lo-fi street cred: artists' zines, DIY and alternative publications


ESSAY


lo-fi street cred: artists' zines, DIY and alternative publications

What this exhibition contains is probably unlike anything you have seen before in august museum spaces of academic institutions. Yet it is from the edges of the academic space that we might expect to find such publications proliferating; objects that unhinge the conventional expectation of published literature, art monographs and catalogues. The unauthorized, and often incendiary ideas of students (still so prevalent and strident across the globe today) are printed quickly and cheaply, from clandestine copy machines and silkscreens, often without a care for aesthetic merit: think of the May '68 civil unrest, where students and authorities clashed at the University of Paris, or the NUSAS resistance movement in South Africa in the '80s whose members produced posters and tracts in defiance of the National Party's state of emergency. The life of these posters, tracts and zines was short-lived, promoting polemical positions and produced wherever a cause seemed worth fighting for: 'an idiosyncratic up yours ' in the face of mainstream authority'1 Berin Golonu describes such publications, and especially zines, as 'a site of community building intended to counter the social conditioning of mainstream media ' their status as extraordinary containers of original (not one of a kind, but original) works of art commissioned specifically for the page.' 2

Since the invention of the printing press, states A.M. Scott, such 'countering' describes a search for an alternative to what the ruling classes printed as truth for a lemming-like society to consume. 3 Scott cites Thomas Paine's pamphlet, titled Common Sense (1779), that urged Americans to gain freedom from England as an early form of alternative publishing, prefiguring more recent forms such as the Dada Manifesto and the mail art of Fluxus. Today's zines have their roots in the fanzine publications4 of the 1970s punk rock movement and Scott states that 'these social shifts - all shared one thing - [a] response to an overwhelming feeling of discontent with the status quo, and a need to take matters into one's own hands. 5

The period between 1956 and 1978 in South Africa is described by Michael Gardiner as 'a golden age of lively, independent and 'alternative' publishing that was available to a wider range of readers than books were'. 6 This history saw the rise of independent publications such as Wurm (1966-70) which J C Kannemeyer described as 'avant garde' 7 and in which Gardiner found 'novelty, the unorthodox and that which challenged the conventional'. 8 Another publication from this period was Izwi/Stem/Voice (1971-74), in whose 20 issues editors Stephen Gray, Phil du Plessis and Wilma Stockenström, amongst others, found 'a space to explore and express what their repressive society sought to forbid them'. 9


Wurm 8
Phil du Plessis | Marié Blomerus - editors


Izwi 01
Stem / Voice
Phil du Plessis | Stephen Gray | Sydney Jose | Wilma Stockenström | Lola Watter - editors

In the editorial to the first issue of Snarl (August 1974), Joyce Ozynski writes: 'The primary intention of Snarl is to disturb the prevailing torpor reigning over the relationship between artists and audience by providing honest, informed criticism uninhibited by the desire to please either artist, audience or editor.'' After only six issues - and the events of June 1976 that violently demonstrated that 'it could be dangerous to hold and express ideas' 10 - it was clear that Snarl's aims were unachievable. But this was not the case with New Classic (1975 - 1978) whose fiveissues were edited by Sipho Sepamia, Donga and Inspan (1976 - 1978) edited by Welma Odendaal and Isabel Hofmeyr respectively, and the 46 issues of the legendary Staffrider (1978 -1993 (1996) edited by Mike Kirkwood, Mothobi Mutloatse, Chris van Wyk and Andries Oliphant, which 'tackled ideas head on'. 11 But what is so revealing in the issues of Wurm and Izwi shown on this exhibition, is their means of production; typed and mimeographed pages, accompanied by monochrome and simply reproduced images which were hand-collated and stapled, indexing both the period in which they were made and their modest means of production.


Snarl
Joyce Ozynski - editor

Continuing the notion of tackling ideas, Rangoato Hlasane describes his university student project, titled Ephemeral Collectives (which is part of the Drawing and Contemporary Practice III course in the Department of Fine Art, Wits University) as 'premised on the place and role of collective publishing by artists'. 12 Hlasane contextualises this publication-based project thus:


Invade
Thanduxolo Mwelase | Tammi Mbambo | Omphemetse Ramatlhatse | Kglalelo Shoni | Lindelwa Masuku | Queenzela Mokoena | Bill Kouelany | Oratile Papi Konopi - collaborative members

Medu Art Ensemble newsletters represent one of the many collectively made print publications grounded in the resistance framework during apartheid South Africa and after, including Staffrider, Pathways to Free Education, Chimurenga and many more. 13 What these publications share is a spirit of defiance against toxic hegemonies and a commitment to self-determination (Kujichagulia in Swahili). What differs are their ideological lenses and the socio-economic complexities of their contexts - time and space including but not limited to their means of production and their modes of distribution. It has been [nearly 40] years since the then South African Defence Force (SADF) raided the house of the Medu Art Ensemble in Botswana, killing 12 members/fellow artists/activists - on 14 June 1985. What the SADF failed to eliminate is the spirit, the memories, the practices and the philosophies of Medu.

