are refreshingly candid and honest. Add to all this a real talent for writing and you have Bizarrism. In issue #10 you will find, among other things, articles about the mystery surrounding Floreana Island; the horse mutilator of Albury; the Collyers Brothers, compulsive hoarders extraordinaire; and our favorite dictator, Uganda’s Idi Amin.
This could be considered as typical tabloid/trashy stuff, but be careful because editor and main writer Chris Mikul thoroughly researches his stories and displays a well-developed critical sense and a healthy dose of humor. This is what separates this zine from those whose only goal is to shock people. Maybe not a zine for everybody, but one which rewards the curious reader.
AUS$6.00/US8.00 postpaid/full size/40 pgs.
Chris Mikul, P.O. Box K546, Haymarket, NSW 1240, Australia
Isn't She Lovely
This one arrived only a few hours ago. Dann Lennard and Helen Vnuk are the middle-class-looking weirdos who have been publishing Betty Paginated from their base in Australia (see older post). Rather improbably, they managed to create the little angel you see featured below...
... and this zine chronicles Jones' growing up. I haven't read this one yet, but if it's as good as the premiere issue, it's a keeper.
Hell, I wish I had a dad like Dann...
If you want some of their stuff, mail them at danhelen@idx.com.au
This one arrived only a few hours ago. Dann Lennard and Helen Vnuk are the middle-class-looking weirdos who have been publishing Betty Paginated from their base in Australia (see older post). Rather improbably, they managed to create the little angel you see featured below...
... and this zine chronicles Jones' growing up. I haven't read this one yet, but if it's as good as the premiere issue, it's a keeper.
Hell, I wish I had a dad like Dann...
If you want some of their stuff, mail them at danhelen@idx.com.au
Blackguard
Are you tired of reading silly, badly drawn comics? Here’s something you might like – if you have nothing against sex, violence and blasphemy, that is. Mr. Stratu (of Sick Puppy Comix fame) is finally back with a vengeance, and has assembled a bunch of talented (sometimes demented) artists.
Issue #1 loosely revolves around “religious crazies,” while the brand new second offering is subtitled “Father.” This is an excellent zine, with full color cover and high production values. Recommended to all the not-so-easily-offended comic lovers.
$7.00/digest/40 pgs.
P.O. Box 35, Marrickville, NSW 2204, Australia
Are you tired of reading silly, badly drawn comics? Here’s something you might like – if you have nothing against sex, violence and blasphemy, that is. Mr. Stratu (of Sick Puppy Comix fame) is finally back with a vengeance, and has assembled a bunch of talented (sometimes demented) artists.
Issue #1 loosely revolves around “religious crazies,” while the brand new second offering is subtitled “Father.” This is an excellent zine, with full color cover and high production values. Recommended to all the not-so-easily-offended comic lovers.
$7.00/digest/40 pgs.
P.O. Box 35, Marrickville, NSW 2204, Australia
Disconcerting
Janell is hot. She has decided to publish her zine on a monthly basis and she has managed to keep the pace so far. Luckily her writing hasn’t suffered from all this work. This is your typical perzine, by a 23-year-old “advertising student and geeky dreamer” from Singapore. It consists of personal thoughts and feeling towards the places and people she encounters every day.
Her style sometimes betrays her young age, but all in all it is very mature and poised. An added point of interest is reading about life in Singapore. And don’t forget Janell’s drawings that manage to be chaotic and detailed at the same time. This is definitely one of my best recent finds.
$3.00/digest/44 pgs.
me@janell.tk http://janell.tk/
Janell is hot. She has decided to publish her zine on a monthly basis and she has managed to keep the pace so far. Luckily her writing hasn’t suffered from all this work. This is your typical perzine, by a 23-year-old “advertising student and geeky dreamer” from Singapore. It consists of personal thoughts and feeling towards the places and people she encounters every day.
Her style sometimes betrays her young age, but all in all it is very mature and poised. An added point of interest is reading about life in Singapore. And don’t forget Janell’s drawings that manage to be chaotic and detailed at the same time. This is definitely one of my best recent finds.
$3.00/digest/44 pgs.
me@janell.tk http://janell.tk/
Dr. Danny Swank
If you care about checking Dr. Swank’s page in wemakezines.ning.com, you will find the picture of a slightly weird but very likable older gentleman. I’m told this is not the doc’s real portrait, but I refuse to believe it. After all his writing style, erudite but funny, perfectly fits that photo.
