OUGD603 - Research Brief - Initial Research

What are zines?
is a small-circulation self published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier. Zines are either the product of a single person, or of a very small group and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation

History
Originated with the amateur press movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. This was then adopted by the subculture of science fiction fandom in the 1930s. The popular graphic-style associated with zines is influenced artistically and politically by the subcultures of Dada, Fluxus, Surrealism and situationism.

Fan-zine
non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon.

Zine culture
The popularity of zines was motivated by the ease of which they were produced. New technologies enabled the public to produced their own editorials for cheap. This was adopted by sub-cultures who used the platform to publish their views and show them to a larger audience.
subcultures such as:

Sci-fi
-often hand drawn
-created by fans of comics
-produced in the 1930s

Punk
-usually printed in black and white
-used a mixture of collage and handwriting and typewriters
-touched on interest in music, fashion and politics

 

Feminist zines

-inspired by the political punk zines in the 70s
-based around feminism and women rights
-popular in the 1990's 
-most famous was named riot grrrl
-discussed sexuality, body image, sexual violence, assault and abuse

Independent Publishing
The Newsstand was a pop-up store that transformed a  subway hub into a small store selling independently published magazines, books, comics, and zines. It was originally meant to last for a week but continued for 8 months and allowed the public to drop off zines and editorials to then be sold by the store. I used a book on Newsstand as research within my second year COP module, however much of the content is also relevant within this brief. This book has also helped me to understand their popularity in modern culture.

photocopies of some of the zines sold:

Fuck This Life by Weirdo Dave was part of a zine series that showed collages of cutouts from magazines, newspapers, flyers and small found objects from the street, arranged to express the intensity of life. These collaged layouts were similar to the DIY aesthetics of punk zines however were organised in a more organised fashion, showing how the have evolved as technologies to produce zines have developed.

Rainy Daze is a tape bound zine showing images that document skateboarding culture. Each page can bd folded out revealing more content, which again shows how printing technology revolutionised zine culture.

Tyler Healy's zine, White is part of a trilogy showing classic shapes and close ups. It was printed in B&W and was bound with one single staple. The experimental layouts are unique and similar to many zines that use collage however optimise image importance with size and negative space.

Zines have been adopted by influencers in modern culture such as Kanye West who produced a zine for his Calabasas line. Editorials such as this have shown how they have been given a place within modern mainstream media.