The Artists and Contributors
When we started out we just showed people we knew because we knew them which was no bad thing, but we just didn’t know anybody else. Once it became free to submit this is when I feel we started getting much more response, much more positive feedback and generally more success.
So we started trawling through literally thousands of image makers on the pages of myspace and then showed our favourites every other month. Which is pretty much what we do with the zine now still. However we have noticed fashions and trends as we have emmerced ourselves in this world, and this is perhaps the most important thing of all.
From the off we have been open to anything visual from paintings, drawings and illustrations to photography, film stills, writings etc., just as long as it works well in black and white. What we have found though is that there is a new (though not really new) kind of image maker that dominates over all.
I think the best way to describe it is as a kind of post-pop illustrational practice. There are several characteristics many of these image makers have in common. The first is that of taking popular culture as a visual language whether it be news and magazine images, cartoons and movie posters or the art historical and feudal Japaese design. The second is the mixing of media and style, again taken from any amount of different sources such as graphic novels or expressionist painting. Thridly is that most of these makers couple gallery and more traditional art based works with their illustrative and design practises, there is no hierarchy between practise and many make products too. The aesthetic side ensures an appeal, an understanding and a relevance to masses of people that quite frankly a lot of artists cannot boast and the blending of their personal and commercial practises goes to furthering and promoting themselves as artists, and why not if this does not compromise their artistic integrity? Image makers we have worked with as examples: Simon Corry, Cake (Stephanie Homa), Steve Rack, Dario Molinaro and George Mitchell
These are the image makers we are interested in now. It is a movement which is perhaps the most important in the world as people are interested in it without even knowing it as so many of these illustrators and designers are already integrated into our conscious. It is a young movement and there is lots of developments to come as it finds its footing and is recognized (check out The Upset and Illustration Play to read more on it). And this is what Cheap zine now chronicles and aims to reflect it with its own involvement in similar activities, events and writings which leads us to our next post.
