Thu 8/27 – Sat 8/29
A Mimeo Revolution is taking place at MOCA this weekend. In connection with MOCA’s summer exhibition How to Remain Human, Mimeo Revolution offers a 3-day series of programs inspired by the DIY-ethos of poet and publisher d.a. levy and graphic novelist Derf Backderf.
The weekend will include live music, a zine fair, panel discussions, a talk and book signing with Derf, workshops, video art screenings, a spoken word session and 20+ artists, independent bookstores, small presses, and zine-makers from the region and beyond.
We spoke to Deidre McPherson, MOCA Curator of Public Programs; RA Washington of local bookshop Guide to Kulchur; and artist/zine enthusiast TR Ericsson about what the event is all about and what it means for CLE’s own DIY community.
CoolCleveland: What prompted this event? What made organizers want to throw an event to commemorate d.a. levy?
Deidre McPherson: The spirit of levy’s work (rebellious, ardent, and resolutely DIY) lives on in self-published artist books, zines and the work of spoken word poets and underground comix artists. As such, next weekend our Artist Book + Zine Fair will feature 20+ artists, independent bookstores, small presses, and zine-makers from across the region and beyond.
The Fair is curated by artist and zine enthusiast TR Ericsson (whose solo exhibition Crackle and Drag is on view at the Transformer Station through August 23) and comix artist John Greiner (co-creator of Genghis Con, Cleveland’s underground comic convention).
In addition to the fair, there will be a robust series of programs on Friday and Saturday, including a talk and book signing with Derf Backderf, a panel discussion, a spoken word concert organized by RA Washington of Guide to Kulchur, a poetry workshop (for all ages) led by Lake Erie Ink, after-parties (at the Grog Shop and the Happy Dog at Euclid Tavern), and lots more.
The idea of doing an artist book and zine fair at MOCA originated from a conversation TR Ericsson had with MOCA associate curator, Rose Bouthillier. TR mentioned he’s wanted to do this in Cleveland and the idea meshed perfectly with two of the artists featured in our summer exhibition (How to Remain Human), d.a. levy and Derf Backderf. So, this created the perfect opportunity for us to collaborate.
How were presenters chosen for Rhythm and Resistance?
RA Washington: The writers and poets we chose for Rhythm + Resistance reflect levy’s commitment to experimentation, being a voice for marginalized communities and speaking truth to power. We wanted to not only extend the traditions of DIY poetics, but to also question and push the historic misrepresentation of the time levy was working.
You see, there were dozens of women writers during the beat movement, and at the same time as the Beat Generation was rising there was also a strong African avante tradition of writers, working both in dialogue with the “name” folks of the Beat Generation, but also in opposition to the prevailing white maleness of those writing communities. I think we have curated poets who can speaking to all of these divergent histories.
What can attendees expect?
Deidre: This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with a diverse set of emerging and established artists and writers and learn about the world of alternative publishing and poetry. If you just want to get a taste of what the weekend is all about, stop by MOCA Cleveland on Thu 8/27. There will be free live music from Obnox and Archie and the Bunkers and you can check out the Zine Fair, which is also free and open to the public.
Friday night’s panel discussion will trace d.a. levy’s provocative book-making in the 1960s to current strategies of making and distributing artist books, independent comics and zines. Panelists include Derf Backderf, JS Makkos (a printmaker, salvager of vintage printing equipment and owner of Nola DNA), and Caitie Moore (owner of Nomadic Bookshelf, a traveling bookstore specializing in photography books). TR Ericsson will moderate.
What do you hope to accomplish with the event?
Deidre: We want to help cultivate the creative community and let them know that MOCA welcomes them and acknowledges their work. We’ve invited some of the most creative artists and independent publishers who work with diverse forms of printed matter (zines, art books, comix, and periodicals) to display and sell their work here. We also want to see them connect with one another to foster more collaboration and further their success. We also want to create a space for fans of DIY culture to meet, have dialogue with and buy work from these artists.
Lastly, for those of us who have no idea what a zine is, may not realize that comics are a form of contemporary art, or know that they too can have their voices heard or express themselves by self-publishing their work, this is an opportunity to discover all of that here.
Can you describe Cleveland’s DIY community? What’s something people may not know about it?
RA: What is often overlooked about Cleveland’s DIY history is how successful it has been. Whether it’s music, film, painting, multi-media, literature or cartooning/zines/comix etc. Cleveland has always had a hand in the national conversation. I think this exhibit and the supporting programs the curators at MOCA reflect that, and it’s exciting as a practitioner to see it reflect with such a rigorous understand of the complex relationships, and diversity of that history.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Deidre: The exciting part of this 3-day event is how collaborative it is. TR Ericsson shared his idea of doing an artist book fair inspired by d.a. levy with us. levy was a prolific poet and publisher of Cleveland’s underground literary community during the 1960s. TR’s idea coincided with our summer exhibition, How to Remain Human (on view through September 5).
