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Elias Redstone and Martin Jančok - an interview with the curator of the Archizines project and its initiator in Bratislava
Let's start with a question that you yourself ask all the creators of the exhibited zines. What is the role of printed media in today's digital age?
Great question! The printed medium has shifted from being a primary source of information to a state where it is considered more of a vessel for current content. This change began with radio and television broadcasting, but it has drastically increased with the advent of the internet. With relatively high costs for printing and distribution (compared to publishing online), not to mention the slow speed of delivering information, the publishing industry is clearly shrinking. On the other hand, this means that what is produced today is more focused, often created with a passion for the printed medium and the material itself. It is also a response to the opportunities available on the internet—either ensuring content or finding a niche in the market.
When did you start collecting magazines and how long did it take until you had sixty of them and began exhibiting?
I have been collecting various publications for about seven years. I first presented them online in January 2011. Since then, I have been continuously inundated with new publications, as their authors have discovered my website and want to be part of the project. After a few months, I created an exhibition of sixty publications, which I presented at the AA (Architecture Association, London) in November 2011. Since then, however, the collection has grown, and the exhibition in Bratislava already featured 80 publications.
Apart from "derive," there is no publication from Central Europe on the exhibition. What do you think is the reason for that?
Dérive is the only publication from Central Europe in the exhibition, but that doesn't mean others don't exist. I hope the exhibition encourages independent publishers in this region to contact me and share their work. But perhaps there is no cultural tradition and history in publishing independent architecture, as is the case in countries like the UK, Portugal, or others. But I believe that Archizines will encourage new voices to emerge in Central Europe.
There is a lot of interest in the exhibition. How do you choose the locations where Archizines will be exhibited?
Initially, I approached the exhibition spaces at the AA Architectural Association in London and Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York with the project. Since the opening in London in November 2011, I have been overwhelmed with requests to take the exhibition to various other cities and venues. In principle, I choose based on whether we celebrate local publishing activities in cities like Porto, Barcelona, Paris, or whether we encourage people to think critically about architecture and the changes happening in their city. The latter was the case for the exhibition in Dublin, where alongside the exhibition, the Irish Architecture Foundation launched a competition for architectural zines to stimulate critical thinking and publishing in that city.
Does the exhibition have an impact on the exhibited magazines?
I have received very positive feedback from the magazines exhibited in Archizines. Many of them are distributed only in low quantities, and the exhibition provided them with a platform for their work in cities around the world, from Osaka in Japan to Santiago in Chile.
What is the role of graphic design in the Archizines project?
In contrast to digital publishing, each publication in the Archizines project is a standalone design object. Publishers and editors have made conscious "design decisions" that reflect their views on architecture, and the exhibition showcases a full range of today's graphic styles.
How do you see the future of the exhibition? It’s interesting to watch the collection grow. Have you set any limit on how far you will go?
The exhibition will continue its tour throughout 2013—as it moves from Melbourne and Sydney to Los Angeles and other cities along the way… After that, I want to reassess the entire project and decide what to do next.
What are you currently working on? I mean apart from the Archizines project…
I am currently exploring the relationship between architecture and photography. I want to investigate what role photography can play in finding a way to understand or to be critical of architecture and the state of the contemporary city. I plan to present all of this in a new publication, for which I am also preparing a standalone exhibition.
Great question! The printed medium has shifted from being a primary source of information to a state where it is considered more of a vessel for current content. This change began with radio and television broadcasting, but it has drastically increased with the advent of the internet. With relatively high costs for printing and distribution (compared to publishing online), not to mention the slow speed of delivering information, the publishing industry is clearly shrinking. On the other hand, this means that what is produced today is more focused, often created with a passion for the printed medium and the material itself. It is also a response to the opportunities available on the internet—either ensuring content or finding a niche in the market.
When did you start collecting magazines and how long did it take until you had sixty of them and began exhibiting?
I have been collecting various publications for about seven years. I first presented them online in January 2011. Since then, I have been continuously inundated with new publications, as their authors have discovered my website and want to be part of the project. After a few months, I created an exhibition of sixty publications, which I presented at the AA (Architecture Association, London) in November 2011. Since then, however, the collection has grown, and the exhibition in Bratislava already featured 80 publications.
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Apart from "derive," there is no publication from Central Europe on the exhibition. What do you think is the reason for that?
Dérive is the only publication from Central Europe in the exhibition, but that doesn't mean others don't exist. I hope the exhibition encourages independent publishers in this region to contact me and share their work. But perhaps there is no cultural tradition and history in publishing independent architecture, as is the case in countries like the UK, Portugal, or others. But I believe that Archizines will encourage new voices to emerge in Central Europe.
There is a lot of interest in the exhibition. How do you choose the locations where Archizines will be exhibited?
Initially, I approached the exhibition spaces at the AA Architectural Association in London and Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York with the project. Since the opening in London in November 2011, I have been overwhelmed with requests to take the exhibition to various other cities and venues. In principle, I choose based on whether we celebrate local publishing activities in cities like Porto, Barcelona, Paris, or whether we encourage people to think critically about architecture and the changes happening in their city. The latter was the case for the exhibition in Dublin, where alongside the exhibition, the Irish Architecture Foundation launched a competition for architectural zines to stimulate critical thinking and publishing in that city.
Does the exhibition have an impact on the exhibited magazines?
I have received very positive feedback from the magazines exhibited in Archizines. Many of them are distributed only in low quantities, and the exhibition provided them with a platform for their work in cities around the world, from Osaka in Japan to Santiago in Chile.
What is the role of graphic design in the Archizines project?
In contrast to digital publishing, each publication in the Archizines project is a standalone design object. Publishers and editors have made conscious "design decisions" that reflect their views on architecture, and the exhibition showcases a full range of today's graphic styles.
How do you see the future of the exhibition? It’s interesting to watch the collection grow. Have you set any limit on how far you will go?
The exhibition will continue its tour throughout 2013—as it moves from Melbourne and Sydney to Los Angeles and other cities along the way… After that, I want to reassess the entire project and decide what to do next.
What are you currently working on? I mean apart from the Archizines project…
I am currently exploring the relationship between architecture and photography. I want to investigate what role photography can play in finding a way to understand or to be critical of architecture and the state of the contemporary city. I plan to present all of this in a new publication, for which I am also preparing a standalone exhibition.
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