As an art student (please groan heavily and/or leave now) I made what I think were an equally cringy/fun set of books published under my corporate alter ego "The Centennial State Electrigram Company" At the time I was and still am obsessed with creating art with single individuals or small groups of people in mind then exposing that work for mass consumption. Little things made big, shaking the Devil out of every detail. Creating the books was so joyful and seeing them be read felt like a major triumph. I want to try to catch more of that lightning.
(A nice picture of a cow in Devon, England just because I thought you'd like it. Congratulations, you just received an Electrigram)
Yours truly writing about the series eight years ago:
Electrigram works are often personal correspondence between friends and other collaborators across the United States and throughout the globe. The idea behind Electrigram Company work is to explore, strengthen, and promote interpersonal relationships through an exchange of writing and imagery. I believe the delay created by the physical shipment of the work gives collaborators time to live their lives and react in slower more thoughtful ways as opposed to using the quick-paced, digital conveyances that are so ubiquitous today.
Even back then I was incredibly anxious about social media (I've come to find my greatest friendships have been forged completely outside of any of it) and I knew where inspiration comes from, the audience. That brings me to the need (urge? desire?) to create a new book, an Electrigram IV (that will undoubtedly be the title) in the years since the original series I've found a lot to look up to (read: be jealous of) in the world of self-publishing. For example, the thoughtful, quiet work of Craig Mod and Matt Hranek's indelible and sickeningly stylish WM Brown Project.
I'm going to rip some pages out of Craig Mod's playbook and use the regular posting in this dumb blog thing to hopefully act as the catalyst and find something to scoop into a book-shaped object. We'll see how this goes.
