Non Fiction Book Reviews #39

THE GRAPHIC WORKS OF M. C. ESCHER (revised and expanded)

translated by John E. Brigham

The works of M. C. Escher is among the most fascinating art of the twentieth century. His works are often recognized as exquisite puzzles by the master. This spectacular volume presents beautifully clear and detailed reproductions of the master's finest and rarest works. This authoritative collection of Escher's early through late periods is enhanced by his own works. Along with the introduction, Escher's own descriptions accompany each example of his own work. the reader is give an unique privilege of eavesdropping on the artist's feelings, interpretations, and explanations of his work. Taken from woodcuts, engravings, lithographs, and mezzotint, all ninety images show the striking and intriguing, surrealistic yet precise work of Escher. He creates an odd sensation that the spectator is viewing the scene simultaneously from above, below, and the same level. His art also evokes a compelling and complex emotional effect. One is drawn seductively and irresistibly into the picture itself and is affected by its strong mood, whether somber, bizarre, or humorous. His unique treatment of perspective provokes an eerie mingling of reality and unreality. Filled with a mysterious and intriguing presence, these images, exquisitely and meticulously crafted, these images move their viewer powerfully. the reader who opens these pages will partake in a journey of imagination, insight, and inspiration. Maurits Cornelis Escher was born in Leewwarden, the Netherlands in 1898. In 1922 he went to Italy where he studied until 1934. Escher later lived in Switzerland and Belgium before returning to the Netherlands where he died in 1972.

DANGEROUS DRAWINGS:

INTERVIEWS WITH COMIX & GRAPHIX ARTISTS

edited by Andrea Juno

Andrea Juno, former co-publisher of RE/Search Publications, has gathered 14 of the most provocative, vital and boundary=breaking artists of today. Their work ranges from comix, manga, cartoons, graphix, hip-hop, and graffiti-inspired art to porn. The artists discuss their lives, art and experiences with candor, often revealing deeply personal and insightful accounts. This book reveals how comix and graphix are inventively dealing with unexplored formal anesthetics while simultaneously delivering, in a populist medium, important social, political and emotional material. This subterranean world still retains the power to be dangerous and the bastard child of the art world. Some of the artists include: Art Spiegelman (Maus, RAW Magazine) talks about his post-Pultizer perplexity, Philip K. Dick, drug use and insanity; Eli Langer discuses how he was tried for child pornography by drawing sensitive sketches of children in realistic situations; Diane Noomin (Twisted Sister) on her pivotal role in gaining attention for women cartoonists and talks about how the first printer refused to print Twisted Sister because they defined it as too shocking; Aline Kominsky-Crumb (Weirdo) on her marriage to R. Crumb, her in-your-face style, and the effect the documentary Crumb has had on their lives; Julie Doucet (Dirty Plotte) on the fantastic depictions of feminine experience, from her periods to her bizarre dreams of being a man giving birth to cats; G. B. James the "Lesbian Tom of Finland" and founder of "queercore"; Phoebe Gloeckner on being sexually abused, being a teenage runaway, using drugs, and now a medical illustrator; Keith Meyerson (Horror Hospital Unplugged) gay punk cartoonist who revels in pop culture; and much, much more. What these interviews impart is the importance of underground comix to us in this time of conformity and political correctness. A sense of being in this socially (in)correct society.

START YOUR OWN ZINE

by Veronika Kalmar

So you want to start your own zine? The easy part is deciding to do it, but the hard part is making it happen. Anyone who has dreamed of turning their obsession into a zine will want the use this guide to zine publishing. Zines are fast becoming the way to get you viewpoint heard when the conglomerate media giants aren't interested. This guide provides a practical step-by-step guidance you'll need to produce, manage, and distribute your zine. Packed with advice, information, and interviews that give the inside dirt on: The invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg in 1454, to the fanzines produced by SF fans in the 1930s to the 1960s, to the time of the copy machine in the 1970s and the 1980s that led to the rise of self-published, to the 1990s and the desktop publishing boom that has narrowed the gap between magazines and zines, making zines more appealing to retailers. Choose a subject that interest you, otherwise you'll be wasting your time and the readers too, decide how you want to produce your zine (i.e.: cut-and-paste and coping, computer layout and coping, computer layout and printing, or full-on computer production done by professional), and the expense of desktop (hardware and software). When you publish a zine, you need to be aware of the types of print laws: First Amendment Rights (a "right" that has been questioned by the government and local communities); Libel (this concern if you publish something about someone that damages a person's reputation. Be very careful and very sure about what you are publishing); Copyright Laws (Although zines have a healthy reputation of ignoring copyright laws, corporations are no longer tolerant and may sue). How to publish is up to you. You can do a zine in handwriting, but please make sure it is legible. Desktop publishing is the way zines seem to be going,this method will allow you to produce a professional looking zine that may be more popular. The new method for zine production and distribution is the Web. A web page, or e-zine, has all the advantage and can reduce the cost of production and the cost of distribution, and will allow more people to read your work. With so much more that will allow you to produce the zine of your dreams, this book is good for understanding how to produce a zine.