As for his zines’ contents, Manuscripts Don’t Burn features true stories about this and that, most of them written by the doc himself, including the always hilarious Tales from the Bus that have also been collected in a single zine of the same title. In my opinion, though, the real jewel is Cranky Buddha: This is a history zine of sorts in which the doc writes about such people as Benjamin Franklin, Diogenes the Cynic, and Calamity Jane by mixing rigorous historical research and wicked humor.
Quote: “I saw an interesting factoid recently: Human beings are physically incapable of licking their own elbows. Try as I might it turned out to be true, at least in my case. But I was close. And now my shoulders hurt.”
Cranky Buddha, $2.00/digest/64 pgs.
Manuscripts Don’t Burn, $2.00/digest/28 pgs.
2262 SE 39th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
If you care about checking Dr. Swank’s page in wemakezines.ning.com, you will find the picture of a slightly weird but very likable older gentleman. I’m told this is not the doc’s real portrait, but I refuse to believe it. After all his writing style, erudite but funny, perfectly fits that photo.
As for his zines’ contents, Manuscripts Don’t Burn features true stories about this and that, most of them written by the doc himself, including the always hilarious Tales from the Bus that have also been collected in a single zine of the same title. In my opinion, though, the real jewel is Cranky Buddha: This is a history zine of sorts in which the doc writes about such people as Benjamin Franklin, Diogenes the Cynic, and Calamity Jane by mixing rigorous historical research and wicked humor.
Quote: “I saw an interesting factoid recently: Human beings are physically incapable of licking their own elbows. Try as I might it turned out to be true, at least in my case. But I was close. And now my shoulders hurt.”
Cranky Buddha, $2.00/digest/64 pgs.
Manuscripts Don’t Burn, $2.00/digest/28 pgs.
2262 SE 39th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
In Memory of a New Friend
In 1998 I met through the post German mail artist Johannes Musholf. We happened to have a friend in common (not a rare thing in our Network), Ivan Zemtsov from Russia. As our names were different versions of the English 'John' I came up with the idea of forming a collaborative group whose name was supposed to be The Three Johns (anybody remembers the British new wave band of the '80s?). Sadly Johannes suddenly died in 1999. As a tribute to him I've uploaded the last thing he sent me before passing away. Johannes was fond of telling stories, and that was one of the things I liked the most about him.
In 1998 I met through the post German mail artist Johannes Musholf. We happened to have a friend in common (not a rare thing in our Network), Ivan Zemtsov from Russia. As our names were different versions of the English 'John' I came up with the idea of forming a collaborative group whose name was supposed to be The Three Johns (anybody remembers the British new wave band of the '80s?). Sadly Johannes suddenly died in 1999. As a tribute to him I've uploaded the last thing he sent me before passing away. Johannes was fond of telling stories, and that was one of the things I liked the most about him.
Tourism (2)
I should have posted this one several months ago, but as the more faithful followers of this blog know all too well, I'm constantly fighting my chronic laziness.
This said, I still remember with great fondness the nice meeting I had with fellow mail artists Antic Ham (South Korea), Francis Van Maele (Luxemburg, now living in Ireland) and Keiichi Nakamura (Japan).
Japan post
I think I have mentioned before how wonderful the postal service in Japan is. They will deliver the goods no matter what, and will even apologise for something they haven't done in the first place. Here are a couple of examples, respectively coming from the US (slightly broken envelope) and Serbia (flood- or typhoon-altered envelope)
The second envelope contained Dobrica Kamperelic's long-running zine Open World. As you can see, the zine itself got a nice treatment that added some colour to its usually b/w design.
Now, THIS is a mail art catalogue
Once upon a time, paper ruled mail art. People wrote letters (imagine that), didn’t know what a computer was, and all the project documentation was in paper form, ranging from simple lists of participants to thick catalogues. Nowadays most people opt for posting all the works in a blog, mainly because it’s less labor intensive and definitely cheaper. Still, once in a whole I come across an old school doc, and the zine that Mujinga produced for his project Utopia is very well worth mentioning.
Inside you will find a brief description of the works he received, the usual list of contributors and, most importantly, a discussion on what mail art is and an interesting piece on how and why he embarked in this project, including the problems he encountered and the lessons he learned. All in all it’s a very useful primer for people who are thinking about doing the same thing, or are interested in the subject, and even includes a handy list of mail art-related web sites.
