Dead Letter News

Creating DLa 23, Part 2: Collecting Content

News from Sunday, August 17, 2008 @ 9:35 AM, PST

In this second post in our series, Creating DLa 23, we discuss the process whereby submissions and other issue content were collected for the project. This may seem like an insignificant part of the process, but with copious content from each of the eight core artists, this was one of the most challenging aspects of the entire affair.

Once the call went out that Ron was orchestrating a new, full-size issue of Dead Letter Art, there was an enthusiastic response from nearly all of the core members. There were also five “guest contributors” interested in submitting content. Thus, within days of Ron’s announcement, content for DLa #23 began pouring in..

For past issues of DLa, we usually found ourselves with plenty of content to produce a 30-page zine quite easily. Not every member would always share content, but even so, we generally would find ourselves with a good two to six submissions from each contributor. After all the content was collected, we would then tie it all together with various thematic elements, words and imagery.

This time, however, things were different. This time, it was announced that the issue was to printed in full color, with plush softcover binding and the whole bit. As soon as members and contributors realized this, the content began to flow. After all, nearly every other issue we had ever produced was almost entirely in black-&-white. The opportunity to see some of our recent werks published in full color inspired many of us to submit much more than usual.

Currently, many of the core DLa members are located in different cities. We have Kalacakra, Sui Lan and Osseus residing in Seattle, ThaneC living in Portland, FCU keeping it real in Spokane (and currently, Saudi Arabia), and the rest of us chilling in Moses Lake. This locational disparity proved challenging throughout the production process, requiring us to resynchronize and streamline a reasonably effective content delivery and communication protocol. Relying on email, snail mail, FTP, and hand-delivered hardcopies (guess who), all content was eventually delivered, collected and organized.

Reviewing the content submission process, there were several things that worked well, and several things that failed to benefit the effort. The things that worked well (for future reference) involved setting deadlines, using file-naming protocols, and consolidating emails into a minimal number of threads. Things that would have improved the process include having contributors send all content at the same time, setting limits to the number of contributions, and pre-formatting as much content as possible.

Although the content collection and organization process continued throughout the duration of the project, within a few weeks we had received a substantial majority of the art, photos, words, and other content that would eventually appear in the issue. When it was all said and done, the content archive for DLa 23 topped 500 files, organized in more than 25 folders. This was far more content than we had anticipated, and the work of organizing and preparing the content had just begun..

Next in the Creating DLa 23 series: “Part 3: Content Preparation”

Posted by:   Perishable [ Edited on: 08/17/08 ] | [ 0 ] Leave a Comment »

Creating DLa 23, Part 1: From There to Here

News from Monday, August 11, 2008 @ 4:36 PM, PST

24 issues and counting.. Kicking off this series of micro-posts on the creation of DLa 23, we see the mechanism by weech DLa 23 first began. It had been several years since the last issue of Dead Letter Art was released. The last issue, of course, was the ultra low-key Halloween issue[1], which was produced in October of 2004. After that, circumstance continued to separate the DLa members, leaving only occasional email and random telephone conversation to keep the group together. Soon, a couple of years had passed with nary a peep from that low-riding art phenomenon otherwise known as DLa. As 2006 reared its head, Dead Letter Art seemed “dead” indeed.

Fortunately, around the middle of 2006, DLa members Osseus and Perishable began planning for the “next evolution” of DLa. Work on a new website[2] had begun, new issues were planned, and Osseus even agreed to finish up the long-awaited Texture Issue[3], also known as DLa #20[4]. As momentum continued to build, communication within the group increased and collective activity intensified (relatively speaking). In early 2007, after much work and some help from 88teeth, Perishable launched the new DLa website. This event was followed immediately by a full Dead Letter Art reunion in Moses Lake, along with a specially prepared DLa Newzletter featuring all the latest from the DLa posse.

As informative and inspiring as it was to create, the DLa Newzletter did not pretend to be a new, full-fledged issue of Dead Letter Art. Working with ThaneC to create the issue was extremely beneficial, however, as it refreshed our fading familiarity with the desktop-publication process: formatting, layout, design, imagery, text, fonts, printing — it was all there for the Newzletter, only on a much smaller scale. Once the issue was complete, it was like, “oh yeah, that’s how it’s done..”