MIND GRENADES MANIFESTOS FROM THE FUTURE

designed & edited by John Plunkett & Louis Rossetto

What has made Wired different from other technology related magazines was that Wired focused not on technology but on remarkable people doing amazing work. Since there is no editor's page in Wired, instead each issue starts off with a graphic statement, a "mind grenade," to prepare the reader for the visual and intellectual deluge to come. Each Intro Quote is unique for each issue, the editor looks at all the stories going in an issue trying to fine one quote that can make a statement for that issue that could be carved into the side of a building. the statement is then passed on to the creative director who figures out how to communicate the idea visually. then contacted are the designer, photographer, or illustrator who will actually execute the vision. The Intro Quote takes full advantage of modern capabilities and digital technologies and while most magazines use 4-color presses, Wired uses a 6-color web press. Mind Grenades pushes the technology even further, printing this book with twenty-five colors, eight over eight on each press form. In rebuttal to critics who claim that had they had access to all that technology they too could make Wired. So in January 1995 (Wired 3.01) they produced a black and white issue to show what they magazine is all about. The first Intro Quote was in homage to one of their favorite books, The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhn and Quentin Flore, since Marshall McLuhan is the Wired's patron saint this was perfect. Also included is a description of the creative process (design); a short bio of the person from who the quote came (quote); next, credits for the artists and photographers (imagery); and, a URL that takes you to the complete Wired story (story). Wired won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in its first year of publication, and Wired still continues to be the most exciting and informative magazine being published today and to those of the Silicon Age an must read.

MONDO 2000 USER'S GUIDE TO THE NEW EDGE

edited by Rudy Rucker, R. U. Sirius & Queen Mondo

Mondo 2000 introduces you to your tomorrow and will show you how to buy it. Mondo 2000 will help you surf the coming revolution in art, technology, media, chemistry, science, and music. Welcome to the New World Disorder. Rope the Internet worm with digital outlaws, boast your brain and body with amino chemistry, eat the quantum sandwich of nanotechnology, and immerse yourself in high-tech paganism, taledildonics, homebrew multimedia pranking, cyberpunking jockeying, and pleasure-pluse implants. With contributions from such experts as William Gibson, Brian Eno, William Burroughs, Bruce Sterling, Timothy Leary, Diameda Galas, and Frank Zappa. Mondo 2000 User's Guide gives you your daily dose of cyberpunk, science fiction, virtual reality, rock and roll, and covert action. This book also looks at what the future will be made of and what it won't be. Apple was the company that brought the computer to the people and somewhere along the way lost their true purpose of being. What is a cracker? a cracker is a person who is an information addict, a person with a "need to know" about everything. When you look at a cyberpunk take a close look at Bruce Sterling's sporadically published magazine Cheap Truth that had a lot to do with the birth of cyberpunk. Cyberpunk was the jolt that science fiction needed back in the eighties and science fiction today badly needs another jolt. The first personal computer was called Altair and was built by MITS (Model Instrumentation Telemetry System) who gave Bill Gates his first job. So much as happened since the time of the Altair, for both good and bad. There is so much in our future that we must attempt to come to peace with and Mondo 2000 is the way to investigate it all.

If you have any comments please drop me a line.

Copyright (c) 1997 by MatrixZine (matrixzine@aol.com). All rights reserved. These reviews many be freely distributed with proper attribution. Copies may be printed for non-commercial use. Redistribution, publication, or archiving of these reviews on any other terms require my consent.