Sunday, August 9, 2009

Dangerous Liaisons Issue #2: Art & The Beret


A Wellington (NZ) 'zine' that I haven't been able to track down yet.
All I could find, is this review on the net.
It sounds interesting, especially since it comes from New Zealand, ranking lowest on the Beret Density Country Index of the World...


Twelve black and white A1 pages, folded A1 paper, two staples

This is a group zine from Wellington, New Zealand, circa 2004. Though it seems to be deeply entrenched in the local art scene, this issue also adheres quite closely to its theme of Art & The Beret. The sharpness of those dual focus points are actually this zine’s biggest asset, along with a stable of talented contributors.

I’ve read a few zines that try to tackle a broad subject like “art” and end up rambling on about nothing. By examining art in the context of the beret, a road that would appear to lead to even less of nothing, the Dangerous Liaisons crew manage to make the subject more interesting, simply because of the limit it imposes. There are a couple of essays, some cartoons and a bizarre short story here, all unique and creative, but more importantly kept short and to the point, even if the point is occasionally elusive or absurdist. What keeps it all from floating away into pointless irreverence is the way it places itself in the Wellington art scene. Breaking up the whimsy is an interview with local artist and zinester Bryce Galloway, a review of a recent gallery show, and a brief field report from a local traveling in Europe. This works as not just a piece of art itself, but also a dialogue between artists and a document of an artistic community. Are there more zines like this out there? I’d like to see them.

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