Zine Reviews: Volume 12

Hollie Black, the local Australian curator for the Antagonist Movement represented Psycho Moto Zine at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney for the Fanzine art fair in early 2015. Hollie gave out a free copies of PMZ and asked zine makers to give us copies of their zines for review in Project-Nerd. She held on to the zines for us until we made it to Sydney for the ‘Dwelling’ project. Here is the first set of reviews.

Statement from Hollie Black:

“The new generation of zine makers were the most receptive and inspired. They lived and breathed zine making as an artistic expression and kept it pretty real. A lot of the zine makers, despite being really talented, awesome people, preferred to leave the zines at our stand when I wasn’t looking. Perhaps to be more mysterious, or maybe they were shy. I thought it was nice, says something about Sydney zine makers, they’re keeping the craft alive, doing it for the passion and not props, unlike Sydney bloggers who only do it for followers and attention. Makes me trust what they have to say is genuine.”


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Paradise Lost or Cloning is Bad Idea: A sweet guide to dealing with the inner voice;
Smitte Is a Mad Dog: The Beginning;
Smith 1966: The Beginning
All 3 created by Lucinda Clutterbuck
http://piccolofilms.com.au

Simple pen illustrations with a mix of stream of consciousness. Many of the stories seem to stem from Lucinda’s childhood up through becoming a mother herself. From the layout in some of these it appears that she scanned the artwork right out of her sketch book with little or no editing, making it hard at times to read the text that illustrates the images. Therefore I had to assume the text is of little or no importance. These are color copies with little color used, which seems to work well overal. This is a great example of another reason for doing a zine: they act as a calling card. I did a little research on this zine and the artist behind it and I ended up at the website listed on her zine and saw that Lucinda is an animator. Now I have watched several of her videos. Without her zine I would have not known. Zines can be a great way to reach an audience not connected to you directly, people who might never know about your work.


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Gadzooks!
Created by Kit Richardson

This is Kit’s first zine. It is a story about creating this first zine. At the end it is filled with art from her sketchbook. I only take issue with one part. She claims the fanzines lack direction, as if all zines should have one focus. She doesn’t yet appear to understand that zines, like magazines, cover all subjects. And in fact, zines are less restricted by rules and the laws of capitalist society. They are the rebels of the print world. She also writes that zines are by and for hipsters. This made me laugh since anyone familiar with zines knows that they fall into the realm of nerds; the uncool. I should know—I am one. I wish we were all hipsters, then I could walk around with an ironic beard and follow the latest Brooklyn fad like a Lennon. But I don’t want this review to sound like I didn’t like this zine. It’s a first attempt and I hope she keeps at it. I think if she gives it time she will see the zine world open up for her. Besides, this gives her more opportunities to kick me in the balls if we ever meet.


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The Only Constant Is Change
Created by Hules
http://hulesart.com

This is a graffiti zine, meaning it’s a collection of photos of Hules’ work. This covers a few years, mostly around Sydney with a few overseas images. This is the kind of zine I was hoping we would get from the MCA show. Learning about new artists is always fun. Hules’ work is raw, tribal and basic at times, all things I like. It appears he has developed his own style. However, I am not familiar with other street artists from Sydney, so he may be part of a larger style. I especially like the black and white line work from his sketchpad. I hope he does work for our zine someday. But I have to tell you, you’re better off checking out his website. His work looks way better than in his zine. I am now a fan.


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Da Kult and Dev Days
Both created by Terhor
http://terhor.tumblr.com

Da Kult is an art zine. A collection of drawings (from what I gather) out of the artist’s sketchbook. Dev Days is another collection of artwork by Terhor, in black and white. Men with guns and masked ninjas! All the stuff I like, after all I am an Antagonist (the Antagonist logo is a ninja). Some of these appear to originally be paintings, maybe watercolors.


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hEaDsHoT_gEt
Created by T3RHOR

A collection of digital art about the aging graphics of the video game world and censorship. I am the worst judge of digital art and many times don’t get it. I like some of the work in this and it feels more like a mini-portfolio for the artist. Worth checking out if you come across it.


 

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Arms & the Woman
Created by Jeanne Charles

This was written in 1975 by the situationist Francoise Denevert and first published in Paris. And it does seem outdated now. It’s theme is about breaking with traditions of femininity and masculinity. What I find interesting is how far we have come and yet how far we haven’t as a society. And while this text is no shocker today I am sure in ‘75 might have upset a few people. You can google Jeanne Charles, or Francoise Denevert and find this text online too. I think its presentation as a work of zine art is less than satisfying—basic and boring would be better descriptions. Yet its message is still valid and worth checking out.


The Antagonists attend zine shows in the Pacific Northwest, and the greater New York City area. Please make sure to look for us and drop off your zine for review! Support independent art!

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