REVIEW: Subscribe: Artists and Alternative Magazines, 1970-1995 at the Art Institute
Cover of THING: She Knows Who She Is magazine, Spring 1991 (no. 4). Image courtesy The Art Institute of Chicago, copyright THING Magazine.
REVIEW Subscribe: Artists and Alternative Magazines, 1970-1995
Subscribe is curated by Michal Raz-Russo, Programs Director,
The Gordon Parks Foundation, and Solveig Nelson,
Julius Rosenwald Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Chicago.
Dec 11, 2021–May 2, 2022
The Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60603
By Alexandria Knapik
Subscribe: Artists and Alternative Magazines, 1970-1995 is a “They don’t make ’em like that anymore!” goldmine placed in the basement galleries of the Art Institute of Chicago. The crème walls and light paired with the vintage magazines and zines hung on the wall brings visitors back to the ‘80s.
The exhibition was thoughtfully curated aesthetically, chronologically, by subject matter, and methodical. Including humor, Subscribe’s tone throughout was also a welcome tie to the nature of alternative magazines of that edgy era, including the cover quote on the exhibition’s featured edition of Out/Look highlighting “Exclusive Shocker: Small town where men dance in dresses.” The showcased magazines of the late 20th century held their own niche, categorized by the ever so opaque transmedia outfit of subculture. A particular highlight are the collage pieces framing the smoked glass window in the central film of Subscribe, as well as the television in the next room showing an interview with hilarious members of the queer community. It cannot be emphasized enough that the experience of the exhibition couldn’t have better captured the 80’s, about as well as the dated vocabulary in this entry. Film lovers will also enjoy the semi-infrequent display of photography as fine art.
The collection of THING/THINK INK zines and magazines were the seasoning and flavor of Subscribe via the hyperlocal connections to Chicago, and those who got in free to the museum using their “606” zip code will be nostalgic over the reemergence of the publication into their lives. The display honors a few of the great artists lost to the A.I.D.S. epidemic and the rest of the community affected over the generations throughout Subscribe. Not to mention the documentation of Black communities and the publications of other communities of color. These connections through the exhibition’s collection call for more attention than being given, yet the ripple of the importance of Subscribe is felt throughout zine culture and academic archiving.
Guests of the wide target of this exhibition from teen-elder, west coast to approximately Berlin will enjoy Subscribe. Mega fans will enjoy visiting the art at the museum’s collection library after the run is done. Overall, it was an amazing display of previously archived gems. Yet, I’m still wondering what other stories are behind the museum labels?
Like what you’re reading? Consider donating a few dollars to our writer’s fund and help us keep publishing every Monday.
