|
|
| Black enthusiasm and white degradation Popper Magazine Santa Mičule, Student, Art Academy of Latvia | |
| The first issue of Popper Magazine which came out in June is being positioned as the only illustration magazine in Latvia. Popper Magazine is in a certain way related to the Latvian comic magazine Kuš! – this is evident from the nucleus of authors working on both publications as well as the loose stylistic features of the illustrations. The format of the publication is on a par with well-known foreign illustration artzines and fanzines, in that the creators are very free in their interpretation of the genre framework of illustration, offering an innovative view of contemporary illustration as an untamed variety of art based on subjective conditions. Because of the blackand-white design throughout, the Latvian publication bears a resemblance to the French illustration magazine Get Freaky, to which the authors of Popper Magazine have also contributed. | |
 Popper Magazine. Latvian illustration magazine. No. 1. Riga: Popper Magazine, 2012. p.88 | |
| The leitmotif of the first issue of Popper Magazine is the topic of degradation, and the works reproduced in this number are to be regarded as artists’ interpretations this many-sided concept. Philosopher Normunds Kozlovs has attempted to define the concept or to provide a verbal framework for its formulation, but instead of a concrete definition he offers a literary sketch, the existential emptiness and apathetic mood that runs through it being offered as a reference to the state of degradation. Kozlov’s text is crammed with diverse intellectual references, but the ties with the degenerative aspect are preserved in the details of the narrative itself, which in general is too much like an essay to be perceived as a theoretical text or the exposition of a concept, however, it fits quite organically with nature of the illustrations. The illustrations themselves depict the number’s theme mainly at the level of association – delinquently grotesque deconstructions of images, consciously slapdash form or aggressive subject matter. Doubt arises whether degradation (in any of its meanings) is the most successful term to denote these particular expressions of form and subject matter. In some illustrations there is a thoroughly organic link with the topic of degradation, while in other works the motif can be seen only with the assistance of a substantial amount of imagination on the part of the viewer, but there are yet others in which the theme of degradation is so veiled that a normal mind and a naked eye cannot pick it out, creating suspicion that the “set theme” has been blatantly ignored. However, the interrelationship between the theme and the illustrations, in other words the extent to which each separate work illustrates (reveals, depicts, explains) the notion of degradation, does not seem to be the right criterion for evaluating the quality of the publication. The frequent deviations from the theme should rather be perceived as a reminder of the democratic nature of contemporary illustration, therefore it is a little embarrassing to read Pauls Bankovskis’ review of Popper Magazine(1) where the author considers that the inability of the illustrators to create compositions which are unequivocally related to the theme are the drawbacks of the magazine, and hence make it unsuitable for the market. Such criticism is ungrounded, as in its essence Popper Magazine is rebellious – an independently marginal project, not a catalogue of beauty products. It would be advisable to avoid another extreme, that is to see Popper Magazine only a self-serving compilation of monological pictures, devoid of as any features of contemporary ethics, because there are even several Purvītis Award candidates (Krišs Salmanis, Harijs Brants, Kristīne Kursiša), as well as artists who have achieved recognition at local and international level in the genre of illustration (Reinis Pētersons). In this regard I recommend that the viewer first leafs through the magazine without looking up the names of the authors and tries to guess who they might be. Surprises are guaranteed, not only because some well-known authors have radically changed their style of expression and artistic signature, but also because the contribution of the new generation of illustrators (not so well-known) is no less convincing and pleasing, at least within the framework of Popper Magazine. In contrast to the eloquent visual messages, there is a dire shortage of information in the publication. There is neither a formal introduction by the creators of the magazine, as would befit a first issue, nor a factological description of the illustrations. The creators of Popper Magazine have been far more willing to express themselves in the virtual environment, to an extent compensating for the deficiency of explanatory descriptions in the paper edition. References to the techniques used in the illustrations would have been especially useful – their absence distances the publication from traditional art albums, simultaneously flirting with the precepts of conceptual illustration. Nevertheless many authors’ illustrations make one think that in this genre, too, the medium still tends to be the message. Not only a mention of the techniques used would satisfy the curiosity of the viewer, but it would also provide a better understanding of what the authors of the magazine understand by the notion of illustration – for example, if it were done outside Popper Magazine, would taking an existing painting with a certain title, transforming it into a black-and-white version and printing it in a magazine dedicated to illustration be considered a post-modernist joke, elegant carelessness or a minor deception (see the works by Krišjānis Mežulis)? Similar ambiguity arises with regard to the unusual but engaging illustrations by Evita Vasiļjeva and Raitis Hrolovičs. It must be admitted that the first edition of Popper Magazine seems intriguing and engaging enough to make one want to follow the further development of the publication. This task is made more difficult by the uncertainty of the production schedule: the publication is planned to be released three or four times a year, each number will be different, hence it’s not possible to gain a clear view of the general direction that Popper Magazine is going to take. Let’s hope that the creators of the magazine will be able to preserve the self-sufficiency of the magazine without making it too introvert and self-serving, which might, in turn, lead to a situation where the magazine is interesting only to those involved in its creation and not the audience it was intended for. We should bear in mind that many interesting cultural phenomena, for example, creative neighbourhoods, have surfaced in the last few years only due to self-initiative, where the only reasoning behind their creation was “for my own pleasure”. And while the more official stratum of our culture gives way to compromise with the arrogant demands of the state and society to come up with culture products that are financially lucrative and pleasing to the average taxpayer, we also have some cultural activities that are more marginal, and offering a welcome dose of freshness, lightness and authenticity. Translation into English: Vita Limanoviča (1) www.satori.lv/raksts/4647 | |
| go back | |
