Shotgun SeamstressWas invited to join a group of women & nb folks to create an eco zine about #Florida. It was very lovely on one level and very shocking on another. Two ppl present worked at commercial magazines. Adding graphic designers and artistic directors to the zine project were discussed. Silly me thought we would be putting the whole thing together ourselves. I don’t think most were even familiar with #zines as related to subculture. It feels like concept has been gutted and sterilized over time.
Also having to talk about funding right off the bat is depressing. Why is everything like this nowadays? Why can’t we just make something simple and cheap but still effective? It’s like everything has to be super sophisticated, complicated and expensive and then it puts you in the position of considering how to secure a grant right out of the gate lol. *sigh* I feel incredibly silly thinking I was gonna be spending my evening cutting & pasting with a group of ladies.
DaveKaz@shotgunseamstress yeah I’d say that’s a magazine, what you describe is a zine.
ranjit@shotgunseamstress some people are really into "professionalism", which i think we could do with a lot less of!
🌌@shotgunseamstress your idea to have them all over & make a quick cut n paste zine is brilliant! Even if it doesn't change their approach to the eco zine, hopefully it plants the seeds of that old zine-making joy where all you need is some paper, a Sharpie, and a copier.
Its such a bummer how commercial zines have become. Just like YouTube (long long ago) transitioning from any weirdo with a camera and a desire to make videos about stuff to the whole professionally-produced "influencer" shit of today. People with money ruin everything 😂
Okay, we did it. We got together and made a quick-turnaround #zine and it was so fun. Someone even brought a typewriter. I’m curious how making this casual, intimate thing will inform the end project (the more formal eco-lit “zine”). I think the most important part was just getting to know each other better and hopefully bonding over a shared project.
I had a playlist going during the zine making session, and every time a #postpunk style song came on, the same person kept asking who the band was. After a while I told her “I think you like post-punk” and she was like “I don’t know what that is.” I described it as best I could and then put on #GangofFour “Entertainment” and she was sooo into it lol. That’s one of my favorite albums ever (and I hadn’t heard it in a while.) Feels great to turn someone on to your favorite music.
Fanzine Club
mart0Awesome!
@shotgunseamstress corporate America has co-opted “zine”. See Pitchfork… there are others and with huge release events. The are not zines.
https://pitchfork.com/news/pitchfork-announces-new-quarterly-zine/
@fistfulofdave I know… I’ve been aware of this co-optation for years. I just didn’t think a local group of artists was gonna go there right away. I should’ve known better.
@shotgunseamstress that’s a bummer. Now being a graphic designer if I might make a zine it may be pro looking but there’d be no budget just make it and put it out.
@fistfulofdave I get that making pro-looking publications is easier and cheaper than ever now. The last zine I made was way fancier than any I’d ever made before. I think what shocked me the most was the suggestion that we would hand off creative direction to someone outside of the group. I thought I was at least going to get to lay out my own pages.
@shotgunseamstress yeah that’s crazy, are they doing this as a pro-bono work. I mean they’re not expecting payment?
@fistfulofdave You know—we’re still at the brainstorming phase. It may be that ppl are dreaming beyond our means at this point and that the final product will be something more pragmatic and simple. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
@shotgunseamstress love the optimism! Maybe you can steer them the right direction.
🍄slow learner, ❤️🔥deep feeler@shotgunseamstress
That is shitty and disappointing. I'm sorry. It seems so basic to have a hope of lowkey community art time. But nothing that seems basic is happening rn.
nash@shotgunseamstress omg suggesting bringing in a graphic designer or art director for a zine project is WILD
@nash I was SHOCKED. My heart started beating fast 🤣 inner monologue: “Nooooo…”
MxBikil is Spoopy🎃 and Gay!❄️@shotgunseamstress oh wow, that is so weird! I can't imagine all that for a zine
@Bikil that’s because we’re using the word “zine” willy nilly nowadays. If they had invited me to a planning meeting for an eco-art journal I could have prepared myself 😂