Friction Magazine by MH

Monday, January 07th, 2002

Excerpt: This is not your typical photocopied, stapled zine.... an enjoyable and artistic experience.

Six By Five Volume One, Issue One

This is not your typical photocopied, stapled zine. In fact, there aren’t any staples to be found. Instead, Six By Five creator, Joshua, has crafted a handmade envelope to the approximate six of 6 inches by 5 inches and stuffed in full of loose art, prose, and poetry. What ensues is an enjoyable and artistic experience. Each piece is to be appreciate for both it’s own worth and in relation to the other art and writing. The associations between the pieces are loose but one can really get a feel for what Six By Five is saying, or rather not saying — this particular installement has the theme “The way we harm ourselves nd everyone.” Like a day at a museum, the artists and authors are trying to convey their feelings but would also like you to evaluate your own feelings. Take a walk through an envelope of art and see what it does for you.

MH 1.7.2002

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Invisible City Productions by Jeremy P. Bushnell

Tuesday, October 30th, 2001

Excerpt: an intriguing object, one which rewardingly resists conventional methods of sensemaking.

Six By Five #1
Reviewed 10/30/01 by JPB

Six by Five is a little envelope, six inches by five inches, which issues forth from Chicago and contains images, bits of stories, tiny prints, and other evocative scraps.

From the description sent to me by editor Joshua Dumas: “It is a collection of written and visual material that aspires to be a unified art object. All elements are intended to interact with all other elements but their collisions are not premeditated … Each element stands alone, without title or caption or authorial notation.”

Choosing randomly from my pile, I come up with a photo of a man’s chest and forearms, a one-paragraph story about a doctor making a house call, a Photoshop photocollage (suitcases w/ calligraphy), an image of some sort of buried machine. As I sift, a pulse of meaning does seem to flicker amongst the fragments, although one which is diluted, somewhat dispersed. Nonetheless, the packet stands as an intriguing object, one which rewardingly resists conventional methods of sensemaking.

Recommended, although those of you allergic to intimations of artiness may wish to stay away.

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