Absolutely Zippo Presents
Collective Chaos: Bay Area Flyer Art
Issue 49
Full sized / $2 + $2 shipping
This zine chronicles a culture that throve (thrives?) 3,000
miles away from where I live & over the past few decades. Here’s what I
gleaned from reading this zine:
The 924 Gilman
St. Project (aka Gilman) is a performance space
that was / is community / collective oriented. Eggplant was involved with a
band named Blatz and is an artist that created DIY fliers for shows and events
at Gilman and all over Berkeley .
Absolutely Zippo was (is?) a punk-rock focused zine created by Eggplant. Things
changed in the culture over the years. There is more history and philosophy discussed
in the introductory pages of Collective
Chaos but this is simply my cliff notes synopsis.
I grew up in New
Hampshire and for the most part, “punk culture”
by-passed me in the 80’s and still eludes me to this day. This collection of
flyer art is a glimpse into what I have been missing. Creativity soars off of
the pages. The graphics are both simple and intricate, ephemeral food for
thought. These flyers capture the spirit of a time and place in ways as
powerful as the memory of the music and culture being celebrated.
Flyers, stickers, and paper communications are essential to
communicating what’s happening in any community. Life doesn’t happen online,
you’re not going to hear about some of the best stuff going on unless you talk
with people or look up from your smart phone on occasion. Back in the day, word
of mouth and artistic flyers were the method of getting word to others.
Every page of this collection sings with joyful expression.
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