Booklyn Calling amplifies diverse voices within the artists’ book field and explores artmaking as a tool for community engagement, education, and social justice work. Hosted by Monica Johnson & Marshall Weber of Booklyn, Inc., a nonprofit arts organization located in Brooklyn, NY. Theme music by Kaia Fischer and Stuart Gunter. Artwork by Mylo Mendez. Sound recording and editing are provided by Earbong & Radio Free Br ...
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Josh MacPhee joins this episode of Booklyn Calling to discuss social movement culture as a third space outside of art and design with Booklyn curators Marshall Weber and Jan Descartes, and how art doesn't make change on its own. The three talk about collective expression and how imagery takes on meaning, and MacPhee teaches how to read protest and organizing symbols as a language. Links: Josh's Instagram Josh's Catalog Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative Interference Archive Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Josh MacPhee is a designer, artist, and archivist. He is a founding member of both the Justseeds Artists Cooperative and Interference Archive, a public collection of cultural materials produced by social movements based in Brooklyn, NY. MacPhee is the author and editor of numerous publications, including Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now and Signal: A Journal of International Political Graphics and Culture. He has organized the Celebrate People’s History poster series since 1998 and has been designing book covers for many publishers for the past decade.
Teacher, artist, and activist Shana Agid joins Booklyn Calling for episode ten, answering questions from Monica and Booklyn curator Jan Descartes. They talk about the themes come up so often in her work, like privilege and absence, and Agid explains his way of trying to make sense of the world by coming back to the same core questions throughout his art. Links: Shana's Website Shana's Catalog Ground Rules Call a Wrecking Ball to Make a Window Snitch Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Shana Agid is an artist, designer, teacher, and organizer whose work focuses on relationships of power and difference in visual, social, and political cultures. Her books and prints combine image, text, and form to explore these through narratives of desire, landscape, and history. His work has been shown at The New York Center for Book Arts, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, the Hamilton Wood Type Museum, and other venues. His artist books are in the collections of the Walker Art Center, New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress, among others. She is an also a collaborative design researcher and practitioner working with organizations to create systems and infrastructures toward self-determination, and a long-time member of Critical Resistance. Shana is an Associate Professor at Parsons School of Design / The New School in New York City.
Monica and Marshall go on a wild ride with Fred Rinne, as they’re pulled into his universe for an episode. Join in as they reminisce about his artist book beginnings, discuss the overlapping of art, music, and humor, share thoughts on Booklyn Zine Club, and have story time with some of Rinne’s books. Links: Fred Rinne's Website Fred Rinne's Catalog Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram
José and Jess from Mobile Print Power join Booklyn Calling to give insight into their newly released box set and talk about the collective. They tell us what it's like being a bilingual multi-generational collective that explores social and cultural situations in a public setting, and how they take inspiration from their community and turn it into graphic designs. Find out about the collaborative work they do with their community in Corona, Queens, and how they're getting back to it since Covid derailment. Mobile Print Powers 8 Principals: 1. We engage our whole selves to the task at hand 2. We value the skills, knowledge, and experiences of all people, regardless of age or formal education 3. We honor all community traditions and respect all community voices 4. We recognize that dignity has no nationality and we oppose racism 5. We want equality across the gender spectrum and we oppose sexism 6. We reject violent words and violent actions 7. We value all forms of written and spoken language and other forms of communication 8. We believe in the power of collaborative and collective work Links: Mobile Print Power's website Mobile Print Power's Instagram Mobile Print Power's Catalog & Box Set Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram
Sofia Szamosi joins Marshall to talk about how creating zines can be a gateway to making painted books and graphic novels, and how the process is different for them all. They also do a retrospective on Szamosi’s work around social media, looking into the subjects of body image and ‘girlhood’ and discuss her desire to make personal books. Links: https://sofiaszamosi.net/ https://www.instagram.com/sofiaszamosi/ https://booklyn.org/artists/sofia-szamosi/