Thought I would like to share an interview with my friend James Morren about a zine that he recently published called, Viewshed //Awesome Reality. James lives in Brooklyn, New York and the contributing artists are from various parts of the US. I am also happy to have been able to contribute my own work, and I can’t wait to get  my hands on a copy. Thanks Jamie!

Q: Is this something you put together yourself or did you work with other people?

A: Aside from the contributors submitting their work & friends helping me screenprint and cut the cover sleeves, this was a self-driven effort. Many pieces had lots of errors, or weak spots, but these were the pieces that were submitted quickly, in a timely manner and from which I was able to work off without waiting another year or so for it to come together. In the rush of getting the first round of cover-sleeves printed I give much gratitude to Noah & Clem Poole, who also contributed an illustration to Viewshed.

Q: When and how did you come up with the idea that you wanted to create this zine?

A: The idea for this sort of amalgamation was thought up about three years ago in the summer while on a massive bender of a bike ride from Bushwick to central New Jersey. I am not trying to make this seem monumental, but it might sound over the top. Zipping through traffic, having the breeze and sun in your face, it really makes you think about whats important to you. I would say I was thankful for my friendships with uniquely productive people. As I am biking towards NJ, I am thinking I really like what my friends do, what we share in terms of making things and sharing them. So, in a roundabout way I was then wanting to compile a bunch of friends’ written, graphic and illustrative work into one cohesive printed piece. I did something similar before in the form of audio and music a few times on poorly labeled CDrs, the last one involved mixing several tape jams I had with friends into a ‘retrospective’ CDr of sorts, a few months prior in 2007. So the idea of a visual component was itching. Instead of drinking lots of water on sweltering Route 27, I drank a couple heavy beers with Ant Roque and other friends I had not seen in a while, when I stopped for an afternoon in New Brunswick. Ant and I began doodling out cover ideas for the ‘to-be’ zine at the bar. The goal was then snug in my zonked brain. Although these friends are going in different directions creatively, we all have a tacit appreciation of what the other does, and I had a gut feeling that what could be put on paper would flow really well; as a generally amusing magazine or journal of sorts. A few other friends from around the USA also submitted, and the collective voice seemed to mix very well in the end.

Monetarily and printing wise, I ran into more money than anticipated (when does that happen?) while planting a garden in a wealthy family’s backyard in Brooklyn; those funds, set aside, allowed for the hope of something better than xeroxing off a bunch of copies at Kinko’s. I was able to find a wind-powered book-printing and binding house in Minnesota that uses recycled paper and I sent the final draft off to them.

Q: Is this a one-off project or will there be a second issue?

A: I hope there will be more issues in the future. I mean there will be in time, but the magazine isn’t aiming to be a quarterly or timed out. I am interested in focusing on other efforts at this point, but Ant Roque had expressed interest in spearheading the next issue, which I am sure will have way different types of content and tone than what I had deemed interesting; though I feel that at the base of it, some sarcastic, removed literature should be driving it.

For now I am slowly working on a ridiculously fantastical graphic-based narrative that will be self-published as well, hopefully within this year.

Q: What type of art/writing/content were you looking for?

A: Mostly I didn’t want anything to be too concerned with politics, agenda’s, just simple observations on life, some funny, some sad, something personal. Trevor Pennsylvania has some great collage works (as well as yourself) for example. Erin Roche writes about her frugal and resourceful grandparents. There are some real cool life drawings from Jason Krugman depicting people at rest. Kevin Scott writes humorously about life after death, Ant Roque depicts birds taking a big shit in unison; it all fit for me.

Q: Are you satisfied with the finished product?

A: Yes though I wish I could have afforded to print in color.

Q: Where can people go to find a copy?

A: For now, by foot it should be available soon through a few places in Brooklyn: at a rad comics/graphics shop Desert Island, a posh used book store called Spoonbill & Sugartown, and also there is a copy at the Ditko! (Silent Barn Zine Library) in Ridgewood Queens. Soon you should have a few coming your way too. You can contact me for more also, I am selling them for two U.S. bucks; kangbucket.blogspot.com is the intertron connection.

Posted by: matt o. under Show and Tell