Don't get me wrong, the whole reason for me going is because I usually like this kind of stuff and, admittedly, I was hoping to make some creative contacts, but this...it was like the Valhalla of high school literary magazines past. You couldn't turn a corner without being sodomized by wit and irony and kitch. Despite the sheer bombardment of vainglorious creativity at work, I am glad I went and I did see a few truly interesting exhibitors that managed to stand out from the white-noise (oops, "white" noise probably has too much of a derisive Westernized homogenous subtext. Clear-noise? Prisma-noise?) Should I recover any links to their work after sifting through my bag of collected buttons, fliers, stickers and bookmarks I shall post them.
A few memorable sights from Canzine: The "Artsy Games Arcade Room" specializing in very cool, very off-beat indie flash games; the "Work 'n Play Room" which a) wasn't overcrowded and b) let me play with an old typewriter; a booth with the gall to sell a book on "Freeganism" for $6 (I think I can figure out how to root through the garbage by myself, thanks!); a pornographic colouring book.
While initially the concentrated dose of counterculture I received had the adverse effect of compelling me to hyperventilate into a happy meal and drape myself in a Gap sweater, it also gave me hope. Hope that I too could be a geek-chic DIY artist. So, without additional adieu, here is my Canzine starter kit:
- Buttons! You should really have buttons, but for want of that I guess you could offer patches. For want of patches offer to draw on people in exchange for a shiny nickel.
- Any shirt from Threadless.com
- An entourage or group of friendly contemporaries with uncommon names to chitchat with while people are trying to squeeze past your booth. ie. Darius, Fernando, Hostel, Tea Cozy, etc..
- A knitting project to fiddle with as people politely smile at you and then try to avoid eye contact (or at the very least a crochet project)
- Some form of self-published literature
Tips for naming your publication:
These are the two major schools of thought I observed at Canzine:
1. The non sequitur statement/sentence fragment route:
Ex. How are Oranges so...? (Keep them wondering!)
My Blood Hurts (Bonus points for being dark and gritty)
2. The Asian Character/illegible type-face route ( the same content as above, but even more obscure)
Ex. ろばの陰嚢!
YellowM
U S T ARD
See you at the next Canzine! (I'll be the one with the ironic t-shirt and Buddy Holly glasses)
-Mal