As the next year or so passed, friendships were (re)strengthened and the inspiration of Dead Letter Art continued to flow beneath the surface, frequently manifesting itself through decidedly “non-DLa” outlets. As the beginning months of 2008 crept in, the one known as FCU summoned his creative influence to pursue a challenging goal: Dead Letter Art Volume Twenty Three. Yes it had been over three years since the last issue. Yes members of the collective were located in different cities. Yes the idea was too irresistible to refuse.

Next in the Creating DLa 23 series: “Part 2: Collecting Content”

• [1] That would be DLa 22, the ghastly Halloween issue.
• [2] This would be the current site, or if the site has somehow managed to change since the time of this writing, the site design in question was the red, gold, and black site with the nifty drop-top full-screen JavaScript tricks.
• [3] The texture issue was not complete when the DLa issue archive was originally constructed. Thus, its representation fails to convey the full scope of the project.
• [4] Osseus first began work on the Texture issue in September of 2003. At that time, DLa had just released issue #19, so logically the next issue — “Texture” — was designated as issue #20. While waiting for its release, DLa pushed forward another issue that was numbered as 20.5, in anticipation of the 20th issue. Now that issue 20 has been released, the total number of zines in the DLa series is 24, even though the latest issue is numbered as 23.

Posted by:   Perishable [ Edited on: 08/11/08 ] | [ 0 ] Leave a Comment »

DLa Weekend Rendezvous in Seattle

News from Sunday, March 02, 2008 @ 3:06 PM, PST

DLa Tuf in Seattle, 2008 Last weekend, core members of DLa reunited in Seattle and enjoyed a completely inspiring art session at Ladro’s Cafe. The festivities began the day before, when ThaneC and Perishable threw down tuf with several hours of high-octane collaborative creativity. The evening was spent at the downtown Seattle Travel Lodge, which delighted us with some pretty major upgrades. After grabbing a quick bite and a couple of espressos to go, we completely chilled out with a little Black Sabbath, Beatles, and Cypress Hill. Late into the evening, several choice collabz were accomplished, photographed, and chopped up real proper-like for FCU’s impending production of the next long-awaited issue of Dead Letter Art.

The next day, ThaneC and Perishable pulled up tuf in the Honza and returned once again to the lush University of Washington campus. As the clouds broke, the day manifested a plethora of deluxe photographic opportunities. Equipped to the gills with multiple cameras, an abyss of digital memory, and pocketfuls of replacement batteries, we proceeded to collect a few hundred megabytes of premeditated, well-composed digital images of everything from twisted bark macros to abstract architectural compositions. By around noon, we set up an afternoon meeting with fellow core heads, Osseus and Sui Lan, sharpened our cameras and set our sights on shooting the magnificent mechanical ruins currently rusting into oblivion at spacious GasWorks Park.

For a solid two-point-something hours, the fenced-off mountains of abandoned industrialized atrocity unfolded beneath beautiful clear blue skies and shining sun. With such prime weather conditions — extremely rare for February in Seattle — we were able to completely focus on the visual exploration and photographic expression of the ominously inspiring landscape. So absorbed in the moment, time had quickly vanished, leaving us to conclude the event with a surreal gathering of battling warriors, clashing weapons, and friendly conversation. Memory cards thusly stuffed, and batteries feeling weak, we exited the park and made our way downtown for our imminent rendezvous with the Honorable Osseus and Sui Lan sans.

After a brisk walk through the bustling streets of downtown Seattle, the four of us met at Bauhaus Cafe and quickly relocated to the ultra-laid-back and musically gifted Ladro’s Cafe. Unwinding over delicious coffee and intriguing conversation, we soon found ourselves mixing news with ideas, projects with plans — business with pleasure. As the evening unfolded, discussion gave way to drawing, as each of us advanced work on multiple collaborative efforts. Within moments, several hours had passed and we found ourselves deep into the flow — collectively focused on the present moment and grooving with some incredibly complex background music, drawing, creating, flowing..

Eventually, our collaborative festivities had run their course. We concluded the evening with casual reflections, light banter, and loose plans. Once again, DLa has demonstrated its propensity to flow with art, ideas, and creativity — a clear reminder that the best may be yet to come..

Posted by:   Perishable [ Edited on: 03/18/08 ] | [ 2 ] Leave a Comment »

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