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Queer It Yourself
Alternative publishing thrives in Portland
The dream o f the artist’s book is alive in
Portland.
The Guerrilla Girls’ Ihe Guerilla Girls' Art
Museum Activity Rook. Scott Treleaven’s Ihe
Salvation Army Rlack Rook. A poster by artist
collective Fierce Pussy that reads, “I AM A lez-
zie hutch pervert feminist amazon bulldagger
dyke AND SO ARE YOU.”
These are a few of the gems on exhibition in
Learn to Read Art: A History of Printed Matter,
showing at the Pacific Northwest College of
Art (1241 NW Johnson St.) until June 17. The
exhibit, curated by the illustrious AA Bronson,
chronicles over 40 years of history of Printed
Matter, the famed New York City bookshop
that moonlights as the world’s largest nonprofit
dedicated to selling publications made by art
ists. O ther well-known artists whose works are
on display include John Baldessari, Martin
Kippenberger, Rita McBride, Yoko Ono and
Martha Rosier.
Yet, defining exactly what an artist book is
can be tricky. In an interview printed as part of
the PNCA exhibit between Lucy R. Lippard
and Julie Ault, Lippard offers this simple ad
vice: “Artist’s book meant a book by an artist. I
hate it when they are called ‘artist books,’which
is ungrammatical and meaningless.”
If anything, the Printed M atter show at
PNCA mirrors a thriving ecosystem of alter
native publishing in Portland. There are
places of learning how to write and make
books: the Independent Publishing Resource
Center. There arc printers who help mass-
produce work: Container Corps and Publica
tion Studio. There are the stores to sell the
books: Counter Media, Powell’s Books and
Reading Frenzy.
It comes as no surprise that many of the
people involved at each step of the way are
LGBTQjndividuals. The following is a small
cross section of some of the people in Portland
who help make the alternative printing scene a
process of QJY: queering it yourself.
byw aynebund
than just consumers. This is especially true for
people and voices who are not reflected at all or
reflected accurately in the mainstream media.”
Container Corps
Left: Sights from PNCA’s Learn to Read
Art: A History o f Printed Matter
Above: Flipping through Death: a magazine
for the enthusiast and non-enthusiast alike
Rethinking Paper and Ink
writing a piece and then reading it aloud back
to the group,” says Mark Searcy, one of the
creators of Little Read Writers. The collective,
which includes Bowen Ames, Greg Berman,
Tristan Bynum and John W ilmot, strives “to
use words like art,” explains Searcy.
There are currently five pocket books in the
LRW roster, including the third, Legend o f the
Swifts—which is, according to Searcy, “a book
of art and writing that explores a trip to the
Chapman School to see the legendary swarm
of Vaux Swifts.” The books are on sale at lit-
tlereadwriters.com.
“My shop is centered around a small offset
printing press,” says Gary Rohhins, the man
behind Container Corps. “I t’s a versatile print
ing method, can quickly make a lot o f copies of
something and is relatively cheap.”
Operating out of a small office on N. Killing-
sworth, Robbins runs a one-person shop. “Con
tainer Corps is a publication design studio, print
shop, bindery and exhibition space that serves as
a platform for the creation, distribution and
discussion of new arts publications.”
Robbins, who is also a visual artist, extends
his practice into his printing press. “I think of
the publishing projects as a part o f my art prac
tice,” he says.
Death Magazine
“I obsessed over my own imminent death as a
“Portland has a plethora of educated, progres
kid,” observes Forrest Martin, the publisher,
sive individuals who are active in these amazing
creator and editor of Death: a magazine fo r the
nonprofits and grassroots organizations,” says
enthusiast and non-enthusiast alike. “It was a
Jessie Carver, author of Rethinking Paper and
combination of being an agnostic raised by a
Ink, a book on sustainable practices within the
hypochondriac and gay shame.”
publishing industry, “so it makes sense that al
Death's first issue came out in winter 2010,
ternative modes of production are really thriving Independent Publishing Resource Center and Martin recently released its third issue.
here, which is also really exciting to me.”
Having worked at the I PRC for four years, Contributors have included Tom Spanbauer,
Carver is a recent graduate of the Masters in A.M. O ’Malley knows a thing or two about Shawn Records and Lynda Barry. Death exists
Publishing program from Portland State Univer self-publishing.
outside of mainstream publishing, Martin ex
sity. She used to consider herself mainly a writer
“I am the program director,"admits O ’Malley. plains, in that “there are no ads, it’s printed on
until she started attending the program at PSU.
“I am in charge of all in-house workshops, demand and the whole operation is made pos
“As an editor, my first priority is to harness events and happenings. I also spend about 60 sible by donated time and work.”
and finesse the author’s voice, story and charac percent of my time teaching independent pub
A designer at a local ad agency, Martin puts
ters,” says Carver, “but this is concomitant with lishing in schools all over Portland and the together Death in his free time. He wants people
my responsibility to the reader to ensure that surrounding area.”
to check out the website for Death (deathmag.
these elements are delivered accurately.”
The I PRC seeks to provide a creative outlet com), as “the splash page, for instance, was done
and promote individuals to make indepen entirely for free by the most remarkable website
Little Read Writers
dently published media and art.
experience creator I know, Luciano Foglia, and if
“Last summer I was kicking around the idea
“It is important for people in our culture to you spend a little time with it, will take you down
of starting a writer’s group that didn’t involve become creators o f media,” says O ’Malley, “rather a rabbit hole.”
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