Stereo
International publication that sets out to inspire artists to collaborate
Stereo was the initiative of a small group of designers and artists. In four years’ time Stereo had formed fruitful collaborations with over 50 artists and designers in five publications and more than 20 exhibitions internationally. The printed magazine is sold in 17 shops in nine different countries spread over three continents (and of course, on our website).
Stereo has addressed the magazine production process in The Magazine (2nd issue), lost ideologies in La Revolution, c’est Chic (3rd issue), the open source and the internet in Remote Control (4th issue) and time and space in Non Stop (5th issue).
We published the magazine every six months, largely self-funded. With every issue shape and size changed, editions are hand-numbered and the first 50 have been released as special editions. These SE's are originally boxed with lots of extras like silkscreen prints, editioned art works, (audio) CDs, a T-shirt, etc.
Alongside the printed matter, Stereo has been involved with new media since its conception. We commissioned Media artist and Web developer Nick Koning to build online sketchbooks back in 2003/4, on which all members could log on, upload and position sketches, found images and texts.
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Jaffadwarsstr 46b, 3061 JS
- Category: Art
- Periodicity: Bi-Annual
- Language: English
- Format: Variable format
- Circulation: 1,500
- Price: 7 €
- Web: http://www.stereopublication.com
No longer published
3 issues released from 18 january 2004.Limited editioned independent publication in changing format. Content evolves around a given theme.
Exclusive Interview
"when the artworks arrive at my desk, it always feels like getting presents"
What is your magazine about?
Our publication is about many things, the most obvious one is the theme we give, but it’s also about the people that work together to create a spread (hence the name Stereo). We love magazines, but we also love to alter the process of magazine-making and open it up more. We hope to inspire.
Who’s behind the project? Tell us about the founders, their backgrounds and their motivations!
The Stereo core team is a group of friends that met at the art academy in Rotterdam. I initiated the first publication together with Joris, and I coordinate most of it now. A lot of us have an illustration background but we were all doing stuff outside our ‘discipline’ of art. We sensed the lack of a real workfield between art and applied art in print media so we thought we’d create one (which became the publication). We set out to involve more people internationally, and organize our own Stereo exhibitions…
How do you produce one issue? How much time do you spend on it? How big is your team?
We work with seven editors, and spend as much time on Stereo as needed. Still, we try to produce (almost) 2 issues a year. Since the last issue we have started to invite talented graphic designers to come up with an overall layout concept for each publication. The content is created by participants, they’re asked to create a spread in collaboration with somebody else, preferably from another field of art.
What have been the important steps in the life of your magazine?
1) To get started, 2) to keep going…
Which are the key incredients for the success of your magazine?
The participants network, when their works arrive at my desk, it always feels like getting presents. Every issue is different. And also the fact that we relate the publication strongly with its ‘live’ presentations, in other words; we relate print to art.
What are the difficulties you are confronted with? What would be “the” thing to help the magazine to improve?
Well, money is the muscle of god… and we are currently organising ourselves better internally (e.g. founding the Stereo Foundation) which hopefully leads to a better product in the future.
Where do you want the magazine to be in five years?
Tokyo, Barcelona, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Berlin, Sao Paolo, New York, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Paris, L.A., Abu Dhabi, Antwerp, Brussels, Luxemburg, Vienna, La Paz, ShangHai, Vladivostok, maybe New Orleans will have opened a bookstore by then as well?
Tell us about your audience! Who are the readers of your magazine?
It probably comes down to the ‘for us by us’ principle which means creatives of all sorts will be the most likely audience. We do aim to reach a wider variety of people…we definitely don’t want to be elitist, we love sexy pictures as well as intellectualism.
Is remaining independent important to you? Is it part of the strategy?
Strategy means everything is planned out from the start…Stereo ‘strategy’ is rather a ‘flow’. Stereo is not a big magazine and stands more in the tradition of art(ists) publications. We are non-profit, work and distribute through our own participant network, and so far we have had some sponsoring but no advertising and were able to work on a voluntary basis. This experience has been super inspiring, since everybody was working for the love of the medium or their art. With a business attitude I am sure this would not have been the same.
Still we need sponsoring, funds or ads to survive. But advertisers should not tell us what to publish or not because freedom is the basis of our creativity. History proves that far more interesting stuff has been done by independent minds.
Besides, most of us work within a commercial framework professionally, I think Stereo is a means to escape that.
What’s your relationship with advertisement? Does it influence your content? Do you care about advertising-driven-editorials?
Personally, my relation to advertising is highly ambiguous. I can enjoy a creative, smart advertisement, but I resent sneaky ways of getting an unsuspecting reader to read your commercial message. I mean, an editorial illustration, or even an artwork like a canvas with a company logo! And I don’t mean Andy Warhol! I reckon this invading in content of art is clearly a sign of disrespect, and in news-media it’s even dangerous.
Still, I am realistic and Stereo needs advertisement or sponsoring. A company working with a publication because there are mutual benefits sounds great to me. Unfortunately in reality, corporate money often dictates, and it is not spent very adventurous because it needs to reach as many people as possible, that is why I am skeptical. I praise the companies with a sense of adventurism, and hope to work with them in the future.
Do you think that magazine readers still need to watch TV?
I think people should watch less TV and start enjoying independent magazines.
Which is your relationship with your printer? Does he play a main role in your development?