$2/Digest/20 pgs
Mujinga/Edward, 1 Delves Cottages, Church Hill, Ringmer, Lewes BN8 5JY, UK
spaceman@mujinga.net or http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/mujinga
Once upon a time, paper ruled mail art. People wrote letters (imagine that), didn’t know what a computer was, and all the project documentation was in paper form, ranging from simple lists of participants to thick catalogues. Nowadays most people opt for posting all the works in a blog, mainly because it’s less labor intensive and definitely cheaper. Still, once in a whole I come across an old school doc, and the zine that Mujinga produced for his project Utopia is very well worth mentioning.
Inside you will find a brief description of the works he received, the usual list of contributors and, most importantly, a discussion on what mail art is and an interesting piece on how and why he embarked in this project, including the problems he encountered and the lessons he learned. All in all it’s a very useful primer for people who are thinking about doing the same thing, or are interested in the subject, and even includes a handy list of mail art-related web sites.
$2/Digest/20 pgs
Mujinga/Edward, 1 Delves Cottages, Church Hill, Ringmer, Lewes BN8 5JY, UK
spaceman@mujinga.net or http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/mujinga
Madagascar!!! (the real thing)
Stories from Madagascar, Land of Golden Cows before Sailor runs out of copies. You’ll get a heavy cardstock cover (mine was a nice brown that shines and twinkle under the light) and even the inside pages were copied on high quality paper. The whole combo is then kept together with a thick black rubber band that I find very appropriate, because I may be wrong but I imagine that this stuff would be easier to find in Madagascar than staples.
Then you open the zine and you are transported into this alien land where life is much different from so called civilized countries. Sailor spent one month on the island, visiting her friend who was working as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Alternating typewritten and handwritten texts with photos and quirky & cute drawings, she tells about life in Madagascar, its people, customs, food, language, etc. It’s the next best thing to actually boarding a plane and seeing it for yourself. Recommended.
$3.50 or selected trades (email first) /Digest/64 pgs
Sailor Holobaugh, 4 Valley View Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912
sailor.holobaugh@gmail.com http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/SailorHolobaugh
Loserdom
I must admit that my first impression of this zine wasn’t very positive. First of all, the cover was a confusing jumble. Even the many comics (they comprise about half the zine) looked rather crude. Also, I’ve never been too much into punk, and the prospect of reading endless interviews with unknown musicians wasn’t very appealing. Then I actually began to read the zine and I realized how wrong I was. Anto is a master interviewer, and his two long conversations with Irish peace and social activist Caoimhe Butterfly (11 pgs) and Deko Dachau (13 pgs) (“probably the most well known of Irish punk rockers”) are engaging and informative. I learned quite a lot about the evolution of the local music and zine scenes (the piece on Dachau even features many covers of historical Irish punk zines). What really won me out, though, were the comics. I’ve never quite seen something like this: They are a curious but ultimately beautiful mix of detailed landscapes and backgrounds and roughly drawn people who look more like caricatures. I can’t wait to get the next issue and see how Anto’s and brother Eugene’s surreal time travel ends. This monster issue is round up by zine reviews and an interesting Spanish revolution tour of Barcelona. Please gimme more!
$3 or 3 euros /Digest/112 pgs
loserdomzine@gmail.com http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/Loserdomzine
www.loserdomzine.com
Bellarosa
This is a very nice booklet I got last year from Mariano Bellarosa, a new mail art friend from Italy I met through the mighty social network DodoDada (http://dododada.ning.com/). Mariano's forte are very detailed, somewhat weird drawings. This particualr booklet has very high production values and if you like the genre, you might want to contact him. You will find his profile in DodoDada.
AP!
If you are a mail artist, I don't need to explain who is Vittore Baroni. If you don't know him, I guess the easier thing to do is to google him and see for yourself all the things he has done since joining the mail art network in 1977. His zine Arte Postale! has been for 30 years a focal point for all the network's activities.
Unfortunately Vittore has decided to pull the plug on this project: AP! 100, that should be published later this year, will be its last issue.
The cover you see above is AP! 96, a magnificent catalogue Vittore produced last year to document an exhibition devoted to artists' books.
I believe that Vittore still has some back issues left, plus copies of some of his other publications (books, etc.). For a list, you can contact him at:
vittorebaroni (at) alice (dot) it
Xerox
The book you see below was published last year by German copy-artist Klaus Urbons to document his exhibition/project on xerography.
