{"id":188,"date":"2022-01-09T09:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-09T09:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/?post_type=portfolio&#038;p=188"},"modified":"2022-04-14T20:13:58","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T20:13:58","slug":"april-14-introducing-project-2","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/portfolio\/april-14-introducing-project-2\/","title":{"rendered":"April 14 \u2013\u00a0Introducing project 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><strong>Project 2<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Today in class I&#8217;ll distribute the <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1E8l2wO2v6gMPrIHAO6HpKvENK48DspTO\">project 2 assignment<\/a> (and a <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1EGFYPvJ_Tgopyflmaftnb-gqX78QWLp6\/view\">concise version as a mini-zine<\/a>) and we will discuss the details of that.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Background reading (optional)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>We won\u2019t dedicate an entire class session to sustained discussion of the below three texts, but if you are interested in zines and similar forms of off-line information circulation networks, you might be interested to take a look. The first article, as the title says, gives a brief history of the zine form itself. The second article discusses <em>samizdat<\/em>, a type of media and a set of practices for circulating prohibited texts throughout the USSR. These were texts duplicated using photocopier machines and distributed through semi-clandestine practices. The third piece discusses <em>El Paquete Semanal<\/em> (\u201cThe Weekly Package\u201d): gigabytes of digital data that circulate through Cuba in person-to-person transactions involving external USB drives. <em>El Paquete<\/em> is a kind of workaround: a solution to the problem of a lack of reliable internet bandwidth in many parts of the island, and in this sense is an offline network, not dissimilar from zine circulations, even though it is comprised of digital data. Themes of a kind of digital divide here are a good segue into the topics that we\u2019ll read about for next week.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Chloe Arnold, <a href=\"http:\/\/mentalfloss.com\/article\/88911\/brief-history-zines\">\u201cA Brief History of Zines\u201d<\/a>, <em>Mental Floss<\/em>, November 19, 2016<\/li>\r\n<li>Serguei Alex Oushakine, <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1EPkJYxWg4BbV7SalTQZ0L5A61A7DtToS&amp;authuser=SolomonR%40newschool.edu&amp;usp=drive_fs\">\u201cThe Terrifying Mimicry of Samizdat\u201d<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li>Nick Parish, <a href=\"https:\/\/withintent.uncorkedstudios.com\/inside-el-paquete-cubas-social-network-2fa6c99660ee\">\u201cInside El Paquete, Cuba\u2019s Social Network\u201d<\/a> (Mar 8, 2018)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><strong>What <em>is<\/em> a zine?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>It\u2019s easy to picture a zine and to conjure an intuitive idea of what a zine is, but a more precise definition is surprisingly tricky to articulate. The core principle of zine culture is that a zine (short for <em>fanzine<\/em>, derived from <em>magazine<\/em>) should be self-published, and so in this sense they share a strong link with <em>samizdat<\/em>, the concept discussed in the second article linked above. <em>Samizdat<\/em> literally translates as \u201cself-published\u201d. Zines are publications that are produced, published, and distributed by their author(s), however, nearly all these rules can be compromised in various ways. Zines are often traded by their makers in circulation networks of various forms, but zines are also often distributed or sold in stores, both online and off. When we think of a zine, a clear aesthetic probably comes to mind \u2013 black and white, photocopied, cobbled together with sharpies and scotch tape \u2013 but zines can also exhibit higher production quality, or even be produced by a commercial printshop, both on- or offline. And while zines have traditionally been print publications, nowadays they can exist in digital forms, again, both on- and offline.<\/p>\r\n<p>So what is a zine then? Probably the most robust definition would be to say that a zine is something that feels like a zine to its creators and audience. When a zine emerges from production and distribution techniques to which we feel that we also have access, we can relate to the producer and feel like the produced object is part of a cultural field that \u201cwe\u201d are producing \u201courselves.\u201d So perhaps a zine is simply a zine if there exists a community that identifies that publication as emerging wholly from the community itself. This definition of zines is <a href=\"https:\/\/newmaterialism.eu\/almanac\/s\/situated-knowledges.html\">highly situated<\/a>: it embraces a subjective aspect and depends on the position of the person doing the identifying, and their relation to the object. This definition accommodates the many and varied formal qualities of zines, and also points toward how a zine that fulfills all those formal qualities might still not qualify as a zine if it does not emerge from producers that are of the audience for which it is produced \u2013 for example when an object with zine aesthetics might be produced as part of a corporate, commercial viral marketing campaign.<\/p>\r\n<p>Zines are a prominent object within the DIY ethos and maker cultures that we\u2019ve seen in off-the-grid contexts this semester. I have a collection that I can try to share though Zoom, but am not able to scan them all. If you\u2019re looking for more zines and zine culture in NYC, you can check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.printedmatter.org\/\">Printed Matter<\/a> and their <a href=\"https:\/\/printedmatterartbookfairs.org\/\">annual art book fair<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/interferencearchive.org\/\">Interference Archive<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/bluestockings.com\/\">Bluestockings bookstore<\/a>, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.printedmatter.org\/services\/the-bulletin\/book-and-zine-fairs\">other book and zine fairs<\/a>, both <a href=\"https:\/\/brokenpencil.com\/zine-festivals-and-small-press-fairs\/\">here and around the world<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p>And there are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nypl.org\/about\/divisions\/general-research-division\/periodicals-room\/zines\">many<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/zines.barnard.edu\/\">many<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.chapman.edu\/feminist_zines\/\">many<\/a> great zine collections in libraries and archives all over.