Anarchist Book Fair = PURE FUN!
So, the first Saskatoon Anarchist Boook Fair that happened this past weekend was totally excellent. Mad props go out to Ali Lake and Meagan Wohlberg, the two smashingly righteous babes who organized the event. I sure hope it happens next year, too!
First, when I arrived (around 2 or 3 on Saturday), I was struck by just how many people were there with tables set up. Le Relais was filled with lots of people with tables set up, showing off their State-demolishing goods...mostly books and zines, a few bottons and shirts, etc. Quite a few people were from out of town (mostly Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg), and I was impressed by that. So cool that people would come all this way to sell merchandise that almost definitley would not recoup their travel costs for them...obviously, those people are just beautifully hardcore, and for that, they earn my luv. It was really easy to meet people there, and since people had brought their children with them, it had a very welcoming, family vibe, with just the right amount of crustiness to keep it legit.
I was also selling some of my wares at the bookfair...lately I have been making jewellery...but not pretty jewellery that is made in huge batches of multiples, but sort of art-concept jewellery...all one-of-a-kind pieces that have some sort of thought-provoking element to them, often undermining the concepts of "beauty", "high art", and "function". A lot of the pieces are made with origami, from the patterned origami papers I have been collecting over my lifetime. Other pieces are made with laquered Fruit Loops, broken shards from 78rpm records, discarded electronics, old toys, alphabet beads, and gold-painted ichiban noodle chunks. (Pix at the bottom of this terribly long post!) I sold a fair number of pieces, gave away a few, and traded some to people. I like trading best ;)
Jon and I also were selling copies of a new audio-video collaboration we did. It's an hour long, and it's called "59' 59""...it's a pretty neat project...we both used only mixers to create 9 or 10 different little "no-input" compositions that are each 5 minutes long and strung together on a VHS tape in the order that we did them. We made the stuff by plugging the mixers into themselves in our special mystical ways, so that the audio affects the video, and we improvise the main structures together sort of like a band jams out riffs. It is extrememly surprising how varied, bizarre, and hypnotic this tape is, especially considering how there are no source materials for the finished content. Feedback is so endlessly interesting one you get past the first few landmarks of cliches (that means that just pointing the camera at your tv is a cliche, yes...)...there are a few copies left, limited edition of 20...lemme know if you want one!
So during the bookfair, I left the Pop Quiz table (the indie music/merch table Jon was running that I put my stuff on) and peeked around at the other people's stuff...weirdly, I didn't really want to get a lot of the stuff I saw...I was surprised at how many of the things being sold were actually from commercial publishers, not independent publishers...the people selling the glossy books weren't allowed to trade, so I didn't get anything from them. That made me realize that some of the people there might have been employees at work, not necessarily anarchists out to sell their own stuff (and the stuff of their friends/community, etc.). This isn't such a bad thing, but it shows how counter-culture itself is also being commercialized. I wish there would have been a few more people there selling stuff that they had made themselves, but I do appreciate the diversity that was represented at the fair. It also would have been nice if more people that came to the fair actually had brought money (or stuff to trade) with them! Quite a few people came up to my stuff and looked through it longingly, picked out their favourite like they were going to buy it, then would tell me that they wanted to buy it, but they had no money. Then they would look at me with puppydog eyes like I was supposed to just give it to them or something. Come on, peeps! Geez! My stuff is supercheap, and I do trades. I really should have had a business card out on the table...I bet I would have got some orders this week...eeek...next time ;) My prize trade was for these two cool indie zines, both quasi-art-historical accounts, one about pirates in the 15th and 16th centuries, the other one about the history of Hallowe'en and how childeren should be encouraged to invoke fear of destruction into the minds of adults.
The party for the book fair was really stellar. I'd like to say YO to Meagan and Ali for programming my very favourite people in Saskatoon: Merry Jollies/Jon Vaughn, Freud/Mehta Youngs, Debit Card/Nem Gostramonivix (sp?), and Holzkopf/Jake Hardy. J-P Crowe also helped out for a bit, too, although he wasn't scheduled...with the addition of J-P, there's a list of the best tune-makers and tune-weavers S'toon has to offer (ok, Jake's in Edmonton now, whateva)...everyone did AMAZING sets...I can't believe the superhype energy when Mehta played his set of new tunes he made over the last few months...my gawd, that guy is cleaning up! Nem's set was also really good - he's so funny on the mic between his songs...Nem: "I know you guys don't like it when I play the slow songs, but...COME ON!?!?!?" hahaha Seriously awesome show, good times were had, killer decorations, friendly people, sweet-ass tunes...simply lovely.
