a homage to the fanzine
Fanzine. A concept that has its roots in the combination of the two words Fanatic and magazine. A magazine put together by a fan or a bunch of them. In two words: the balde. As far as we are concerned, the fanzine is one the highest quality paper products around. And in our own humble opinion, this very mag that you are now holding in your hands, published every two months for the last ten years, complies fully with the definition and philosophy of the word fanzine. We are a fanzine and proud of it! Back in the days when the only computers around were those in the power of NASA engineers and the police, we made our fanzines using photocopiers after first having chopped up bits of paper with scissors which were then stuck on paper using paper glue that smelled of bitter almonds. Texts were typewritten, mistakes were “whited” out with Tipex, layouts were set up, pages stuck together using staplers... the work behind a fanzine was that of a craftsman until the first computers arrived. They were followed by printers and photolithographs and later by the digital revolution and the vortex of technology available today. We’re oldies now but we still get a great kick out of printing all our discoveries, loves, pottiness and little treasures on paper and then distributing it. Many would say that nowadays blogs have taken over the space previously occupied by fanzines, and to a certain extent, this relay of roles has taken place. We are fans of new technologies and new creative processes happening on the internet but we would like to highlight what we believe to be some clear differences between blogs and fanzines. The fanzine goes a step further than the blog. The fanzine is an object. By that we don’t mean that blogs aren’t real, but the fanzine brings with it a craftsmanship and industrial process. The fanzine demands a production chain. In addition to the intellectual work that is involved, there is also, in a word, graft. This step begets the need to come up with new strategies and challenges.
Collaborators Max-o-matic and Hernan Ordoñez offered an interesting talk on fanzines at the beginning of the summer. The workshop focused on strategies for producing fanzines. Strategies on how to overcome scarcity of raw material and funding, the advantages of recycling, different ways to create, how you can play around with different formats, the secrets behind production.... Fanzines have also become the domain of the experimentation that you very rarely find in magazines. Behind commercial magazines and the internet, you will find, directly or indirectly, the influence and push of commercial interests. That is why the freedom offered by these paper self-productions is absolutely priceless.
We are fans of fanzines.
Collaborators Max-o-matic and Hernan Ordoñez offered an interesting talk on fanzines at the beginning of the summer. The workshop focused on strategies for producing fanzines. Strategies on how to overcome scarcity of raw material and funding, the advantages of recycling, different ways to create, how you can play around with different formats, the secrets behind production.... Fanzines have also become the domain of the experimentation that you very rarely find in magazines. Behind commercial magazines and the internet, you will find, directly or indirectly, the influence and push of commercial interests. That is why the freedom offered by these paper self-productions is absolutely priceless.
We are fans of fanzines.
