Not sure what a zine is? As a quick refresher from last year’s Zine Month blog, Barnard College’s Zine Library defines a zine as “a DIY subculture self-publication, usually made on paper and reproduced with a photocopier or printer. Zine creators are often motivated by a desire to share knowledge or experience with people in marginalized or otherwise less-empowered communities.”
Watson Library’s collection of zines continues to grow. Since last July we’ve added over 130 zines from around the world to our collection. To celebrate this year’s International Zine Month we’re highlighting several of our recent zine acquisitions.
Herikita, So, Is This the Future? (Colombia: Calipso Press, [2019])
Published in 2019 by Calipso Press, Colombian artist Herikita’s So, Is This the Future? uses risography, a duplication process similar to screen printing. Four colors were used in printing this zine, and pages were run through multiple times to create the color variation seen in the final version. So, Is This the Future? explores themes of loneliness and desire, bodily changes, motherhood, and disappointment.
Marc Fischer and Public Collectors, Hardcore Architecture (Chicago, Ill.: Public Collectors, 2015)
Founded by Marc Fischer in 2007, the organization Public Collectors focuses on the types of cultural artifacts that may not make their way into the collections of museums, libraries, or galleries. Their zine, Hardcore Architecture, “explores the relationship between the architecture of living spaces and the history of American hardcore bands in the 1980s.” They found addresses for different bands on demo tapes and in record reviews, then used Google Street View to capture images of the corresponding homes or buildings. Underground music fans will be happy to know that the project continued on Tumblr.
Marc Fischer and Public Collectors, Hardcore Architecture (Chicago, Ill.: Public Collectors, 2015). Page 17 features a building in New York City’s Chinatown, found on a 1985 Sonic Youth cassette tape.
Suzy González and Elle Minter, Microzine of Microaggressions ([San Marcos, Tex.]: Yes ma'am, 2016-)
The tiny and powerful Microzine of Microaggressions, issued in multiple volumes, comes from Yes Ma’am Press, a feminist zine initiative started by San Antonio-based artists Suzy González and Elle Minter. Each volume is just 2" x 2" and features “anecdotes from mostly Latina contributors on their experiences facing microaggressions regarding their gender, sexual identity and skin color (colorism).”
The Zoot Suit & Two Selected Poems (Jamaica, New York: BlackMass Publishing, [2020])
The Zoot Suit was created by the actor Ernest “Skillet” Mayhand in the 1930’s and was first associated with African American communities in Harlem, Chicago, and Detroit. Zoot suits are defined by high-waisted pegged trousers, long coats with wide lapels, and wide, padded shoulders. The Zoot Suit & Two Selected Poems features images and a brief history of the iconic suit, along with poems by Michael S. Harper and Amiri Baraka. The centerfold of the zine, pictured below, is a pattern dating from 1940–1942, created as part of LACMA’s Pattern Project.
The Zoot Suit & Two Selected Poems (Jamaica, New York: BlackMass Publishing, [2020])
The Zoot Suit & Two Selected Poems was published in 2022 by BlackMass Publishing, a New York City based publisher founded by Yusaf Hassan that promotes and publishes material by Black artists.
Xiao (Smile) Ma, Summer Home (PG County: Homie House Press, 2022)
Artist Xiao Ma, who also goes by Smile (the meaning of “Xiao” in mandarin), released their zine Summer Home in 2022. Printed Matter, an organization committed to the distribution, understanding, and appreciation of artists’ books, describes Summer Home as “an honest and tender view that challenges The Great American Roadtrip, usually done by white men with a camera. Since 2020, high levels of hate crimes have been targeted towards the Asian community, and unfortunately continue today. This is the backdrop in which the author, Xiao Ma (Smile) (all pronouns), did their roadtrip. This project came to life with diary entries, interview Q&As, an iPhone, hindsight reflections, and two cameras. We invite you to hold space with them, as well as POCs of the past, present, and future; and follow Smile on their adventure through the US landscape of flowers, field notes, friends, and homeland.”
Xiao (Smile) Ma, Summer Home (PG County: Homie House Press, 2022)
Julia Arredondo, Baltimore Breakups: A Pop-Up Memoir ([United States] : Vice Versa Press, 2014)
A bad or particularly memorable breakup is an almost universal experience. In Baltimore Breakups: A Pop-Up Memoir, artist Julia Arredondo illustrates her most memorable romantic breakups while living in Baltimore as an undergraduate student at the Maryland Institute College of Art. The zine features five pop-up scenes and was entirely hand-assembled.
Julia Arredondo, Baltimore Breakups: A Pop-Up Memoir ([United States] : Vice Versa Press, 2014)
To see Baltimore Breakups in action, check out this video created by the Jaffe Center for Book Arts!
Want to learn more?
- Book Riot’s How To Make A Zine: A Beginner’s Guide
- Barnard College’s Zine Library
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Pattern Project
- What is a Risograph?
