Esopus is a twice-yearly arts magazine featuring fresh, unmediated perspectives on contemporary culture from a wide range of creative professionals. It includes artists’ projects, critical writing, fiction, poetry, visual essays, interviews, and, in each issue, an audio CD.Published by the non-profit Esopus Foundation Ltd., the magazine has a simple mission: to provide an unfiltered, non-commercial space in which creative people and the public can connect in meaningful, productive ways.
Our 17th issue, which is not on newsstands, features contributions from Adam Chodzko, Thomas Lawson, Alyson Shotz, Inge Morath, Local No. 12, Sergey Dvortsevoy, Jim Shepard, Jessica Elsaesser, Rick Stinson, Rich Remsberg, Meursault, Bishop Allen, Old Clump, Sage Redman, Captain Ahab, Corey Dargel, and We Are Augustines, to name only a few. The issue is not only one of our largest; it also contains a record number of removable inserts (124!). SNEAK PREVIEW
ALEX MASKET UPDATE
Alex Masket, the extraordinary autistic artist whose work was featured in Esopus 13, is having a great year. On Feb. 7th, the Jacob Burns Film Center will screen Dennis Conners' film about Masket, "Breaking Boundaries," followed by an opening reception for a show of Masket's work in the Center's gallery. And the U.N. Postal Administration has chosen Alex’s "Kinetic Blue" as one of 8 images in its Autism Awareness commemorative stamp series.Visit Alex's website.
RAY AND BOB BOX AGAIN (AND AGAIN)
The "Ray and Bob Box" exhibition that appeared at Esopus Space in June is now traveling: A fantastic iteration of the show, "Tables of Contents," ran last fall at Arcadia University Art Gallery outside of Philadelphia. Next stop: Berkeley Art Museum!
ESOPUS 17 HAS LAUNCHED!
On November 2nd, contributors, readers, and friends of Esopus helped us celebrate the launch of our 17th issue as well as the opening of the related exhibition "Inge Morath: Bal d"Hiver." You can find photos of the event on our Facebook page.
TRACKS FROM PAST ESOPUS CDS
Every issue of Esopus features a themed CD compilation with songs commissioned by a veritable Who's Who of musicians from the alternative music world. You can access these otherwise-unavailable songs by acts like Grizzly Bear, Stephin Merritt, Neko Case, Dirty Projectors, Frightened Rabbit, Kimya Dawson, and the Mountain Goats by launching our music player. You can also find links to each CD on our comprehensive track list. Enjoy!
ESOPUS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Thanks to Bay Area readers who made it to our San Francisco event at Press: Works on Paper on June 22. The evening kicked off with a contribution from author Katherine J. Lee, who read her remarkable short-story debut, “Reading,” from Esopus 16. Afterwards, Esopus contributors, readers, and supporters had the chance to peruse copies of the entire run of Esopus while getting to know each other a bit better. VIEW PHOTOS
VISIT US ON FACEBOOK
Drop by the Esopus Facebook fan page to check out photos and videos from recent events and much more....
ESOPUS "COVERED" BY THE ATLANTIC
For a recent blog on theatlantic.com called "The Most Beautiful Magazine You Probably Haven't Heard Of," design historian Steven Heller was nice enough to cast an appreciative eye on—and offer a slide show of—the covers of all of the back issues of Esopus.
BONNIE LUCAS OPENING PHOTOS
Thanks to everyone who was able to make it to the opening of "Bonnie Lucas: Collages" at Esopus Space on Tuesday, March 29th. You can view photos of the opening on our Facebook page.
THIRD WHEEL BAND AT ESOPUS SPACE
Huffington Post blogger Michelle Cacciatore recently singled out the up-and-coming roots-Americana group The Third Wheel Band for giving “the best live show I saw in 2010.” The band didn't disappoint at their Esopus Space show on February 10th. You can see a video of their live performance of "Tell You Twice," their foot-stomping track for the Esopus 15: Television CD, on our Facebook page.
MORE KUDOS FOR MARWENCOL
Marwencol, the wonderful documentary about Mark Hogancamp directed by Jeff Malmberg, has been named the best-reviewed documentary of 2010 by film review website Rotten Tomatoes.The film also just won two major Film Independent Spirit Awards. Learn more about Mark's amazing work, which first appeared in Esopus 5, here. And if you haven't yet seen the film, you can find theater listings, a trailer, and much more at the Marwencol website.
"ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES" AT EXIT ART
The Esopus Foundation is proud to be included in "Alternative Histories," an exhibition at NYC's Exit Art that charts the history of New York City alternative art spaces and projects since the 1960s. The show includes audio interviews with founders and staff, a reading room of magazines and publications, documentation, ephemera and narrative descriptions. It runs from September 24 to November 24, 2010.
FLIP THROUGH ESOPUS 14 ONLINE
It's difficult to explain the visceral quality of Esopus to those readers who've never actually held a copy of the magazine in their hands. With that in mind, we decided to create this video, which gives viewers a sense of the experience of flipping through an issue. In this case, it's Esopus 14: Projects, which is currently on newsstands.
Alex Masket, the extraordinary autistic artist whose work was featured in Esopus 13, is having a great year. On Feb. 7th, the Jacob Burns Film Center will screen Dennis Conners' film about Masket, "Breaking Boundaries," followed by an opening reception for a show of Masket's work in the Center's gallery. And the U.N. Postal Administration has chosen Alex’s "Kinetic Blue" as one of 8 images in its Autism Awareness commemorative stamp series.Visit Alex's website.
RAY AND BOB BOX AGAIN (AND AGAIN)
The "Ray and Bob Box" exhibition that appeared at Esopus Space in June is now traveling: A fantastic iteration of the show, "Tables of Contents," ran last fall at Arcadia University Art Gallery outside of Philadelphia. Next stop: Berkeley Art Museum!
ESOPUS 17 HAS LAUNCHED!
On November 2nd, contributors, readers, and friends of Esopus helped us celebrate the launch of our 17th issue as well as the opening of the related exhibition "Inge Morath: Bal d"Hiver." You can find photos of the event on our Facebook page.
TRACKS FROM PAST ESOPUS CDS
Every issue of Esopus features a themed CD compilation with songs commissioned by a veritable Who's Who of musicians from the alternative music world. You can access these otherwise-unavailable songs by acts like Grizzly Bear, Stephin Merritt, Neko Case, Dirty Projectors, Frightened Rabbit, Kimya Dawson, and the Mountain Goats by launching our music player. You can also find links to each CD on our comprehensive track list. Enjoy!
ESOPUS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Thanks to Bay Area readers who made it to our San Francisco event at Press: Works on Paper on June 22. The evening kicked off with a contribution from author Katherine J. Lee, who read her remarkable short-story debut, “Reading,” from Esopus 16. Afterwards, Esopus contributors, readers, and supporters had the chance to peruse copies of the entire run of Esopus while getting to know each other a bit better. VIEW PHOTOS
VISIT US ON FACEBOOK
Drop by the Esopus Facebook fan page to check out photos and videos from recent events and much more....
ESOPUS "COVERED" BY THE ATLANTIC
For a recent blog on theatlantic.com called "The Most Beautiful Magazine You Probably Haven't Heard Of," design historian Steven Heller was nice enough to cast an appreciative eye on—and offer a slide show of—the covers of all of the back issues of Esopus.
BONNIE LUCAS OPENING PHOTOS
Thanks to everyone who was able to make it to the opening of "Bonnie Lucas: Collages" at Esopus Space on Tuesday, March 29th. You can view photos of the opening on our Facebook page.
THIRD WHEEL BAND AT ESOPUS SPACE
Huffington Post blogger Michelle Cacciatore recently singled out the up-and-coming roots-Americana group The Third Wheel Band for giving “the best live show I saw in 2010.” The band didn't disappoint at their Esopus Space show on February 10th. You can see a video of their live performance of "Tell You Twice," their foot-stomping track for the Esopus 15: Television CD, on our Facebook page.
MORE KUDOS FOR MARWENCOL
Marwencol, the wonderful documentary about Mark Hogancamp directed by Jeff Malmberg, has been named the best-reviewed documentary of 2010 by film review website Rotten Tomatoes.The film also just won two major Film Independent Spirit Awards. Learn more about Mark's amazing work, which first appeared in Esopus 5, here. And if you haven't yet seen the film, you can find theater listings, a trailer, and much more at the Marwencol website.
"ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES" AT EXIT ART
The Esopus Foundation is proud to be included in "Alternative Histories," an exhibition at NYC's Exit Art that charts the history of New York City alternative art spaces and projects since the 1960s. The show includes audio interviews with founders and staff, a reading room of magazines and publications, documentation, ephemera and narrative descriptions. It runs from September 24 to November 24, 2010.
FLIP THROUGH ESOPUS 14 ONLINE
It's difficult to explain the visceral quality of Esopus to those readers who've never actually held a copy of the magazine in their hands. With that in mind, we decided to create this video, which gives viewers a sense of the experience of flipping through an issue. In this case, it's Esopus 14: Projects, which is currently on newsstands.
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Esopus Space is currently closed. The gallery will reopen on February 9th with "Willie Alexander: Wall Works," an exhibition of large-scale collages by the legendary rock-and-roll musican Willie Alexander (The Velvet Underground, The Lost). Please join us for a reception for the artist on Wednesday, February 15th, from 6 to 8 p.m. |
| Corey Dargel, "Mr. No Regrets" (CD #17: "Fear Itself") |
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