8 years ago
3
How Zines Survive in the Internet Age
One big change is that zines are more popular in the art world. Illustrators, photographers, even painters and conceptual artists are turning to zines. There’s also more attention to craft. Many zines these days are beautiful handmade objects, which is different from when we started and most zines were cut-and-paste photocopies. Zines are also more personal now and more specifically focused on a narrow range of issues.
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That's an interesting piece - I think it's the allure of a physical product that keeps the zines alive, as opposed to e-zines. I was involved in a small group which did some self-publishing long ago, and there's an immense sense of satisfaction in handling a finished product. There does seem to be a much stronger 'zine culture in the U.S. and Canada ( due to far flung places and the need to communicate across larger distances ? ) Here in the u.k., it centres around very localised 'scenes' be it music, politics etc. I don't know how international it was, but 'mail art' was quite big here for a time, too.There was a ' roundup' zine ( Zum! ) here in the uk, much like 'Broken Pencil' - I'm inspired to go see if it's still around ! Thanks for posting, BlueOracle !
You're very welcome, /u/Electrickery! Thanks for the link. That's a very relevant and facinating article. I agree with the author that traditional graphic design can be boring, and it's nice to just go wild and not worry about how 'good' something is. I had never heard of the "décollage" movement, but now I want to know more about it. I've made zines and collaborated by mail and phone on creative projects. It is very satisfying to make something by hand, no doubt. I think that is the key to zines survival; the enjoyment of creating something by hand and the unique pleasures of having a phisical object to share.
Feel free to join /t/zines if you like (and haven't already). I try to add content, mostly zine news, with some regularity. It is a bit odd perhaps to have an online 'tribe' about zines since they're defined by their physicality, but I enjoy it nonetheless. You're of course welcome to add any zine related articles, or zine related anything, that you may come across to /t/zines. Take care! :)
I certainly shall join - I am guilty of assuming that no-one would ever think of such a thing, and therefore I'd probably have to set it up myself , ahem... I stand corrected!