When I was a young and budding Artist I used to devour the articles and images on the pages of Art periodicals as if they were nutrition I required to live. American Craft, Painting, Juxtapoz, Metalsmith, American Fine Art and of course, Art In America. Of these periodicals, Juxtapoz and Art In America had the highest ticket price, and as far as I know still do. As I grew older I gravitated toward Antiques & Fine Art, Smithsonian and other non-Art specific periodicals like Herb Quarterly, The Mountain Astrologer, UTNE, and Wellbeing. When I was working as a book seller for Copperfield's Books in Santa Rosa I was assigned periodical stocking and ordering. Then, after the atrocity in labor law violation that the bookstore committed against me and a number of other employees I turned my back on periodicals and brick and mortar bookstore culture. It's a farce of snobbery and pseudo-intellectualism I could no longer stomach...besides I could get books I wanted faster and cheaper on Amazon. Fuck Tom Montane, the fascist book selling empire of Copperfield's Books, the other bookstores just like them, and the parade of self-righteous communist pee-ons without two nickels of their own to rub together but want to tell everyone else how to live their lives who work at these stores. The bookstore in downtown Santa Cruz definitely falls into this category based on the dozen or so times I have ventured in to browse and shop. Their collection of classic literature painfully lacking...but you can get a shelf full of how-to books on how to not be racist, whatever that means.
All of the politics aside, when I opened 1UV Gallery Studio in February of 2023 I decided to order a subscription for the old standard, Art In America. It had always been such an impressive spread in years past. While in college it was one of the few splurges I made allowance for in my student budget. I eagerly subscribed at nearly $100 a year to have the periodical delivered to 1UV. After only receiving three issues...I have no idea where the others are or went...I am disappointed and disgusted. I guess I'm not cool enough to have the magazine delivered to me. But whatever the reason for the lack of delivery they are free to keep their rag to themselves. The quality of writing and works featured have seriously declined from the publication I held in reverence in the late 90's and early 2000's. It's now nothing more than an over-priced Open Studios catalog. No, I take that back. It's not even that good. In the three issues that were actually delivered to me there was nothing of substance in the pages that I could relate to or cared to read about and I received zero response when I tried to list any of my events through the website portal. The whole thing seems to have become just another "woke" spin outlet for what some small group thinks is "cool" rather than a digest of intellectual creative pursuit.
Eh. I'm non-plussed. This experience, along with the need for me to produce my own marketing material, is in large part what spurred me to begin the publishing of my own magazine, 1UV MONTHLY (originally 1UV QUARTERLY). Over the years I have held positions of both journalist and editor for different publications and have had proficiency at both. Now, with my own magazine I am 100% in control and able to apply the principles of freedom of speech and the press...not to mention share my work with a wider audience as well as offer platform for other free-thinkers to join in should they be interested.
I don't have plans at this time to renew my Art In America subscription, but I do hope that in the future the periodical will be able to return to at least half the caliber of its past intellectual glory. But I suppose that remains to be seen. All I can really do is control my own work. They are free to do as they please. I've never been cool enough to be part of the Art "in-crowd" anyway. Oh well.
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