2008 was the 70th anniversary of the invention of the photocopier, a machine which has played a pivotal role in dramatically expanding what (mail) artists and zine makers can do, and both Klaus and I decided to make a tribute to its inventor, Chester F. Carlson.
My contribution was yet another two-issue set of KAIRAN (#14 +15) that features works by some 90 copy-artists and several articles on the subjects.
A few copies are still available. If interested, please send US$6.00 for the set (or US$4.00 for one issue) to my address.
Greetings from Kanazawa
I always say I love to live in Japan. Actually I should say I love Tokyo. I like big city life, to be precise. This doesn’t mean, of course, that I can’t appreciate the beauty of small cities. One of the places I haven’t visited yet but I’m definitely planning to is Kanazawa, a city on the west coast that is famous for Kenrokuen, considered by the Japanese one of the three best gardens in the whole archipelago. For the time being, I can now travel vicariously to this town thanks to mail artist and master photographer Mark Hammond who has just self-published Kanazawa in Black and White, a delightful collection of his b/w pictures that capture his adopted hometown in all his subdued charm.
Evenly divided according to the four seasons, these beautifully printed photos show you a side of Japan that people living abroad rarely get to see. This is a must for both photography buffs and people who are interested in all things Japanese.
$15 postpaid/Digest/40 pgs.
Mark Hammond, Teramachi 2-11-34, Kanazawa-shi, 921-8033 Ishikawa-ken, Japan
mark@po3.nsknet.or.jp http://www3.nsknet.or.jp/~mark/
I always say I love to live in Japan. Actually I should say I love Tokyo. I like big city life, to be precise. This doesn’t mean, of course, that I can’t appreciate the beauty of small cities. One of the places I haven’t visited yet but I’m definitely planning to is Kanazawa, a city on the west coast that is famous for Kenrokuen, considered by the Japanese one of the three best gardens in the whole archipelago. For the time being, I can now travel vicariously to this town thanks to mail artist and master photographer Mark Hammond who has just self-published Kanazawa in Black and White, a delightful collection of his b/w pictures that capture his adopted hometown in all his subdued charm.
Evenly divided according to the four seasons, these beautifully printed photos show you a side of Japan that people living abroad rarely get to see. This is a must for both photography buffs and people who are interested in all things Japanese.
$15 postpaid/Digest/40 pgs.
Mark Hammond, Teramachi 2-11-34, Kanazawa-shi, 921-8033 Ishikawa-ken, Japan
mark@po3.nsknet.or.jp http://www3.nsknet.or.jp/~mark/
KAIRAN 10 + 11
The visual poem you see below was made by Japanese artist Hiroshi Tanabu who is among the contributors to KAIRAN 10 +11.
This two-issue set is entirely devoted to poetry in the mail art network. It's almost 90 pages full of poetry (word-based, visual, concrete, etc.) and poetry-related articles and interviews.
KAIRAN 10 features:
- a massive ABC by Guido Vermeulen, who introduces many artists who are seldom included in mail art publications.
- a photo-report by Bruno Chiarlone on his postal actions
- an article by Theo Breuer on visual poetry
- a report by Nancy Burr about the NorthWest Concrete/Visual Poetry Exhibition in Seattle
- a piece by Carla Bertola on sound poetry by Italian female artists
- plus poems by Giovanni Malito, Turk LeClair, Monica Ferretti, Marilyn Dammann, Francesco Mandrino, Bernd Reichert, etc.
KAIRAN 11 features:
- interviews with Harry Burrus, Mark Sonnenfeld, David Stone and Francesco Mandrino
- an article by Misako Yarita on concrete and visual poetry in Japan
- a piece by Keiichi Nakamura on collaboration in poetry and art
- opinions by Geof Huth, Michael Peters, and Michael Basinski on visual poetry
- plus tons of poems by Reed Altemus, Ficus Strangulensis, Jim Leftwitch, Jesse Glass, Jr, Willi Melnikhov, Laura Ryder, Pete Spence, etc.
A few copies are still available. If interested, please send US$ 6.00 or 5 euro for the nice pair (US$ 4.00 or 3 euro for a single issue) (well-concealed cash) or a good trade (you know what I mean) to:
Gianni Simone
3-3-23 Nagatsuta
Midori-ku
Yokohama-shi
226-0027 Kanagawa-ken
Japan
And remember that all the back issues are still available: in particular,
- #3 is partly devoted to the historical TRAX networking project
- #4 is devoted to mail art in former Yugoslavia
- #5 is a homage to Robin Crozier ("the most famous unknown artist in the world")
- #6 focuses on art & money
- #7 is devoted to mail art in Latin America
- #8 is about femail artists
- #9 contains a huge annotated index of mail art publications
Many of these issues also feature rubberstamp art, stickers, and artistamps.
