Very Graphic Design
* By David Haskell
* Published Dec 28, 2008
http://nymag.com/arts/art/features/53148/These are downsizing, belt-tightening times for much of the media industry. But somewhat incongruously, New York–based gay magazines are thriving. "I've never seen anything like this before," says AA Bronson, director of Printed Matter and co-editor of Queer Zines, an encyclopedic history of the genre released this fall. "The seventies saw the first rise in 'zine culture, and then again in the mid-eighties, when the plain-paper copier made life easier. But the last few years have definitely been a new phenomenon." Bronson credits Butt magazine, founded in Amsterdam and now edited in New York, with influencing a new generation of titles that are at once arty and dirty. "They hit on the right formula at the right moment, which was to deal with the gay world as if it were just part of the world at large, with its own heroes in every field—from porn stars to authors to artists." And despite the economy, sales at Printed Matter are strong. "They're something you don't buy and read and throw away," says Bronson. "You end up keeping them in plastic envelopes, even though they're kind of cheap." Above, a selection, most available at Printed Matter (195 Tenth Ave.).
