The 16th Issue of ZAF622 Will Have A Printed Version

I grew up on the mean streets of Elgin Illinois. A town I love to hate. But growing up it did have one good thing about it, it was just down the road from Chicago. Spent many a weekend hoping on Irving Park Road and taking it south into the city. Irving Park was nice because if you follow it long enough from the burbs it will take you right to Clark Street, or Wrigleyville as many of you may know it as. Which is one of the better places on planet earth. But before we got into Chicago proper we would pass through the town of Norridge which is where we always made a stop at Rolling Stone Records. A classic big city records store, much like the one in the movie High Fidelity.

I will always remember Rolling Stone Records because that is were I bought my first Jane’s Addiction album. And also the place where I discovered my first “zine.” A tiny little homemade black and white magazine made on copy paper. To be honest I don’t remember the exact subject of that little zine, I am sure it had something to do with the Chicago music scene, I do remember that I was hooked though. I had to seek out more zines. And like many things, once you start looking for it, you find more than you imagined. There are zine libraries and distributors, or distros, as they are called. Zines are mostly found in record stores, comic book shops, and book stores. Their subjects are usually in the realm of music, fiction, politics, or art. Zines are the original blog. There was something about those little homemade vessels of free press that I really got hooked on. It is here we find some of the deepest roots of ZAF622. A zine in the age of the internet.

Issue 16 of ZAF622 will be taking a small detour off the information super highway and onto good old fashioned paper. You will be able to hold a printed version of ZAF622 #16 in your hand, roll it up, swat a fly with it, give mustaches to the people in the pictures, all that stuff, it will be grand. The first printed issue will have a very limited run, I’ll be testing the waters. It will contain stuff that the online version does not. It will be in the tradition of the classic zine, rough and fast, and not too pretty.

If you want to be sure to get your hands on the first hard copy of ZAF622 send an email to info@zaf622.com and just ask for it. Please include your mailing address so I know where to send it.

Make Contact

One of my weekly habits is downloading and listening to the podcast of Studio360, an NPR broadcasted radio show. A few weeks back there was a feature about Suzanne Opton a portrait photographer who did a project featuring veterans of the current Iraq war. Billboard size portraits of soldiers heads laying on a table staring into the camera is what was described. She took the photos at Fort Drum in Upstate New York. This particular story spoke to me on many levels. Portrait photography is what I work in. I am a veteran of a war, with combat experience. (Somalia) And I happened to be stationed at Fort Drum when I was in the Army. I went to the artist website to see the work for myself. I was caught off guard by the photos.

For me the work was powerful. I could see and understand what was in the eyes of those soldiers. What was hiding behind those eyes that few can understand. Suzanne’s art hit me in a very real and personal way. So I wrote her and told her just that. To be honest I wrote without expecting a reply. After all she is a photographer featured on a national radio show who has work in a New York City gallery. I did not even expect her to read my email. I was wrong. A day or two later I did receive an email from Suzanne. She was grateful to get my email. She had not received much feedback from a veteran’s point of view. And recently she wrote me to tell me that she read from my email at the opening of her show. So at some point an audience in Portland heard words I almost did not write.

It reminded me of how important it is to let artists hear from you. Most artists want to know what their work means to the viewer. So next time your at an opening or get a chance to talk to an artist, even if it means reaching out via the internet, let them hear how their work has touched you. I believe it is an important part of the process.

Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art.

Twenty years. It has been twenty years since he died. Andy Warhol passed away quietly in the night, alone in a hospital bed. He did not die how he lived. Andy was not a man to do things quietly or alone. To be honest for most of my life Warhol was a name I knew, but I did not know much about the artist. His art and his life made him a celebrity. Something few artist achieve. Andy Warhol was a household name. Your mom knows who Andy Warhol is. And his work has impacted your life. No doubt about it. Warhol left his mark on both the art world and pop culture. He made pop culture art in and of itself. Looking around today one can see how he was a bit ahead of his time. I think Andy would be quite at home in the MySpace YouTube world we live in now. These days we each can give ourselves our own 15 minutes of fame, just like Warhol predicted. Andy Warhol was a commercial artist, a painter, a writer, a publisher, a film maker, a business man, and a music producer just to name a few of the highlights of his life. He desired to be a machine that recorded the world around him so I wanted to honor that by writing a few words on the 20th anniversary of his death.