Through the lens of the Medu Art Ensemble newsletters and posters, Hlasane's students must deepen their editorial collectives by the mastery of publishing with a RISOgraph printer 'to create beautiful, brave, inspiring and unique publications'. 14


Move!
Rotondwa Manavhela | Eva-Rose Lundon | Sakhiwo Tshabalala | Mabontle Phetla - collaborative members

What is clear from this partial view of independent and alternative publishing is that South Africa has always nurtured such practices. 15 When hegemonic constrictions are encountered, the 'free-thinking mode of human expression and a do-it-yourself alternative to the mainstream' seep out of every available crevice and crack16. In this space of seepage, young artists, writers and designers have found a rich conduit for the publication of ideas and visual forms in unique or limited-edition publications. Despite limited access to funding, established printing facilities and markets, these creative producers have fashioned some profoundly challenging zines and self-published works.

In early 2019, in collaboration with the Design Department of the University of Sunderland, UK and 2nd year students of the Department of Graphic Design from the University of Johannesburg, the 2nd year Visual Art students embarked upon a posterzine project through which they explored aspects of their belonging (or not) in the gritty life of the city of Johannesburg. These collaborations were exhibited at the University of Sunderland in November of that year. The Sunderland students and faculty members were equally fascinated, confused and not unintimidated by the directness of the students' engagement with their city, and they promised to reciprocate by sending their own zine-based responses to the city of Sunderland to UJ in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately put paid to that idea.


Navigate
Pantsula
Tlotlo Sereisho
UJ-University of Sunderland Posterzine Colab

These posterzines, along with a host of other ephemeral publications in my personal collection, became the locus for this exhibition.


Johannesburg's Melville
7th Street Tattoos & Company
Hannah Crooks
UJ-University of Sunderland Posterzine Colab

As a Senior Researcher and curator at the Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Art (JGCBA), Wits Art Museum (WAM), my brief for this exhibition is to disrupt the conventions and expectations associated with both the type of bookwork held in the Collection and the manner in which these books are curated. Despite having shown zines before (for example on the exhibition held in conjunction with the founding of the JGCBA titled Samplings: South African Artists' Books - 2019), these items have typically constituted only a fraction of an exhibition. Such work is often sidelined by exhibitions that foreground excellence in design and production values. In this exhibition, however, I give voice and center-stage to those kinds of publications that have too often found themselves rejected, silenced or discarded.

Coupling my 2019 posterzines with suitable publications already housed in the JGCBA collection, an early curatorial premise arose: exhibit only those items that have a DIY, hand-made or lo-fi aesthetic, and possess the necessary 'street cred' to attract those who find conventional publishing somewhat stuffy.

Claire Lehmann reminds us of the path such objects travel before appearing in an exhibition space like the JGCBA, when she states:

However a zine came into your possession, its passage did not likely include mainstream commercial channels. Sheets were pulled from a Xerox platen; folded, stapled, passed out at a concert in smoky darkness; rescued for a few dollars from the back of a tiny bookshop; dented during a media-mail journey through the postal service; traded underground. 17


Tragic Book No. 9
Christopher K. Wilde

Sonja Commentz describes objects such as those on this exhibition as 'always personal and stuffed to the gills with plenty of passion, the resulting leaflets, magazines and books are invariably shaped by their means of production 'and resulting limitations.'' 18 Such limitations seem implicated in the very aesthetic we seek for inclusion here, as anything smacking of high production values, coupled with a large enough budget to ensure fine printing and secure commercial distribution channels, disqualifies any item from inclusion. Bitterkomix (a long-term creative partnership between artists Anton Kannemeyer (Joe Dog) and Conrad Botes (Konradski)) however makes the cut, not only because we want to include them for their controversial yet influential stature (the new democratic government's banning of Kannemeyer's Gif (Afrikaner Sekskomix) on 15 December 1994 being seen as a 'badge of honour'), but also for their longevity in a notoriously fickle local publication environment: Bitterkomix No.1 was published in 1992! On the other hand, many a trashy tract, a poorly conceived and drawn zine has equally been disqualified. Not everything must be included because it looks grungy! Educator, historian and writer Teal Triggs states this succinctly: 'it is also clear that when zines more latterly have made a more mainstream impact it is their DIY 'charm' that is at stake. If there is a stereotype of a zine - then it is of a photocopied, roughly hewn production, probably produced by a lone and slightly awkward youth.'' 19

