Thursday, September 07, 2006

The men behind Megawords magazine have created an issue that will be used as part of an installation at the Powel House Museum in Philadelphia. The artists are using the commercial process of offset lithography to make a small run art object that they are incorporating into a more extensive installation in an 18th century house museum located within a contemporary urban environment.


When asked to respond to their process and product I'm inclined to focus on the issue of control. Tony and Dan work in a way that ostensibly allows them to have complete control over the production of Megawords: they argue against corporate sponsorship or including advertisements in the magazine because they don't want their choice of content to be influenced by a demanding funder; they talk about the do-it-yourself nature of their work. In an attempt to tie this to the larger issue at hand -- exploring the nature of the printed image -- I want to ask, what is it about the publication process that allows us to think of Tony and Dan as having full control when the physical production of the magazine happens at a press halfway across the country?

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