POP, now available daily in print

Amid the swirl of posters, pamphlets and postcards awaiting the hordes that will descend on POP Montreal this week, one new paper project will beckon festival goers to pick it up.

Each day of the fest, a printer in a “little newsroom” in the basement of the DHC/ART gallery will be putting out copies of a POP Montreal newsletter.

It’s a daily printing party, and it’s a co-presentation between Art POP and Palimpsest, a collective that produces an atypical magazine publication: a box filled with audio, print, etc. tied together with a theme.

Art POP director Matt Goerzen sounded enthused about the daily Art POP newsletter speaking about it last week: “I think it’ll be this very beautiful object that will attract people.”

While the publishing world seems to be phasing online, Goerzen points out that print has become an enticing niche for artists — an “inverse reaction where people who are interested in print are exploring” different styles and methods.

The content will push and explore music journalism. Goerzen promised “responses to things going on in the festival” and concert reviews that employ data instead of words, like the number of people in attendance and decibel levels.

The title and the motto of the newsletter will change from day to day, pulling suggestions contributed to a hat. The project is inspired by a current DHC/ART exhibit featuring artist Jenny Holzer whose “practice is built around aphorisms.”

While the title changes, the newsletter’s look was not yet settled as of Thursday night. Goerzen reported it will be two tabloid-size sheets (about two inches shorter that the paper you’re holding right now). The newsletter will be printed in two colours, grey and gold, likely on coloured, lightweight paper. The methods for illustration were still being decided, but the print designer, Alan Woo, is on board.

Thanks to an ad trade, the Risograph printer is courtesy of Copies Concordia, the photocopy shop on de Maisonneuve Blvd. frequented by Concordia students and staff. Goerzen described the old machine as “halfway between inkjet printers and lithography machines.”

Goerzen thinks the newsletter is pushing the boundaries of print. “I like the possibility of approaching something that has become a typical feature of the Montreal community from an unexpected perspective.”

But beyond trying something new, he said: “It’ll be a nice object for people to pick up and take around with them.”

You can check out the Risograph at work Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 from noon to 6 p.m. at DHC/ART, 451 St-Jean St. in Old Montreal. The Holzer exhibit is until Nov. 14. Pick up a fresh copy of the newsletter at POP venues every afternoon during the festival.

Related Posts