Order today some of these great zines, so you don't have to go all the way to the MOMA in New York, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo or the Staatliches Museum in Schwerin, Germany to read them.
Fun in the UK
I have almost all the issues of this zine. This should be enough to tell you how much I like it. This is your typical punk zine, with lots of columns, zine and music reviews, and assorted articles, but as usual, the writing makes the difference, and the gang behind Beat Motel can write as well as anybody, beginning with boss Andrew Culture and his scatologically fantastic sense of humor. Or maybe I should say humour: I’m a sucker for British English – even though I’ve recently got so used to the American version that I often have to check my dictionary, or directly mail Andrew for directions.
[Beat Motel]
Issue #8 is an 80-page, 69,400-word monster featuring 18 columnists discussing the idea of ‘country’ and ‘nationalism,’, 67 zine reviews, 142 CD reviews, 10 live reviews, and a truckload of foul words. The new issue #9 is the "sex/procreation issue" so don't tell me I didn't warn you.
The indefatigable Mr. Culture is also at the helm of Corndog Distro. Check out his web site and you will find more British zine delight.
2 pounds or $3 or 3 euros postpaid/Digest/52-80 pgs
Andrew Culture, PO Box 773, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 9FT, UK
http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/AndrewCulture
http://beatmotel.co.uk/ http://corndog.co.uk
A Rad Lad
One of the best artists and illustrators I've had the pleasure to meet since I joined the zine network is a lad from UK named Steve Larder. His zine Rum Lad is a sort of perzine in which Steve talks about his life, his friends, and chronicles his trips around and outside UK. In Issue 4, for instance, Steve goes to Mulheim, Germany, to attend the local zine festival. His art is top notch and I especially love the way he draws urban landscapes and architecture. Rum-Muffel is a collaboration with Isy of Morgenmuffel fame (another great comic zine, by the way); a travelogue detailing their winter trip to a national park.
Steve Larder, Somerset House, Cherry Holt Lane, Sutterton, Boston, Lincs, PE20 2H4, UK. stevejipwit@hotmail.com
morgenmuffel@yahoo.co.uk
The Future of Mail Art
The international mail art network has always been divided between those who like to
chronicle and/or analyze what they do and those who only want to make art and correspond with their friends without having to explain how and why they do what they do. Since the beginning, I have belonged to the former group, even though I understand that too much talking sometimes takes the joy out of the mail art experience. I have recently realized, by the way, that the more I write about mail art, the less I seem to actually do it. In this respect, the last two years have been very slow production-wise. But I digress.
Those who like to talk and write about mail art are a rather small group, if compared to the total of practitioners (they are mostly men, by the way. It seems that women could not care less about these endless debates) but they argue constantly, through their articles and by joining newsgroups, mailing lists and message boards on the Internet. Since 1986 they have even organized, every six years, so-called Decentralized Networker Congresses all over Europe and North America, in order to actually meet and discuss things further. Last year the fourth round of such meetings took place, ranging from informal visits to friends and improvised dinners to big festivals with plenty of events and activities. The one organized by Peter Kuestermann and Angela Pahler (a.k.a. the Netmails) in Minden, Germany was particularly important and attracted many people. One of the topics that were discussed in that occasion was “the future of mail art,” or as some of the participants put it, “is mail art getting old?” or worse yet, “is mail art dying?” What seems to be true is that mail artists are getting old - especially the hardcore group that has embraced mail art as a life style. Several of the people who were in Minden wrote me that “you always see the same faces.” They complain that young people are not interested in this old-fashioned way to network and spend all their time in front of a computer screen or pushing frenetically the keys in their cell phones. Other people reply to these complaints that the mail artists themselves are to blame: We don’t do enough to attract outsiders and make them understand and enjoy the pleasures of mail arting.
