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Japanese Women's Contemporary Artist Zines

 Collection
Identifier: H-Mss-1026

  • Staff Only

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Collection of 124 zines, all created by young female Japanese artists. These publications represent the entire output of the "Feminine" show - an exhibition of zines curated by Tokyo store Zine's Mate, presented exclusively at the 2011 New York Art Book Fair.

These artist publications utilize a wide variety of production techniques - ranging from black-and-white offset to full-color process - in various sizes and formats. A wide range of artist mediums are represented, including illustration, lettering, photography and handcraft. Many zines included are produced in very limited editions of 100 or less. Some zines include an incredible assortment of realia and found objects.

Often written in both English and Japanese, many of the zines reflect a heavy Western influence, with artistic and semantic interpretations of English language. Some feature the use of pejorative words commonly directed at women, evoking similar statements that originated in 1990s American underground Riot Grrrl fanzines. Those zines are often credited with popularizing what has now become known as "third wave feminism," and these Japanese zines could be viewed comparatively to the spirit of the Riot Grrrl movement.

Dates

  • Creation: 2005-2011
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 2009 - 2011

Language of materials

Languages represented in the collection: English and Japanese as well as a variety of other languages including French, German, Thai to name a few.

Access

This collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.

Extent

6 boxes

Abstract

Collection of 124 zines, all created by young female Japanese artists. These publications represent the entire output of the "Feminine" show - an exhibition of zines curated by Tokyo store Zine's Mate, presented exclusively at the 2011 New York Art Book Fair. This collection reflects an important trend in underground print publishing among young women in Japan, and captures the zeitgeist of an exploding cultural phenomenon.

Organization and Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by artist’s last name and then alphabetically by title of work.

Physical location

Please consult repository.

Source of Acquisition

Purchased by Carrie Marsh with XXXX funds, 2013?

Accruals

No additions to the collection are anticipated.

Processing Information

All zines are new and in excellent condition. Some had never been opened, and were still wrapped in their original packaging, while the majority was contained in cellophane bags. Any packaging material, including cellophane bags, determined to be non-archival was discarded. Items consisting of multiple parts were placed in archival envelopes. Most items were placed in folders individually, except where items were small enough to be placed in individual envelopes with 2 or 3 envelopes per folder. Items laid in were left in place. Photographs were sleeved in mylar and put back in their original location.

Title
Guide to the Japanese Women's Contemporary Artist Zines
Author
Lisa L. Crane, MLIS
Date
© 2014
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the 01 - Special Collections & Archives, The Claremont Colleges Library Repository

Contact:
800 North Dartmouth Ave
Claremont CA 91711 United States