Ok, nuf blabbing, let's see some pics:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r319/carrie_gates/Anarchist%20Book%20Fair%20-%20Nov2006/?start=all
First, when I arrived (around 2 or 3 on Saturday), I was struck by just how many people were there with tables set up. Le Relais was filled with lots of people with tables set up, showing off their State-demolishing goods...mostly books and zines, a few bottons and shirts, etc. Quite a few people were from out of town (mostly Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg), and I was impressed by that. So cool that people would come all this way to sell merchandise that almost definitley would not recoup their travel costs for them...obviously, those people are just beautifully hardcore, and for that, they earn my luv. It was really easy to meet people there, and since people had brought their children with them, it had a very welcoming, family vibe, with just the right amount of crustiness to keep it legit.
I was also selling some of my wares at the bookfair...lately I have been making jewellery...but not pretty jewellery that is made in huge batches of multiples, but sort of art-concept jewellery...all one-of-a-kind pieces that have some sort of thought-provoking element to them, often undermining the concepts of "beauty", "high art", and "function". A lot of the pieces are made with origami, from the patterned origami papers I have been collecting over my lifetime. Other pieces are made with laquered Fruit Loops, broken shards from 78rpm records, discarded electronics, old toys, alphabet beads, and gold-painted ichiban noodle chunks. (Pix at the bottom of this terribly long post!) I sold a fair number of pieces, gave away a few, and traded some to people. I like trading best ;)
Jon and I also were selling copies of a new audio-video collaboration we did. It's an hour long, and it's called "59' 59""...it's a pretty neat project...we both used only mixers to create 9 or 10 different little "no-input" compositions that are each 5 minutes long and strung together on a VHS tape in the order that we did them. We made the stuff by plugging the mixers into themselves in our special mystical ways, so that the audio affects the video, and we improvise the main structures together sort of like a band jams out riffs. It is extrememly surprising how varied, bizarre, and hypnotic this tape is, especially considering how there are no source materials for the finished content. Feedback is so endlessly interesting one you get past the first few landmarks of cliches (that means that just pointing the camera at your tv is a cliche, yes...)...there are a few copies left, limited edition of 20...lemme know if you want one!
So during the bookfair, I left the Pop Quiz table (the indie music/merch table Jon was running that I put my stuff on) and peeked around at the other people's stuff...weirdly, I didn't really want to get a lot of the stuff I saw...I was surprised at how many of the things being sold were actually from commercial publishers, not independent publishers...the people selling the glossy books weren't allowed to trade, so I didn't get anything from them. That made me realize that some of the people there might have been employees at work, not necessarily anarchists out to sell their own stuff (and the stuff of their friends/community, etc.). This isn't such a bad thing, but it shows how counter-culture itself is also being commercialized. I wish there would have been a few more people there selling stuff that they had made themselves, but I do appreciate the diversity that was represented at the fair. It also would have been nice if more people that came to the fair actually had brought money (or stuff to trade) with them! Quite a few people came up to my stuff and looked through it longingly, picked out their favourite like they were going to buy it, then would tell me that they wanted to buy it, but they had no money. Then they would look at me with puppydog eyes like I was supposed to just give it to them or something. Come on, peeps! Geez! My stuff is supercheap, and I do trades. I really should have had a business card out on the table...I bet I would have got some orders this week...eeek...next time ;) My prize trade was for these two cool indie zines, both quasi-art-historical accounts, one about pirates in the 15th and 16th centuries, the other one about the history of Hallowe'en and how childeren should be encouraged to invoke fear of destruction into the minds of adults.
The party for the book fair was really stellar. I'd like to say YO to Meagan and Ali for programming my very favourite people in Saskatoon: Merry Jollies/Jon Vaughn, Freud/Mehta Youngs, Debit Card/Nem Gostramonivix (sp?), and Holzkopf/Jake Hardy. J-P Crowe also helped out for a bit, too, although he wasn't scheduled...with the addition of J-P, there's a list of the best tune-makers and tune-weavers S'toon has to offer (ok, Jake's in Edmonton now, whateva)...everyone did AMAZING sets...I can't believe the superhype energy when Mehta played his set of new tunes he made over the last few months...my gawd, that guy is cleaning up! Nem's set was also really good - he's so funny on the mic between his songs...Nem: "I know you guys don't like it when I play the slow songs, but...COME ON!?!?!?" hahaha Seriously awesome show, good times were had, killer decorations, friendly people, sweet-ass tunes...simply lovely.
Ok, nuf blabbing, let's see some pics:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r319/carrie_gates/Anarchist%20Book%20Fair%20-%20Nov2006/?start=all