One of the more vocal critics of this “ghetto mentality” is Belgian networker Luc Fierens. As he wrote in a recent e-mail, “yes, I feel some of the network has become a closed club of blah-blah news groups and private parties. Wake up and open the field!” Always one who backs his words with facts, Fierens and partner Annina Van Sebroeck started in 1999 a workshop for children aged 8 to 11. Working in collaboration with regional integration center Foyer, they gathered a number of elementary school students, especially belonging to socially disadvantaged groups and immigrant families. At the same time, the work done between October 1999 and February 2000 in weekly meetings was linked to the international mail art network, so that the drawings, paintings, collages, stamps, etc. made during those sessions were sent out and exchanged with artists and children abroad. Thanks to the help of another Belgian networker, Guido Vermeulen, they even managed to involve the American “Children’s Art Program” of kidscommons, a children’s museum in Columbus, Indiana. As Fierens says, “Mail art is communication art. The value of communicating prevails over the artistic value and stands above the classical knowledge of language. This is particularly important for children with language problems. Therefore the aim of this project was to offer real opportunities to communicate across all borders.” The experience was so satisfying that it was repeated four years in a row, every time with a different theme: “Living in the Mirror,” “Dance of Life,” Soul Food: Envelope Your World,” and “Play.” Instrumental to the success of the project were Fierens’s efforts to involve public institutions (something other mail artists are usually not very happy to do) such as the Queen Paola Foundation. The finished works were exhibited at the Central Post Office in Brussels, the Museum of Spontaneous Arts, Molenbeek, the gallery of the public library in Etterbeek, and the Ministry of the French Community, Brussels. Of course achieving open and permanent lines of communication between the children themselves remains difficult, especially across international borders, because the extended waiting period causes them to forget about it and dropout. Nevertheless, receiving mail from another part of the world is a great, unforgettable experience that has a positive influence on their creativity and the way they think about other cultures. Once the seeds of communication are planted, they continue to grow and flourish.
Fierens’s workshop has been followed by similar projects in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium (“Maanschim--Exploring the Dark and Clear Side of the Moon,” that was independently curated by the children themselves), in which I had the pleasure to participate (see above image), sometimes with my son Luca. In some cases, the children opted to use the alter-and-return system, by sending out art to people who had previously agreed to collaborate and getting their altered works back a few weeks later.
For more information, tips on how to organize a children’s project, etc. you can contact Luc Fierens: Galgenberg 18, 1982 Weerde BELGIUM.
The international mail art network has always been divided between those who like to
chronicle and/or analyze what they do and those who only want to make art and correspond with their friends without having to explain how and why they do what they do. Since the beginning, I have belonged to the former group, even though I understand that too much talking sometimes takes the joy out of the mail art experience. I have recently realized, by the way, that the more I write about mail art, the less I seem to actually do it. In this respect, the last two years have been very slow production-wise. But I digress.
Those who like to talk and write about mail art are a rather small group, if compared to the total of practitioners (they are mostly men, by the way. It seems that women could not care less about these endless debates) but they argue constantly, through their articles and by joining newsgroups, mailing lists and message boards on the Internet. Since 1986 they have even organized, every six years, so-called Decentralized Networker Congresses all over Europe and North America, in order to actually meet and discuss things further. Last year the fourth round of such meetings took place, ranging from informal visits to friends and improvised dinners to big festivals with plenty of events and activities. The one organized by Peter Kuestermann and Angela Pahler (a.k.a. the Netmails) in Minden, Germany was particularly important and attracted many people. One of the topics that were discussed in that occasion was “the future of mail art,” or as some of the participants put it, “is mail art getting old?” or worse yet, “is mail art dying?” What seems to be true is that mail artists are getting old - especially the hardcore group that has embraced mail art as a life style. Several of the people who were in Minden wrote me that “you always see the same faces.” They complain that young people are not interested in this old-fashioned way to network and spend all their time in front of a computer screen or pushing frenetically the keys in their cell phones. Other people reply to these complaints that the mail artists themselves are to blame: We don’t do enough to attract outsiders and make them understand and enjoy the pleasures of mail arting.
