It seems a constant struggle for artists to break into the
bureaucratic world of exhibitions and shows. In a world where even
public art (of the legal variety) is commissioned and juried,
artists aren’t the only ones losing out when their work is kept
under wraps — so is the art-starved public, which now accepts
advertising as a fix for art cravings. Enter online art magazines.
While they do have submission processes, the publications’ quickly
changing cycles and digital format give them an edge on galleries
by offering more people access to more art.
Free to the viewers and opportune dissemination for emerging
artists, the innovative online magazines come from around the world
and take many forms. They tend to display a variety of
two-dimensional media, from illustration and painting to
photography and design.
Rojo, with offices in Spain and Brazil, is
one of the originals, spearheading the drive with its strong
presence both in print and online. The international image
magazine’s website has become a hybrid blog/magazine informing
artists about events and projects as well as other artists and
designers.
Rojo is also a boon for the non-artist on the prowl for
creativity, with its bevy of links to other online art magazines.
Here are a few examples gleaned from its dispatches:
The Buenos Aires monthly
ruby
mag features imaginative selections that likely will have
you looking twice and pondering the way you’ve been trained to read
pictures. Many of the illustrations and photos play with
perception, confronting viewers from the gray area of the page with
images halfway between thought and realization, or the second and
third dimensions.
JHON hovers at the intersection of
beautiful and disturbing. You can view this Parisian bimonthly
after a quick pdf download. Its sister publication,
NEVERENDING, is set to debut this
fall.
2die4 creates the sensation of turning
pages for a print-like effect, but by incorporating sound and using
keyframing (a technique that makes images move and change), this
‘screen magazine’ from S?o Paulo, Brazil, distinguishes itself from
any book you’ve read before.
The first issue of
Honey Eat Your Salad draws viewers into
the depths of its 84 pages with glam-pop appeal. The next issue of
the Canada-based nonprofit online magazine is underway.
A site for sore ears,
Famous
for 15mb takes the form of a more traditional website, but
updates monthly with profiles of musical and video artists that
have been ‘overlooked.’ Visitors can discover beautiful sounds
while browsing the site, or just leave the page open and listen as
they surf in a new window.
Brand new,
The International Illustrated asks artists
to portray a theme, the first of which is war. As the Brazilian
creators say, ‘it’s interesting to see how [war] can be shown so
differently although it’s surrounded by clich?.’ The site stretches
the limits of the term ‘magazine,’ but as an image-based
periodical, it is beautifully designed and well-executed.
Go There>>
Rojo
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