Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art Works

Paperthin.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

I like local publications. While on my recent trip to Knoxville, I picked up a copy of the February 2008 Paperthin magazine at the University of Tennessee. Free, of course. I was drawn to the look of it. (I'll be honest: I often judge by covers.)

I'm visually orientated, and I like free.

Nice compact size, making it easy to carry around and read as opposed to the often huge, unwieldy, newsprint and shedding ink monstrosities that free publications usually are. Combine that small size with fine, glossy pages and high-level graphic design happening inside...the small magazine looked great. Less is more. It really is. Being overwhelmed by the amount of material and articles and ads and sheer size happens a lot when I read newspapers.

The magazine wasn't hugely jam-packed with articles like a lot of indy rags are, but again, I count that a plus. After a while, being beat on the head by "alternative" writing gets old, since so many authors are painfully overwrought and take themselves too seriously (to the point of hilarity) in such publications. Paperthin obviously places a premium on quality over quantity, and I liked it.

Plus, I got a good laugh out of the tongue-in-cheek writing found in the fine print. In amidst what seemed to be the usual copyright notice on the first page (which looked like a restaurant guest check) I found this:

All content within is copyright (C) 2008 Lone Rider Design. Paperthin is published monthly, and available free of charge by Lone Rider Design. That means you don't have to pay for it, just in case you were wondering what "free" meant. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without the prior written consent of Lone Rider Design. That means if you do any of the aforementioned stuff, we'll send Luca Brasi over with nothing but a hatchet, and a lot of free time.

I suppose, by reprinting their copyright here, I should expect a visit with that hatchet.

I often pick these free magazines and newspapers up because I have had an obsession since I was a kid about starting my own "newspaper." I've made many fake newspapers, and even have a few on my site. There's little point in it now though, I suppose, since I'm doing that online and have even subconsciously (after years of constant web site re-working) ended up with a web site design that mimics the look of a newspaper to some degree.

Still, I like to see what other artists and writers are doing, and I even hold onto the idea that a paper publication still has value and could really be creative and fun to hold -- like a small treasure -- in this digital age.

Paperthin was pretty good that way. I hope they keep publishing, and I hope the people of Knoxville appreciate the fine little magazine that it is.

Links: