Fanzines: the DIY Revolution – Teal Triggs online lecture notes

• If you can’t enjoy DIY, then why do it at all?
• Fanzine:
  • Publication put together by people who are incredibly passionate about a subject
  • Amateur publications, although has begun to shift
  • Independent, outside mainstream
  • Vary in print runs, can now be downloaded from internet
  • Distribution outside conventions of mainstream publishing, word-of-mouth
• Less concerned about copyright, grammar, spelling, punctuation or the protocols of page layouts, grids and typography – communicate to like-minded individuals

• “…a special from of communication” – Frederick Wertham (1973)

• “…little publications filled with rantings of high weirdness and exploding with chaotic design” – Stephen Duncombe (1997)

• Availability:
  • Found in independent record shops, word-of-mouth, fanzine fairs
  • 10,000 titles of UK football-related fanzines in publication (1980s), Time magazine – 20,000 titles produced in US (1994)
• Interest on increase: self-empowerment, making connection with reader; expressing yourself to a community; DIY ethos; cheap medium
• Zines are areas of experience, exploration (e.g. for graphics and journalism)
• e.g. John Savage – London’s Outrage, Danny Baker and Matt Perry – Sniffin’ Glue
• e.g. Giant Robot (USA), Cheap Date – became proper magazines after being zines
• Sci-fi – New Worlds (1939), Space Times, Heroes Unlimited
• Music is probably the biggest area: Crawdaddy! – one of first rock and roll fanzines – photocopied, stapled, 6 to 12 pages, but very dense with information
• Jamie Reid’s Suburban Press – situationist inspired, anti-design language, dot pattern
• Sniffin’ Glue – set stage for fanzine producers afterwards, made impact about what punk was about, social document
• 80s – looking at consumption – Beer Frame – seminal publication coming out of US – consumer culture and products, looking at popular culture and lifestyle, rise of consumer culture being in-your-face – fanzine producers taking political positions, commenting on act of capitalism
• Cheap Date – author (Kiera Jolliffe) now writes books on subject of styling and works for vogue mag
• Camilla and Fred Deakin – Boo – dance culture – try out psychedelic, colourful aspects of graphic style
• Guinea Pig Zero – people that are the guinea pigs for pharmaceutical testing – critiquing pharmaceutical profession
• Dancing Chicks – collage aestehtic, punk, rise of new feminist
• Today in contemporary zine culture:
  • Brings people together in craft aspect; communities; engaging people about local issues
  • Zine symposiums pull people and producers together
  • Publications that teach people (e.g. Stolen Sharpie Revolution) – tricks of the trade in fanzine production
  • Craft activism – taking control of production in all aspects of DIY – complete control of own life and enjoying it
  • Mixtape (Australia) – craft activities; How to Make a Super 8 Film; Cut and Paint – stencils to spray paint onto street walls, etc
  • Now more about letter press, printing making – more intention
  • The Memory Cloth – artists and designers working in letterpress and photocopying, all ages, made fanzine in a day, sew up in bag, memoir to craft practices in day
  • Level more accessible to people who aren’t from design backgrounds
  • Fever Zine – graphic design fitting into zine culture – embraced new technology (i.e. social media) – not negating one top elf technology of another – hybrid
  • DIY or Don’t We? – telling stories of other community group activities
• DIY zines – about empowerment through written and drawn form
• Questions:
  • How has popularity of blogging and other forms of electronic self-publishing affected the content and purpose of zines? Late 80s and 90s – resurgence in technology, but hasn’t replaced print production. Using blogs and websites as a way of supplementing zine activity, working in conjunction with each other. Websites are how people can be contacted and there are now PDF zines – wider access
  • Is it mainly fanzine fans buying fanzines? What about newcomers? Still takes a lot of snooping of where to find fanzines, but now more accessible. London Zine Symposium – lots of activities and can make fanzines at the Tate. There are now metazines (e.g. Broken Pencil) – magazine about zines