LETTER
Prorsum is moving forward. Loving both fashion photographers and television stars, gossip columnists and art critics, this publication is the "Approval Matrix," but redone as a number line. It's very democratizing. There's an emphasis on progress, on forward thinking, on Version 2.0, on not getting ahead of ourselves.
But more importantly is the emphasis on communication, not concept. The language in Prorsum bypasses jargon. It seems like such a basic idea, readability. Writers don't necessarily sacrifice sophistication when they use non-technical language. It might take a few more words to get the point across, but writers should communicate their ideas clearly and simply, or see the most effective way to explain an argument. There's as much honor in explaining an idea through an example or giving up the more specific term for the common or more general word. Not doing so can condescend to the reader and turn reading into work. A fast, conversational tone pervades Prorsum. A transcribed interview or an IM conversation isn't off limits. The presentation of these things should be an erotics of culture.
Prorsum is irreverent. It's like what Marc Jacobs says about fashion—how important and fashion shouldn't be used in the same sentence. Fashion is indulgent, a luxury. He says no one should go out of his or her way to conform to his ideas because his garments are only the intersection of his ideas about how people should look and his reaction to what other designers did last season. He's moving the tradition forward. He's not pandering to a specific audience or dictating taste, and neither should magazines. Like his line, a magazine should be an extension of an audience, a component of its cultural citizenship.
But most importantly, magazines should be self-evident. They shouldn't require an explanation. BlackBook doesn't need an explanation to show that it's the bi-coastal, younger New York, and Interview doesn't need to spell out all the ways in which it's Andy Warhol's brainchild. Everything about a magazine should revolve around its central idea. Take i-D, for instance. From the winking, sideways title that seems to taunt Anna Wintour, who shares a motherland with the magazine, to the way it gobbles up said-and-done models, W's sloppy seconds—it's a giant middle finger to high fashion magazines. So, for example, in Prorsum, the fonts I chose, both sans-serif, one tall, the other from the Helvetica family, reflect what I feel is new, noticeable, and capable of breaking through the clutter. And the layout will change with the ongoing development of ideas about freshness.
So how do these things all move forward? It's kitschy and equates art and entertainment. Prorsum doesn't mind blurring the lines. Like Glenn O'Brien said in his article "Art Is a Joke!": "Theater is over. Music is over. Literature is over. Art is hanging on by its press-on nails." So kill it off, and get on with it.
DETAILS
Writers: Art & Culture
Greil Marcus
Michael Musto
Glenn O'Brien
Bill Powers
Elvis Mitchell
Fran Lebowitz
Jefferson Hack
Matt Diehl
Dana Thomas
Stephen Mooallem
Steven Connor
Stephen W. Melville
TJ Clark
Harold Rosenberg
Peter Schjedahl
Nancy Jo Sales
Meghan Daum
Alexandra Marshall
Anthony Haden-Guest
Bruno Maddox
Graham Fuller
More Writers:
Pico Iyer
DBC Pierre
JT Leroy
Ariel Levy
A.M. Homes
Some Featured Photographers & Artists:
Jamie Chard
Miles Aldridge
François-Marie Banier
Brett Ranter
Richard Prince
Paul P
The audience is interested in both the highbrow and the lowbrow. They see both of these as very important to culture, the mass produced and the exclusive, the luxurious and the mundane. Another central theme is taste. The reader isn't afraid to admit that the new Britney Spears song is kind of catchy or that the Fug Girls are hilarious writers. By the same token they appreciate the artistry of Paul P and revere Paul Poiret. Readers are interested in the most forward thinking cultural creators, but don't mind camp appreciate kitsch in a knowing way. They absolutely cannot stand clichés.
25% advertising, 35% front-of-book fodder, 40% features
Total circulation: 465,000 (50,000 newsstand)
Biannual glossy. 450-500 pages.
Sold in major chains, museums, and newsstands
Front-of-book fodder includes: film reviews, previews and personal views; music reviews, previews and personal views; fashion journalism; short art criticism or show reviews; artist/actor/band/writer/architect profiles; interior and industrial design reports; editorial notes; letters; contributor blurbs.
Features include: Book excerpts; long form artist/architect/designer profiles; long form art criticism; editorial fashion; long form cultural commentary; in-depth (but not necessarily cynical) looks at marketing, advertising, and brand identity; interiors.
Most content revolves around either contemporary art or fashion, with architecture or industrial design coming in a close third. All things film and music are front of book and make up about 50% of the fodder.
The choice to make Prorsum a biannual comes from the types of projects and writing within the magazine. Even though the magazine works to sample a broad range of cultural topics, the slower publishing pace allows writers to see if their subjects really have cultural robustness. This effective selection of content is central to the quality and power of the publication.
Website by either Hi-ReS! or CreateThe Group
5 comments:
One contradiction that jumped out at me while reading your letter was in the section where you talk about the "fast, conversational tone" and that "magazines should be self-evident." This confused me because the title of your magazine is a Latin word. Maybe I'm in the minority or not a part of the specific audience you describe, but I had no idea what Prorsum meant. To me, this totally contradicts the easy-read idea which seems to be a major concept behind the magazine.
Also, I wonder if the readership you describe is too elitist or specific. Must the readers love Paul P and hate cliches? I think it's obviously important to understand your readers and cater to their tastes, but does your concept of the people who will be reading your magazine allow for any deviation from this norm, any difference in backgrounds/opinions among your readers?
When reading your editorial letter I get the overall message, mission and audience you are trying to engage; however, this magazine seems to be geared towards a wide variety of issues and pop culture. So is your magazine pertaining more to culture than art; and if you could redo your mission statement or recreate the content of your magazine, how much more would be dedicated to the arts and in which ways?
I agree that there is an air of contradiction in this magazine's aim. It seems that a magazine whose first aim is "moving forward" would not bode well as a biannual publication, even with such a large circulation goal.
I like your ideas, but what would separate PRORSUM other magazines with similar ambitions (i.e. Wallpaper*, Anthem, etc.)?
The choice of the high-and-narrow title-font and "something from the Helvetica family" will have some trouble "breaking through the clutter"--this late in the decade there are already troves of culture/art/music magazines using this combo.
I agree with Kyle, in that the publication scheme seems at odds with the general tone of the magazine. I could be off base, but it seems that the point of fashion is that it's fleeting, that what was six months ago no longer pertains to what is today. If you want to tear the whole thing down you're going to have to make the whole thing fast and dirty, I think.
Sorry—I don't buy this criticism of the biannual publication.
If it's published twice a year, and it has a strong fashion focus, I wonder when it would hit newsstands. Designers premier major collections twice a year, six months before they're in stores. A fall/winter issue in August and a spring/summer issue in February would be timed perfectly.
And let's not forget the other magazines that don't publish monthly, but are still (or were) viewed as cutting edge: V, Pop, Another, late-90s or turn-of-the-millennium BlackBook, Purple, Visionaire...
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