Paris of the West – Culture Post from Detroit
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS of drawings, photography, design, prints, prose, poetry, collage, chapbooks, non-fiction, nonsense, and anything else for a new ZINE: Paris of the West, a multi-media representation of any and all Detroit culture. Anyone with a DIY spirit is encouraged to submit post-card sized, 4 in x 6 in or smaller, art or writings to Paris of the West for publication. Paris of the West will package these small cultural posts into one folder, and make them available for sale four times per year, with an overall goal of distributing Detroit creativity to the masses. The submission deadline for the inaugural issue is May 15, 2009.
Issue 1 of Paris of the West will be true to the form of mail art. We ask each artist to submit 100 copies of their ‘post-card’, printed and designed in the most creative way they see fit, in a mail safe, 2-dimesional form. Each artist will receive a copy of the entire edition in exchange for their submission. Due to limitations of the form, only 30 artists will be represented in Issue 1, with the opportunity for more artists to be represented in subsequent issues.
Paris of the West is inspired by the 1968 post-Dada, pre-Fluxus publication, Shit Must Stop. The brainchild of artist William Copley, S.M.S. was a “was a lavish, idealistic effort to circumvent the gallery system by sending art directly to subscribers through the mail (Art on Paper, March/April 2009),”and included works from Marcel Duchamp, Yoko Ono, and John Cage.
With Detroit’s “decline” making national news, Paris of the West will be published in part to prove that our culture is again on the rise. As home to diverse groups of artists, musicians, actors, and writers, Detroit is a city brimming with culture and a host to endless possibility of DIY endeavors. Detroit was dubbed “the Paris of the West” in the 1800s when Edison first lit Jefferson Avenue with his electric lights, transforming the city into a place of celebrated invention and innovation. This spirit still persists, and the time has come where it needs to be broadcast.
Paris of the West will be published in Detroit by Bubble Machine design firm, with the first limited edition issue released in summer 2009.
Mail or drop off submissions to:
Paris of the West/E.Isakson
Studio 310
4731 Grand River Avenue
Detroit, MI, 40208