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>An example<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>I\u2019ve mentioned that some of the themes for the final part of the semester involve wirelessness and various techniques at off-the-grid communication, including mesh networks. I\u2019ve already shared some photographs from a project in Oakland called the People\u2019s Open Network, so I thought you might enjoy seeing a zine that they created to publicize their work, and to do outreach within their community: <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1dCj0t1avqICJH3h6k8CwA7KzqZzN37DP&amp;authuser=SolomonR%40newschool.edu&amp;usp=drive_fs\">Build Your Own Internet, 1st edition<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_454\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-454\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-Peoples-Open-Network-BYOI.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-454\" src=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-Peoples-Open-Network-BYOI-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-Peoples-Open-Network-BYOI-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-Peoples-Open-Network-BYOI-738x984.jpg 738w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-Peoples-Open-Network-BYOI.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-454\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fig 1. The cover of \u201cBring Your Own Internet\u201d by the People\u2019s Open Network. (Click to enlarge.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p><strong>Workshop<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>For the hands-on portion of our workshop day today, we\u2019ll discuss some zine production.<\/p>\r\n<p>Zine culture is most commonly associated with an embrace of DIY aesthetics and practices, so I&#8217;m asking you to work with those types of assembly, publication, and distribution methods for this project. Certainly there are comparative affordances and limitations between low tech and higher tech, digital production techniques. But as we&#8217;ll be focusing on the &#8220;off-the-grid&#8221; aspect, we&#8217;ll be publishing without digital tools. I assume you will likely end up printing out textual matter from digital copies, using digital computers and printers. But let&#8217;s focus our zine construction and assembly on non-digital methods.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Starting blank<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>When you are working on zines during this unit of our semester, either in workshops or for your final product, begin by first creating a temporary assembly of your zine structure with blank paper, then crafting your zine by writing, drawing, gluing, or taping your materials directly onto these blank pages. For your final product, you should pay attention to design concerns about layout and the representation of the structure of your material with visual hierarchy like appropriately-sized textual headings, perhaps even a table of contents, glossary, or index. For today, as a sample to test the process, you can simply draw or doodle, or collage in some objects from other printed matter.<\/p>\r\n<p>For this step of the assembly process, you shouldn\u2019t yet use any permanent materials in your binding, like gluing pages. Bookbinding of course is the process of assembling pages into a book with a cover, a spine, etc. Don\u2019t do any permanent binding until you have duplicated copies of your pages. Until then, assemble your zine as a kind of working draft that can be easily disassembled when ready to duplicate.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cMini zine\u201c: With the \u201cmini zine\u201d format that we talked about in class, working with a temporary assembly is easy. Since this technique only contains printed matter on one side of the page, and since it is only bound by folding, you can easily assemble a blank version, add in your materials, and unfold to make copies.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Saddle stitching<\/strong>: The other format that I recommend for you to consider is what we might call the \u201cstandard zine\u201d: 8.5 x 11 inch pages (or A4) folded in half along the shorter side. Of course you can use other paper sizes if you you\u2019d like. To create the binding with this format, you will fold each sheet in half, nest them within each other, and attach staples along the fold to make the spine of the booklet. This technique is called <strong>saddle stitching<\/strong> because it was more traditionally done by actually stitching along the spine. Feel free to experiment with actually stitching your binding! Many students have done this in the past and it can have really nice results. You can use any type of string, thread, or twine that you might have access to. But again, don\u2019t staple or stitch yet! First create a temporary assembly of your blank pages and attach them using paperclips or something that can be easily removed.<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-456 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-300x245.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-300x245.jpg 300w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-1024x836.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-768x627.jpg 768w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-1536x1253.