How to Remain Human features a collection of levy’s works ranging from short romantic poems to collages, prints and texts that chronicle his dissatisfaction with the state of society. Our regional summer exhibition features the work of 14 different artists with connections to the region with levy being a key figure. The spirit of levy’s work (rebellious, ardent, and resolutely DIY, lives on in self-published artist books, zines and the work of spoken word poets and underground comix artists.
TR Ericsson: I’ve been thinking about doing an artist book and zine fair in Cleveland modeled after the MoMa PS 1 Artist Book Fair organized by Printed Matter in NYC and now in LA too. I started going to the Printed Matter fair when it first started, I think it moved to MoMa’s PS 1 in 2009.
It’s such an exciting event in NY, people really come out for it and participate in it in such compelling and diverse ways. You always see things you’ve never seen before. The energy at the fair is palpable, there’s discussions, lectures, performances, music and art everywhere and of course books and printed matter of every imaginable shape and size, from a 4 page zine done by some local kid in the area to wonderfully complex publications from high quality international publishers and distributors. It’s simply mind boggling how much material they fit into the event.
I wanted to see if it would be possible to do something like that in Cleveland on a smaller scale and then just see how the community received it. See who came forward, find out what young people who weren’t really a part of any established local art community were doing, and so far I now know they’re there, there are so many incredible young artists working in Cleveland right now and just quietly doing their thing while holding down odd jobs or doing whatever they can to get by.
I love the idea that the fair would provide in even some small measure a platform for these artists. I created a limited edition box set of zines by 20 of these local artists, the only restrictions were the format 24 page, 8 1/2 x 11 magazine done using a POD (print on demand) printer, other than that it was whatever they wanted to do. Each artist designed their own design and built it themselves online.
Now that I have them all in hand I’m blown away at the quality, thoughtfulness and shear energy of each book, a book is a funny thing, it really doesn’t look like much of anything to a casual observer but an unbelievable amount of thought and imagination and even shear grunt work goes into the making of every book out there. A book is an archive of images and or language, hidden between a front and back cover that often only hints at the complexity buried inside it.
In addition to the 20 young artists (each born after 1980) there will be over 20 exhibitors participating in the fair, some are local, some are near but outside of Ohio and some books are coming as far away as New York and California. Which is another cool thing about these DIY publications, they are relatively easy to transport, exhibit and buy and sell. The prices are mostly affordable or in some cases free.
I was at MOCA one day and spotted a little book on Deidre McPhearson’s desk with a portrait of d. a. levy on the cover, I asked her what it was and she said Rose Bouthillier showed it to her (I should also say that it was a casual conversation between Rose B. and I during an event at the Transformer Station I came in from NY for that led to the fair happening at MOCA. I told Rose I was trying to do an artist book fair in Cleveland based on the life and work of the legendary d. a. levy and she said I should do it at MOCA since they were opening a show with d. a levy’s work in it, it was just like that, after a brief email introduction to other MOCA staffers we were off and running.)
Returning to the Rose book on Deidre’s desk I asked if I could take one, and immediately googled the title of the series POEMS-FOR-ALL, found a contact email and 15 minutes later got a reply from a guy in California that he loved the idea of the event and would make and send a bunch of his tiny publications (which are each single short poems with covers he designs himself, he prints the little books and staples them together and gives them all away for free). I’ll be passing out these little books at the fair myself to anyone who comes until they’re all gone.
This is a perfect example of the spirit behind independent publishers, it’s not about the money, it’s about communicating something to the world, something intimate or thoughtful, or simply a beautiful fleeting image, it’s about DOING something, contributing something, having a voice, preserving something, sharing something, inspiring someone, or yourself, these small books engage all the same strategies that every other made thing in our culture engages in, they have to be conceived, developed, created and distributed, but the profound difference between these deceptively ambitious projects and other more “useful” items is their apparent “uselessness” — this is their power and strength, these underground authors answer to no one and nothing.
[T]hey put their work out into the world without compromise and without much thought for recompense, and for this reason these small books make an equally deceptively ambitious statement: LISTEN, LOOK, THINK, PRESERVE, CARE, DO SOMETHING, SHAPE SOMETHING, MAKE SOMETHING, GIVE SOMETHING AWAY FOR NEARLY NOTHING.
And you can do all that with just a few bucks and a copy machine.
—
http://mocacleveland.org/mimeo-revolution
Cleveland, OH 44106