I never said minimalism was equal to laziness. I said that simplisitic design by it's very nature requires less work, so I dont agree with the price of this magazine, considering this very magazine is pretty anti-design.
If someone draws a circle in mud on a piece of paper, and someone spends 4 years painting a renaissance piece, that renaissance piece is worth more in terms of time, materials and skill needed. Objectively on an expressive leve, they're both equal as piece of art.
I also dont agree with the price because fanzines, be it for films, videogames, music, etc are worthless nowdays because I can get all of this free online.
I also dont like the elitism of these sorts of magazines, especially not when its what drives the price up.
Ah, but that's exactly the point on which I disagree. Simplistic[/minimal/modernist etc] design does not 'by its very nature' require less work.
Just as you can create a system to easily produce extremely complex images [Riley, visualcomplexity.com], or work randomly/improvisationally to the same effect [Pollock, etc. etc], you can spend an age trying to make a handful of elements fit together harmoniously [the Bauhaus-Swiss axis etc.]. In good design the time and effort's there, even if it's not immediately visible in the finished product. Again, I can't comment on 032c specifically, but there are magazines such as those designed by Jop Van Bennekom where the effort is palpable even though the design aesthetic is simple and restrained.
The price of magazines is generally too high. It's a pity. Sometimes it's about milking your readers, other times — Baseline, for instance, which goes for around £15 an issue — it's because it's a short-run magazine that uses print somewhat adventurously; the magazine becomes a kind of object. Still can't afford it though.
I can't disagree with you about the fact that it might take a very long time for an artist to compose a seemingly simplistic piece to suit his personal whims. The bottom line is, this isnt a piece of art, it's a magazine that gets published to a deadline and then printed on mass.
If 'Woman's Own' tried to sell me their magazine for £10 as a "piece of art" I'd tell them to go take a hike. Same deal with this fanzine.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-26 05:15 pm (UTC)I never said minimalism was equal to laziness. I said that simplisitic design by it's very nature requires less work, so I dont agree with the price of this magazine, considering this very magazine is pretty anti-design.
If someone draws a circle in mud on a piece of paper, and someone spends 4 years painting a renaissance piece, that renaissance piece is worth more in terms of time, materials and skill needed. Objectively on an expressive leve, they're both equal as piece of art.
I also dont agree with the price because fanzines, be it for films, videogames, music, etc are worthless nowdays because I can get all of this free online.
I also dont like the elitism of these sorts of magazines, especially not when its what drives the price up.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-26 05:37 pm (UTC)Just as you can create a system to easily produce extremely complex images [Riley, visualcomplexity.com], or work randomly/improvisationally to the same effect [Pollock, etc. etc], you can spend an age trying to make a handful of elements fit together harmoniously [the Bauhaus-Swiss axis etc.]. In good design the time and effort's there, even if it's not immediately visible in the finished product. Again, I can't comment on 032c specifically, but there are magazines such as those designed by Jop Van Bennekom where the effort is palpable even though the design aesthetic is simple and restrained.
The price of magazines is generally too high. It's a pity. Sometimes it's about milking your readers, other times — Baseline, for instance, which goes for around £15 an issue — it's because it's a short-run magazine that uses print somewhat adventurously; the magazine becomes a kind of object. Still can't afford it though.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-26 08:04 pm (UTC)If 'Woman's Own' tried to sell me their magazine for £10 as a "piece of art" I'd tell them to go take a hike. Same deal with this fanzine.