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-738x602.jpg 738w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-1458x1190.jpg 1458w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-996x813.jpg 996w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-1-1992x1625.jpg 1992w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_457\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-457\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-457\" src=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-698x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-698x1024.jpg 698w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-768x1127.jpg 768w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-1047x1536.jpg 1047w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-1396x2048.jpg 1396w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-738x1083.jpg 738w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-1458x2139.jpg 1458w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2-996x1461.jpg 996w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-saddle-stitch-2.jpg 1481w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-457\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figs 2 &amp; 3. Creating a temporary binding for a saddle stitched zine so that you may disassemble to duplicate once complete. (Click to enlarge.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>When you are happy with your completed saddle stitched zine, remove the paperclips and \u201cpublish\u201d by creating duplicates, making sure to create double-sided copies. Then you can fold, reassemble, and permanently bind the duplicates with staples or other stitching.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Perfect binding<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Another common binding technique is known as perfect binding. With this method, you needn&#8217;t worry about <strong>imposing pages<\/strong> and printing on half sheets that will be folded together. Instead you simply create a stack of double-sided pages, dip one side (the spine) in binding glue, and wrap that in a cover. The easiest way to do this iw to visit a local print shop and ask for a <strong>perfect binding<\/strong>. You would simply bring a digital or hardcopy version of a stack fo sheets and they will reproduce for you and bind with glue and an optional cover.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>I ask you to avoid this method for this class, focusing instead on the hand-made, do-it-yourself ethos of assembling the zine yourself. Of course, if you wish to experiment with a DIY perfect binding, that would be great!<\/p>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_455\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-455\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-PERFECT-BOUND-VS-SADDLE-STITCHED.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-455\" src=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-PERFECT-BOUND-VS-SADDLE-STITCHED.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-PERFECT-BOUND-VS-SADDLE-STITCHED.png 800w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-PERFECT-BOUND-VS-SADDLE-STITCHED-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-PERFECT-BOUND-VS-SADDLE-STITCHED-768x283.png 768w, https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/project-2-workshop-1-PERFECT-BOUND-VS-SADDLE-STITCHED-738x272.png 738w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-455\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fig 4. A perfect binding versus a saddle stitched binding. (Click to enlarge.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p><strong>Commercial printing \/ zine services<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>And of course, there are many, many web-based business now that will offer printing services for you. (CafePress, Lulu, Zazzle, Moo.) Those can be very useful for other zine projects you may wish to take on. But again, for this project for our class, we&#8217;ll stick to hand-made, DIY.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Lab notebook task<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>For your homework in follow-up to this workshop, create a test zine: either two mini zines, or a saddle stitch made from two sheets of paper. Assemble your zine with blank pages. Then fill your zine with drawings, doodles, notes, collaged clippings from other printed matter, or anything you\u2019d like. This is just a sample to experiment with assembly. When you have that, disassemble the zine, find a photocopy machine, make two duplicates, then assemble &amp; bind them: for saddle stitched this will mean staples if you can manage, or actual stitched string; for the mini zine, experiment with taking your two zines and attaching them together, back cover of one to front cover of the other, either with glue, staples, or tape.<\/p>\r\n<p>Please create a lab notebook for this workshop as you did for Unit 1. Put it in a new folder in Google Drive. Include some pictures of your process including at least one in-progress and one of the finished assembly. Use your notes to try to think of some linkages back to Markee\u2019s presentation or recent course concepts. Add some comments about how your experiment turned out and what you might make sure to do differently next time.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Project 2 Today in class I&#8217;ll distribute the project 2 assignment (and a concise version as a mini-zine) and we will discuss the details of that. Background reading (optional) We won\u2019t dedicate an entire class session to sustained discussion of the below three texts, but if you are interested in zines and similar forms of &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"portfolio-category":[7],"portfolio-tag":[],"class_list":["post-188","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio-category-technical-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459,"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/188\/revisions\/459"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolio-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio-category?post=188"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classes.codeatlang.com\/digital-media-off-the-grid\/2022-spring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio-tag?post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}