One of the more vocal critics of this “ghetto mentality” is Belgian networker Luc Fierens. As he wrote in a recent e-mail, “yes, I feel some of the network has become a closed club of blah-blah news groups and private parties. Wake up and open the field!” Always one who backs his words with facts, Fierens and partner Annina Van Sebroeck started in 1999 a workshop for children aged 8 to 11. Working in collaboration with regional integration center Foyer, they gathered a number of elementary school students, especially belonging to socially disadvantaged groups and immigrant families. At the same time, the work done between October 1999 and February 2000 in weekly meetings was linked to the international mail art network, so that the drawings, paintings, collages, stamps, etc. made during those sessions were sent out and exchanged with artists and children abroad. Thanks to the help of another Belgian networker, Guido Vermeulen, they even managed to involve the American “Children’s Art Program” of kidscommons, a children’s museum in Columbus, Indiana. As Fierens says, “Mail art is communication art. The value of communicating prevails over the artistic value and stands above the classical knowledge of language. This is particularly important for children with language problems. Therefore the aim of this project was to offer real opportunities to communicate across all borders.” The experience was so satisfying that it was repeated four years in a row, every time with a different theme: “Living in the Mirror,” “Dance of Life,” Soul Food: Envelope Your World,” and “Play.” Instrumental to the success of the project were Fierens’s efforts to involve public institutions (something other mail artists are usually not very happy to do) such as the Queen Paola Foundation. The finished works were exhibited at the Central Post Office in Brussels, the Museum of Spontaneous Arts, Molenbeek, the gallery of the public library in Etterbeek, and the Ministry of the French Community, Brussels. Of course achieving open and permanent lines of communication between the children themselves remains difficult, especially across international borders, because the extended waiting period causes them to forget about it and dropout. Nevertheless, receiving mail from another part of the world is a great, unforgettable experience that has a positive influence on their creativity and the way they think about other cultures. Once the seeds of communication are planted, they continue to grow and flourish.
Fierens’s workshop has been followed by similar projects in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium (“Maanschim--Exploring the Dark and Clear Side of the Moon,” that was independently curated by the children themselves), in which I had the pleasure to participate (see above image), sometimes with my son Luca. In some cases, the children opted to use the alter-and-return system, by sending out art to people who had previously agreed to collaborate and getting their altered works back a few weeks later.
For more information, tips on how to organize a children’s project, etc. you can contact Luc Fierens: Galgenberg 18, 1982 Weerde BELGIUM.
Cultural Terrorism
This is the back of an envelope I received from David Dellafiora, the indefatigable British networker who for several years has been plotting from Australia.
This is the back of an envelope I received from David Dellafiora, the indefatigable British networker who for several years has been plotting from Australia.
I confess I felt a little proud when I saw the "security checked" stamp, and that they had actually opened the envelope to verify its contents: To me it was as if officialdom had once again acknowledged mail art's outsider position as art's weird relative who must be kept in check.
Yes I know this is only wishful thinking.
Well, whatever.
Happy New Year!
For some obscure reason, being timely doesn't seem to be among my qualities. Therefore you will forgive me if I show these two fine pieces of mail only now - more than two months after the start of the new year.
As the people who have followed this blog from the start already know, I don't usually show all the mail I get. There are already too many people who do this. I don't think this is the best or even the most interesting way to use a blog, and to tell you the truth, I find such sites a little boring (even though I can see their "educational" value). But I degress.
I'm showing this beautiful greeting card from Ivan Zemtsov because he post it on January 5th, and arrived in Japan a few days ago. Not bad.
For some obscure reason, being timely doesn't seem to be among my qualities. Therefore you will forgive me if I show these two fine pieces of mail only now - more than two months after the start of the new year.
As the people who have followed this blog from the start already know, I don't usually show all the mail I get. There are already too many people who do this. I don't think this is the best or even the most interesting way to use a blog, and to tell you the truth, I find such sites a little boring (even though I can see their "educational" value). But I degress.
I'm showing this beautiful greeting card from Ivan Zemtsov because he post it on January 5th, and arrived in Japan a few days ago. Not bad.
Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the people who send me xmas greetings. Alas, I never do it. I know, I'm a heartless bastard. I don't like xmas and other such festivities, and I'm not interested in celebrating. But I do appreciate your cards, etc. especially when they are as good-looking and witty as the one Keith Bates sent me last year.
Among the others, I'd like to remember Carol Stetser and Dietmar Vollmer who every year come up this new original ways to brighten my mail box.
2,000 Staples
A few months ago I finally used the last few staples left in the box pictured below.
A few months ago I finally used the last few staples left in the box pictured below.
This makes 2,000 staples in nine years. It might not be a record, but in these last nine years my faithful long-arm stapler has helped me publishing 13 issues of KAIRAN - Mail Art Forum, three issues each of Call & Response and Orga{ni}sm plus several one-shot zines, mail art catalogues, etc.
I think I'm allowed to a little celebration, right?
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