I dropped the printer of issue #2 because I was not satisfied with the quality. We found a printer that for instance doesn’t mind if we stand next to the press to check colors and stuff. I think this kind of relation with your printer is really important. These guys are happy to work with people who actually care about good quality printing, and are therefore also more willing to think along and help. We don’t have a big sponsordeal with them though…
Which magazines did influence you most? What are you looking for in other magazines?
‘Wendingen’ is a Dutch architectural magazine from the twenties and thirties, they also invited diverse artists. El Lissitski made a brilliant cover for them once. I grew up with skateboarding magazines, Arkitip and Lodown are the more recent examples that I admire in that genre. There are many good ones out there right now, independent or not, too many to mention…
What do you think of your issue 01, when you look back at it?
Bunch of amateurs…no, it works quite well, especially the special edition is good, considering the limited budget we had. The ‘Stereo’ concept of people collaborating was not consistent yet. And I remember I was annoyed at the time because another magazine in Rotterdam accidentally came out with exactly the same size (A5- oblong) around the same time, but they never got passed the ‘0’ edition. Hah.
What question did you never ask in your magazine but would have liked to?
Mum, what did you really think of my magazine?
How many magazines do you buy / get / read each month? Do you qualify yourself a maniac?
I do not buy that many actually, I am a very critical magazine-consumer, or maybe just a tightass with money. I have a subscription to a Dutch art-critique mag, Eye magazine and until recently Lodown magazine. For the rest I buy or swap all sorts of magazines very irregularly. I wouldn’t call myself a maniac, although committing so much time to publish Stereo may not be considered sane by some either…
E-mail interview from “06.09.2005”. © Colophon2007.com – Mike Koedinger Editions SA (Luxembourg)
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Listen to the Stereo
What is your magazine about?
Firstly it's about getting people together to work on a spreadpage for our magazine. Preferable people coming from different creative workfields. It's about breaking the boundaries between the artistic disciplines, which are usually very strictly maintained when making magazines.
Secondly it's a fun research the broader realm of publishing. That's why we also developed the 'online sketchbooks', and hosted exhibitions alongside the paper magazine.
Who's behind the project? Tell us about the founders, their backgrounds and their motivations!
Basically six boys and girls who met at the art academy in Rotterdam. Most of us were starting out as freelancers, as graphic designer, illustrator or artist (or all of the above). The Stereo publication was a great opportunity to show our 'free' work, or work that we couldn't make for clients. From our early interdisciplinary attitude the idea grew to make a publication that had this crossover mentality woven into the working process. In other words we asked people to do collaborations...
How do you produce one issue? How much time do you spend on it? How big is your team?
We make up a theme with the core group of editors, then we start inviting people. The 'team' starts with six, but per issue sometimes fifty people work together to make the pages. We usually give total freedom to participants, to create their spread. So most of the editing is done beforehand by merely choosing people who we know make good work.
What have been the important steps in the life of your magazine?
Just begin, and then keep going. Looking back I think we should given distribution more attention though.
Which are the key ingredients for the success of your magazine?
The key ingredients are the participants. Nothing more and nothing less. Their energy and creativity gave is the inspiration to do the project five times over.
What are the difficulties you are confronted with? What would be the thing to help the magazine to improve?
Distribution for the mag. But the 'raison d'etre' of the Stereo project was first and foremost the collaborations that were formed, and these proved to work quite successfully.
Where do you want the magazine to be in five years?
In the museum of extinct media, next to the Götenburg bible.
Tell us about your audience! Who are the readers of your magazine?
Well firstly the people who worked on it. Secondly a broad audience of anyone interested in art and design. We got a lot of response from the print/magazine community, because basically Stereo is a magazine about magazine making. Stereo created an audience really, instead of the other way round.
Is remaining independent important to you? Is it part of the strategy?
It was. Independency is really down to money. We did not want any sponsors telling us what to do. Our strategy was to seriously underpay people, or not pay at all. We always clearly stated in advance that this project was for fun, inspiration and to stage your work, and that we were not able to pay people. We also never payed ourselves. This works, but not for the long run. The Stereo foundation tried to get government funding but despite the attention and appraise we got from the design and magazine communities, we were deemed not worthy. The City of Rotterdam did support us with funding and paying the unavoidable bills.
What's your relationship with advertisement? Does it influence your content? Do you care about advertising-driven-editorials?
-I refer to my earlier statement I made on this website-
What do you think of your issue 01, when you look back at it?
Great stuff!
Magazine favorite(s) that inspired you in your career.
Wendingen, Lodown, Transworld Skateboarding (early ones).
Do you keep old copies of magazines? If so, what is your favorite in your collection?
I saved all my old skateboarding magazines and a lot of lowdowns. I'm not old enough to have all copies of the Wendingen (this Dutch architectural magazine was published between 1924 and the 1950ties) but I am the proud owner of one of them.
How many magazines do you buy / get / read each month? Do you qualify yourself a maniac?
I am not a maniac, I am very very picky. But the ones I choose to buy I will cherish all my life.
We are compiling answers from some of the most innovative magazine makers around the world today. Who else should we ask?
Back in the day I was very inspired by the free layout approach of David Carson. I think the influence of his work changed the layout of many magazines. We don't really see design revolutions like that anymore in big magazines. Respect to Dave, and those who gave him artistic freedom.
Answered by Arjen de Jong (art director, coordinator)
Magazine: the Stereo publication
Email: info@arjendejong.com
Date: 01-10-2008
Staff
Coordination & Art Director: Arjen de Jong...contact
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