I’ve often said that if I could start my dream magazine, it would be
a whole lot like Plazm. Chock full of beautifully reproduced
artworks, terrific articles, and innovative design, Plazm is
like an extraction of the best elements of the New Yorker and
McSweeney’s rolled up into one perfect-bound periodical. The
only gripe I have, in fact, is that it only comes out once a year, but
at times like this, when that moment is upon us, it’s very exciting
indeed.
Issue #29 hits the streets next week with a launch party at the Ace
Hotel that features a ton of cool entertainment (Evolutionary Jass
Band, Glass Candy, films by Vanessa Renwick, etc.) and an art show
called The End of War, which features local artists like Storm
Tharp and Kristan Kennedy. As of press time, the magazine is still at
the printers, but I caught a sneak peek at the Plazm offices
last week, and it’s no stretch to say that this already-impressive
magazine has outdone itself again.
“Collective Memory” might not sound like a particularly exciting
theme for the magazine, but the editorial team of Jonathan Raymond,
Tiffany Lee Brown, and Joshua Berger takes an interesting approach
here: “We already have more music, writing, art, and experience piled
up than we can possibly deal with, and so much of the fresh news we
receive is at best a distraction,” they write in the magazine’s
introduction. “What’s worth remembering in an information society? We
want wisdom, not information. We want to explore old music, old books,
and old photographs, figure out what we care about, and preserve it for
those who come later. We want to walk backward into the future.”
From there, Plazm #29 moonwalks through secret histories and
pauses for artists whose work renews and respects older traditions.
There’s a long interview with Yoko Ono, aesthetic explorations of meth
labs, an incredible pullout poster timelining Portland’s rock history,
selections from Portlander Tom Robinson’s massive photo archive,
artwork by Jessica Jackson Hutchins, and much, much more.
With more music, writing, art, and experience piled up than we can
possibly deal with, what’s the good of a single new magazine? In the
case of Plazm #29, it provides a wondrous map of the past, with
which we may better see our future.