Do It Yourself Words by Carly Davies
With the advancements in technology that brought us affordable digital printing, online blogging and methods of web-based communication that eliminate cost and geographical limitations, it would have been safe to assume that traditional methods of printing, publishing and communicating via handmade zines would soon be redundant. So why is it that the traditional and the hand-crafted seem to be experiencing a renaissance? During the past three years, I have immersed myself in a close community of people who strongly believe in the punk ethic of ‘doing-it-yourself’; a network of like-minded individuals who value the importance of helping one another and living a more ethical lifestyle. For me, this has included contributing artwork to and creating zines, designing posters, creating band artwork, producing screen prints and helping promote and organise not-for-profit gigs. Zines are central to this culture; embracing and promoting anything independent and encouraging an enthusiasm and confidence to do things for yourself.
The advances in print technology during the last decades of the 20th century (in particular the introduction of affordable photocopying rates and at home printers) sparked a paper revolution. It provided a platform; anyone with an idea and the motivation could now produce small runs of their own publications easily, relatively quickly and at attainable prices.
During the 80s there was an explosion of zines among the underground punk sub-culture as a reaction against the government. The youth of the 70s, 80s and 90s were unsettled, agitated at the way the country was run and keen to speak out against the people in power. The zine provided a platform for the unheard to voice their opinions and to communicate with others. The punk subculture still survives through individuals who embrace the DIY ethic (like Nathan Blaker of NGNG) and, with it, the zine still holds its place. It represents a form of communication and method of expression that remains uncensored and unrestricted, unlike other media such as blogs and commercial magazines.
A new wave of illustrators is referring back to the traditional, teaching themselves older methods of printing such as letterpress and screen printing (like Mark Pavey of Dead Methods and Liam Barrett.) It is much to do with the fact that traditional methods, such as lithography, actually allow you to be part of the process of printing. You can personally alter the outcome of the print during the process of printing. Variants, such as pressure, speed, amount of ink, contaminants and human error, adjust the result each time, whether intentional or not. These distinctions result in no two prints being identical.
Much like William Morris’ Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th century, there has been resurgence in the perceived importance of the hand-crafted.
When something is crafted by hand and imperfections and tactility are perceivable, a romantic quality is given to an object that digital methods are not capable of. The time, thought and hard work that goes into producing something by hand is appreciated far more than the clean, homogeneous, unlimited print runs of digitally-produced publications. It is the introduction of the Internet to the mainstream which has had the most profound effect on the DIY scene. It opened up a whole new world of communicating; one without geographical limitations or financial restrictions.
42 / Paper Runway