Creative Spark

I have a very old lawn mower. It is a simple machine with a Briggs and Stratton engine mounted on top of a beat up red metal deck. To start it I place my foot firmly on the deck, grab hold of the black rubber t-shaped handle and pull hard. Some days it starts right up. Other days it will not start at all. I pull and pull and pull, each time a little harder with a little more frustration but the engine will not start. Live damn you live! It does not. It does not spark, does not breath, does not come to life. When this happens I wonder what is different. Why will it not start today? It started on the first pull last week. My creative work is a lot like that lawn mower. Some days I sit down and it fires right up and some days it stays cold and lifeless no matter what I do. And I admit that sometimes I want to give up on it. Other people make creativity appear so effortless, so easy. Maybe I am just not meant to be an artist. I know better. I know there is a reason we call it “work.” Because it is work. And it is through a lot of work that it becomes easier. I have learned that when it will not start it probably means something has been neglected. Much like my lawn mower that may need an air filter cleaned, spark plug changed, or something as simple as gas added to the tank, there is probably something in my life that needs attention before the creative engine will start again. I have learned that for me the most important thing is to see the times when the work will not happen as an opportunity. A chance to take care of something else that needs attention. Today may not be the day to mow the lawn, today is the day to weed the garden and clean out the gutters.

Seeking Wisdom

I have realized that I have reached sort of a ceiling with ZAF622. I see a lot of potential but I know now that things have to change for that potential to be realized. So for this project has been a one man show. It has been all my time and all my money. I need to change that if ZAF622 is to grow up.

I believe ZAF622 could be a valuable piece in the landscape of the Fort Collins art community. Media is a very important part of any community. And I think ZAF622 could be a great information source serving the Fort Collins art community. Possibly a great vehicle for raising awareness of Fort Collins art and artists outside of Fort Collins and more importantly outside of Colorado.

There is the potential for podcasts and video diaries. Event calenders and art sitings. Even the potential for a print version. All those will take money though. Money and time. This is the place that I can not decide what to do.

I do not want to make money from ZAF622. That has never been a goal or an idea. But I would like to pay writers and contributors for their work. And I also need ZAF622 to be sustainable. I don’t know how much longer it is wise for me to be paying for the hosting out of my own pocket.

A logical step would be to seek donors. But ZAF622 is not a non profit. And donations would not be tax deductible. The next idea then would be to seek an umbrella organization to accept donations on behalf of ZAF622. And I don’t even know where to start with that process.

Mostly I am thinking outloud here. In hopes that it helps clearify my thoughts as I navigate the future of ZAF622. Thanks for listening.

The Mission of ZAF622

Why ZAF622? Why do this project? Because I have a mission. And it is as follows:

1. I want to help develop the art community in Fort Collins.
2. I want to help promote artists and their work.
3. I want to do things that allow people to see their own creativity.
4. I want to connect people with things in the art world they may be overlooking.
5. I want to have fun.

That is the basic motivations that caused me to start ZAF622. I hope to continue to grow ZAF622 and develop each one of those mission bullets.

Stay tuned,

Dickens out.

ZAF622’s Editor’s First Post

Tick tock, tick tock. Can you hear it? The clock is always ticking. Days away from a calender change. The magical 2007 starts. 2006 was a good year for ZAF622 and for art in Fort Collins. But now is the time to look ahead. There is just something about a new year that inspires us human beings, myself included.

I spent 2006 learning a lot. Pretty much all on the job training. I had never created a webzine before so I did not know exactly how to do it. So late in 2005 I just started it. Now it has been over a year and I have 13 interviews in the can. I hope to do much better than that in the coming year. I believe there is plenty of room for ZAF622 to grow. And with the current state of the arts in Fort Collins I think the time is right as well.

I decided to start a blog for ZAF622 in an attempt to get my thoughts in relation to the webzine out there. I need help. I know that. I need help if I am going to take this thing further.

Money. It always comes down to money doesn’t it. I never have or currently have the goal to make money with ZAF622. I do see know though that I need money in order for it to grow. Mainly money to pay writers and photographers. A staff of writers would really add to the content of the webzine. I believe now there simple is not enough content for ZAF622 to be taken seriously. And more people would bring different views and insights to the writing. I need a staff. A staff needs pay. ZAF622 needs revenue.

Simple. Not really. ZAF622 will always be free to the reader. So paid subscriptions are out. There is the possibilities of ads. Either prepaid ads or click through ads. Currently the amount of traffic the site generates is not enough for click through ads. Leaving prepaid ads the best option. So that means selling ad space to local business. Which brings up the question of value. Does ZAF622 have enough value for a local business? Honestly I don’t know.

What about grants you ask. Indeed. What about grants? Could I declare ZAF622 an art project and seek funding that way for it? Maybe. I am looking into that.

Up until now I have funded ZAF622 out of my own shallow pockets. And this is basically the hosting fees and domain fees. A few more dollars for business cards and the like. But not too much money. Even so it is about all I can invest in ZAF622 at the moment. I can not afford to pay writers out of my own pocket.

Thanks for sticking with me on that long post. Stay tuned I will continue to update as ZAF622 grows.

Dickens Out.