No author of the many fabulous monographs on zine and self-publishing cultures claims any degree of completeness in their surveys; how could they? But with ever increasing zine-like forms appearing online, Jack Bratich asks, 'how does such a stubbornly tactile print medium find new relevance in a digital age?'' 20



Bitterkomix #04
Verkoop Joe Siel vir Security
Anton Kannemeyer & Conrad Botes

It seems that, for young artists and designers in South Africa, it is exactly because of the intangible nature of online forms, that the stubbornness of tactile objects makes the publications found on this exhibition so relevant and urgent. Bratich concludes that 'zines are precursors to social media, especially image-based blogs, which may give insight into why they are resurging.'' 21 The value of this exhibition lies in the interface between those older items - both local and international - housed in the JGCBA collection and those newer objects that have been brought in from outside. Some recent student Rizograph publications, however, are already in the collection, while other fine publications from, for example, Shawn Hill (aka Bat Butt) were made known to us through our association with Maaike Bakker and Nina Torr's zine publication programme at Open Window. Opening a Bat Butt envelope delivers a small exhibition of diverse 'stuff': posters, stickers, zines and ephemera burst from the envelope in a tactile sea of exciting discovery. By contrast, clicking on any digital equivalent delivers exactly fokol to the viewer.


Pity Prison
Shaun Hill aka Bat Butt

Word of mouth has brought many a publication to this exhibition, and we acknowledge that a follow-up exhibition might soon be warranted, showcasing a plethora of publications not included here; a great indication of the health of the private and self-publication industry in South Africa.

David Paton (Curator)


Wolraad Spook Variasies vir n Hanslam
Soft Serve edition
Nina Torr | Bibi Slippers

Endnotes

  1. Claire Lehmann, Zine Masters of the Universe. Gonzales, Marcopoulos, Pettibon, Snow, Printed Matter & LA Art Book Fair, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, 31 Jan - 3 February 2013, pp1-2.
  2. Berin Golonu, 'The Zine Unbound', in The Zine Unbound. Kults, Warewolves and Sarcastic Hippies, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, 7 Oct - 30 Dec 2005, p9.
  3. A.M. Scott, 'On the Art of Self-Publishing', in The Zine Unbound. Kults, Warewolves and Sarcastic Hippies, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, 7 Oct - 30 Dec 2005, p13.
  4. For a more comprehensive history of fanzines and their influence upon contemporary zine culture see Teal Triggs, Fanzines The DIY Revolution, San Francisco: Chronical Books, 2010 pp6-19.
  5. Scott, op. cit, p13.
  6. Michael Gardiner, 'Introduction' to exhibition catalogue in South African Literary Magazines 1956 - 1978. Warren Siebrits Modern and Contemporary Art, Johannesburg, 15 March - 14 April 2005, n.p.
  7. J C Kannemeyer, Die Afrikaanse Literatuur 1652 - 1987, Pretoria: Human & Rousseau, 1988, p405).
  8. Gardiner, ibid, n.p.
  9. Gardiner, ibid, n.p.
  10. Gardiner, ibid, n.p.
  11. Gardiner, ibid, n.p.
  12. Rangoato Hlasane. 'Ephemeral Collectives', Drawing and Contemporary Practice III course brief, Department of Fine Art, Wits University, 2023.
  13. Zachary Rosen, 'Who no know go know. Chimurenga Chronic' available at www.africasacountry.com/2013/08/a-fresh-dose-of-the-chimurenga-chronic
  14. Rangoato Hlasane, Tracy Rose and Francis Burger, UMSHINI (NEWWORK24) course brief, 2023.
  15. Not on this exhibition but worthy of mention is Willem Boshoff's KykAfrikaans, published by Uitgewery Pannevis in 1980.
  16. Scott, op. cit, p15.
  17. Lehmann, op. cit, p1.
  18. Sonja Commentz, 'Show me Yours, I'll Show you Mine', in Behind the Zines: Self-publishing Culture, Robert Klanten, Adeline Mollard & Matthias Hubner (eds,) Berlin: Gestalten, 2011, p4.
  19. Teal Triggs, Fanzines. The DIY Revolution, San Francisco: Chronical Books, 2010, p19.
  20. Jack Bratich, 'Commentary - The Untimely object called Zine: Prescient Media and Digital After-Life' in Zines+ and the World of ABC No Rio, Jason Lujan (organizer), New York: The Centre for Book Arts, 2014, p4.
  21. Bratich, ibid, p4.

© Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts (JGCBA). All rights reserved.