Photo: 4478ZINE
“Freedom of the Press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose,” George Orwell observed. Orwell was entirely too prescient, or perhaps he was a man of his times, entirely too aware of the way in which fascism shaped and conformed minds to a status quo that understood most people will believe they things they are told if it serves their ego to do so.
Also: NY Art Book Fair 2016 | See the World with “Hamburger Eyes”
Freedom of the press goes hand in hand with freedom of speech, though it can travel further and have greater impact in that it can be revisited time and again. Thus, the freedom to self publish is one of the greatest acts we may undertake for it ensures authorship will not be compromised for any reason. Zines, one of the most inexpensive and quickest ways to self publish, date back to the American Revolution, when patriots such as Thomas Paine self-published Common Sense.
New works by Sean Maung
Zines arose as a movement unto their own in the 1970s, when the punk scene took up the mantle. With the advent of new technology such as photocopiers and Polaroids, the ability to self-publish cheap and quick was a new phenomenon. Zines cause on quickly and they went far, emerging today as one of the most beloved underground mediums.
The NY Art Book Fair presents some of the most dynamite zine publishers working today, using a wide array of formats, papers, and genres to share their ideas. Highlights from the 2016 edition include Hamburger Eyes, Sean Maung, Pau Wau Publications, 4478 Zine, Research and Destroy, Carnage NYC, and RE/Search.
Research and Destory
Research and Destroy was the new fave of the fair, with it’s policy of pay what you wish for an incredible compendium of political wares. Of particular note was The 2015 Baltimore Uprising: A Teen Epistolary, which gathered together tweets from teens beginning on the day of Freddie Gray’s death. It’s a small, fat volume of pure, unfiltered rage that calls out the abuses of power without fear or shame. Unlike adults who kowtow to the system, fearing the loss of livelihood for speaking their minds or simply have given their brains over to be washed by the system, teens are fearless in speaking their truth.
Cats Hate Cops is a particularly joyous ode to the brilliance of microfiche for research. Perfectly reproduced from the papers in which they original ran, this zine features the tales of pussycats standing up to cops across the nation. Consider this special to The New York Times, which reports of a black cat guarding her litter of kittens inside a car, holding her own as she fought off the car owner and two Newark police officers. Turns out she was in labor at the time, and gave birth to a third kitten on way to the Humane Society—which turned out to be less than humane, as the article reports, “But because she was so obviously of common origin and habits the cat and her kittens were consigned to a carbon monoxide chamber.”
“Give me liberty or give me death,” Thomas Paine declared in Common Sense, reminding us how few are willing to risk their lives for freedom. RIP cats.
RE/Search
RE/Search was the old fave, with the legend himself, V. Vale in attendance. In 1977, Vale founded Search & Destroy, San Francisco’s first punk publication; three years later he launched RE/Search, which published worked by Jello Biafra, Henry Rollings, Lydia Lunch, William s. Burroughts, Genesis P-Orridge, amd J.G. Ballard, among many other underground luminaries. Vale is most likely the longest lasting and still active punk publisher, and it was a delight to see him at the booth, just as committed and dedicated to the counterculture as he ever was.
Rounding up the faves is Brooklyn’s own Pau Wau Publications. Founded in 2008 by photographer Andreas Laslo Konrath and designer Brian Paul Lamotte, Pau Wau produces limited edition books and zines, focusing on contemporary photography and art. Their production, design, and aesthetic is impeccable, with a list of artists that includes Alessandro Simonetti, Ed Templeton, Gavin Watson, iO Tillett Wright, Andrew Kuo, and Nick Sethi, among others. Ray Potes at Hamburger Eyes and Sean Maung directed me over to the booth, as they’re both featured in The Xerox Book (NYC), which is printed in editions of 50 on both black and white paper. The black on black book is magical; unlike anything else at the fair, it is nearly impossible to fully behold.
Pau Wau Publications
All photos: © Miss Rosen
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer, curator, and brand strategist. There is nothing she adores so much as photography and books. A small part of her wishes she had a proper library, like in the game of Clue. Then she could blaze and write soliloquies to her in and out of print loves.
