Stevie's Magazine Rant

A little off topic maybe, but I thought I'd share my thoughts and ramblings on the world of magazines, a world which seems to be slowly consuming my own little world.

So, at the moment magazines are pretty much my life…

I’ve recently started my Final Year project for my degree. Yes, I am studying Photography. But, my project is not all that much about Photography really.

Starting from our baby YEAH Magazine, I have decided to focus my projects on magazines. The plan, at the moment at least, is to create a one off, special edition of YEAH. It will be theme based (of course), but commissioned and directed by yours truly. Although I will use other peoples work, the finished product will be my work – authorship blah blah.

To be honest, I’m really quite excited about it. It’ll give me the chance to really play around and explore what a magazine is, and can be. I have no limitations whatsoever, exciting stuff! Look out for more about this soon, ideas for a theme anyone?

My rant?

I’ve been starting to research a lot into magazines, for the project you see. I’ve found some awesome things, zines, artists books and mags – all getting me very excited!!

But one thing is really bugging me. Whenever I find an awesome looking mag, look around their website, and I can’t find anywhere to actually buy the magazine.

No, I don’t want to read it online, I don’t want to download a PDF. I want to be able to hold an actual real live magazine, flick through it, feel the paper, smell that new magazine smell. Don’t worry, I’m not crazy, I just seem to have this overwhelming, irrational passion for print.

Why is it that magazines are fading out, they are stopping to exist.. as magazines. It actually makes me kinda sad, they can be so beautiful. To a lot of people, magazines seem to be what you read on the train to pass time. To me, they’re gorgeous, they’re an art in themselves. I’m not talking Heat and OK here, I mean the more arty types. It’s not just something to read, or look at. I don’t think about an article, an image, and another article. It’s the whole experience as you flick from cover to cover, taking in the words, the images, the adverts and the messages you get from it all.

I know I probably sound totally deranged, but I just LOVE magazines. Real ones, that you can touch. And smell.

Rant Over.

Thanks for reading =D