>I opened the September issue of Art Monthly and there it was: an interview with Jorge Pardo. Unlike the two page spread advertising Georgio Armani followed by the two page spread for Wunderkind with a Harold-and-Maudian theme, *ahem* September issue of Art Review (at least ArtForum had the decency to lead with 46 pages of gallery & exhibition ads before getting around to any semblance of content) conversely, Art Monthly has done the wildly unpredictable in the world of periodicals. They are giving you what you came for right out of the gate. No, seriously. Page 1.
As mentioned in my preceding parenthetical mumblings, ArtForum's Summer edition doled out 46 pages of ads before you even get to the editor's letter, and Art Review masquerades as French Vogue for the FIRST FOUR pages plus that twist of the knife with Max Mara on the back cover. ArtForum weighs in at a whopping 390+ pages of perfect bound glossy full color squared-off glory while Art Monthly is a polite 44 pages of black and white text and imagery stapled and ready for consumption. ArtForum seems organized more like traditional or mainstream magazines starting off with ads ads ads, then notable deaths, books, films, media (Battlestar Gallactica? Really?), then architecture. Finally around page 275 we get to the main feature on "the museum" with a myriad of short essays written by various members of the art world population. The ads are dominant. They are eye catching, full color, full page, and in your face. Art Monthly on the other hand begins with an interview and has no color images. The ads are minimal. Most are only a quarter page, modest in design, and unobtrusive. They are clearly not the focus.
ArtForum is overstimulation. Art Monthly is a magazine about art.
No comments:
Post a Comment