THE JOURNAL

We have so few decent publications in Australia. Most of them are incredibly shit. Actually, it's a bit weird that the number of art and culture journals is so disproportionate to the popularity of soy milk and jewelery made in the shape of woodland creatures. You'd think there'd be a link, but no. Anyway, in lieu of the balls to make our own stuff, we have plenty of international titles to spend all our money on. So today I bring you another New York offering: the Journal.

There I was, in Magnation on Elizabeth St in Melbourne. And there was the Journal, also in Magnation on Elizabeth St in Melbourne. I was wrapped in clothes, it was wrapped in plastic. For some reason I thought that because it was called the Journal it would be full of writing, which was kind of my vibe that day. And because of the way we were wrapped, I couldn't look inside. So I bought it on a whim, and yes it was very expensive, and yes it was full of pictures and no writing at all.

But I was happy. Because the Journal turned out to be a bloody find.

Its content is predominately beautifully printed artwork. The section 'Salon' is 33 pages of completely unrelated portraits, which is excellent. There is a thinner supplement booklet called 'What's in My Library' with photographs taken and curated by Richard Prince - three pages of which I dare say I cut out and put above my desk because they are so stunning. My favourite article is a psychologist-couch style interview with RZA, where the rapper is shown pencil drawings and responds with what he 'sees': a bottle of vitamin water with a black squiggle next to it - "It shows, nah'mean, that even the biggest thugs can be the biggest minds in the country"; a picture of a raccoon with two open cans of soup - "A raccoon has always got a mask on, right? Well his body always gives him away. Hahaha!" Awesome.

Traditionally I am not into reviews (she says as she writes a review). And clearly the Journal isn't either. Because they have created the best music review section I have ever seen. They show two artists a selection of a mixture of file-footage-type pictures in order to communicate what album is in question, then the artists try to guess it in a very witty manner. It's very good.

Finally, there is a list of zines that the magazine recommends, and their websites. I like this kind of transparency - it encourages connections and possible collaboration, and it's something I try to do in Ampersand. I looked at a few of them online, and landed on one in particular called Fuck You Three Times For Free. The site said that the zines were free, and to contact him for your copy, so I did, and this is the correspondence:

Subject: Three times
Date: Wed, April 1, 2009 9:45pm

Hello ---,

My name is Alice Gage. I publish an art and culture journal
called Ampersand Magazine from Sydney. I found the scant
reference to you in the back of the Journal. Now I'm
intrigued. Would you like to do a swap?

My address is

Thingy
Balmain
NSW 2041
Australia

Please send me your contact details.

I'd like to know about you and what you do.

Kind regards,
Alice Gage

**

Subject: RE: Three times
Date: Thu, April 2, 2009 7:30pm

Hello Alice,
Thank you for the feedback. I would love a swap.
My name is EI and I go by the name --.

my address
Thingy
Tokyo 102-0074
Japan

Your publications seem very interesting. I look foward
to recieving them. Mine is not much, but I put some work
into them so I hope you'll like them. I used to do alot
of graffiti but now I produce works in various dimensions
off the streets.
I do not consider myself to be an artist, though by no
means am I 'anti-established art'.
I am still in search of something missing within me.
I have started a blog project in hopes of discovering
something about myself.
Please check it out if you have time - *********

My lungs feel like raisins from smoking too much recently.
Anyway, hope to hear from you soon.

EI

Isn't that great!

So - good stuff the Journal.


www.thejournalinc.com