EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2015 ARTS 5 L.A Zine Fest highlights local creatives BY JOHANNA CALDERON, MEGAN G. RAZZETTI AND DIEGO LINARES Staff Writers The 5th annual L.A Zine Fest showcased a The fest gave a safe platform for people who diverse selection of local publishers Staffat the packedWriter want to be identified as how they feel internally Majestic Downtown on March 7. and tend to face discrimination for how they The fest brings together a community of represent themselves. Some artists even touched artists, educators, musicians, writers and students on how society views beauty based on ideas who collectively transform their ideas into generated through advertisement in mass media. realities through zine-making. Zines are short, Former ELAC student and punk rock musician inexpensive, handmade publications that often Alice Bag had a table set up with her own feature unconventional subjects. previously published books, based on her growing East Los Angeles College student Kristen up in East Los Angeles. Bag also had copies of a Huizar was among 200 artists chosen out of the short zine she made along with Sofia Velasquez 500 entries to display and vend at the festival. entitled “Beauty,” which featured a short Huizar is a studio art major who uses her zine reclamation of beauty to one’s own concept of it. “La Virgen” to portray women in a different light. Rudy Bleu of the Chicano-queer Maricon “It’s like a way of empowering women,” said Collective, incorporates the message of body Huizar. “When I draw them, I draw the shine positivity with men in his work. around them because we’re all different and “Especially like with men, gay men, we have special in various ways. No matter what you say issues with our bodies because we are shown what to us, demean us, we’re always going to shine.” is supposed to be desirable, with muscle and lean The Elan went on to mention that she thought bodies. So I’m just trying to show different types it was awesome that there was diversity among of bodies and putting it out there,” Bleu said. the vendors, with the table across from her being Panels, readings and workshops were also held anarchists who were giving away free zines and at three neighboring locations including The Last people who came from out of state doing the Bookstore. same. Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition also Self-published zine creators and distributors helped provide approximately 30 bikes racks to created a diverse inviting space to share their make transportation to the fest easier and more work with the public. efficient. Lamar goes untitled BY MARCUS CAMACHO of genres. Staff Writer Lamar kept the “Untitled” theme going by naming his eight-track Kendrick Lamar released his first setlist “Untitled” followed by the album, “Untitled Unmastered” since dates they were recorded. winning a Grammy for Best Rap The album gives a refreshing take Album for “To Pimp A Butterfly.” on his music and shows a different The album is a compilation of view of his talents. Lamar takes rap unreleased demos Lamar recorded and incorporates it with other genres when he was making the album, “To and makes great music. Pimp A Butterfly.” “Untitled 3 | 5.28.2013.” makes “Untitled Unmastered” continues the listener think because he the exploration of politically- expresses how he felt when he first charged and psychological themes came into the music business and that were displayed in “To Pimp A the politics in the industry. Butterfly.” Lamar mentions how society An example of his psychological has been separated into groups theme was on “Untitled 05 | and how those groups are drawn to 09.21.2014." when Lamar says materialistic things. “Studied the son of God but still In the song, he mentions his first don’t recognize my flaws/I guess time in the industry and how a man I’m lost, the cost of being successful just wanted to take advantage of him is equal to being neglectful/I pray for the money. my experience helps you.” "Untitled 02 | 06.23.2014." has a CN/MEGAN G. RAZZETTI Lamar, who usually has a West- great beat and a great rap flow. The MONOCHROMATIC DREAM— Rebecca Peloquin curated “WITCH,” an eerie black-and-white colored zine composed of sub- Coast inspired rap style and beats, song shows his struggle with living missions by artists and poets presented with other works at the 5th annual L.A Zine Fest on March 7. experimented with free jazz, avant- in the world with hate as well as his garde and funk styles. struggle with choosing to be bad and Lamar worked with artists who indulging in materialistic things. are known for different genres, like The album features vocals from Zine captivates through collaboration Thundercat, who is a multi-genre Terrace Martin, Thundercat, Bilal, bass player that records jazz fusion SZA, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Punch and of a woman covered in paint that you were never able to burn” lining the zine could have improved by and funk styles, to experiment and Cee-Lo Green. BY DORANY PINEDA help create different styles. The album is available for Staff Writer appears to be ascending from the top. It is a stunning and haunting showcasing a more consistent series the ground, alongside a poem by photograph by Aurelie Davis that of images and poetry that referred Lamar’s talent shines as his purchase on iTunes and available The eerie black-and-white cover Tiana Marie personifying each captures not only the phantom of back to the prologue of the zine. raps flowed to the different types to stream on Spotify. of Rebecca Peloquin’s curated zine, of the four classic elements as a period’s history of witch hunts, That is to say, works that further published by Repel Industries, super powerful, seductive women but the concurring vulnerability express, elaborate and redefine summons a rather unsettling feeling who are unapologetic in “all of and strength that women faced and the first three definitions of this in the gut: a stack of wood lays (their) strength and honesty” and continue to sustain. enduring figure. The inspirations surrounded by trees, and the word destruction. As alluring as many of the are of a Witch is a woman with “WITCH” hovers in bold, black One could perhaps interpret this individual images are and as malignant supernatural powers, letters above it. image, shot by Bryce Darlington, poignant as some of the poetry who is ugly and dying, who is What is most capturing about and its adjacent poem by Marie is, the zine as a whole lacks alluring and charming but who is “Witch” is the monochromatic, as expressing the nature of the cohesion. Its layout feels randomly multifaceted and complex in all her black-and-white visuals within it. witch as a woman with “malignant assembled and some of the images darknesses. It contains mostly drawings and supernatural powers.” feel inconsistent with its “WITCH” Yet, for creating and assembling photographs of women representing Then there is the image of the theme. The photograph of several the “Witch” in just a few short the various understandings of naked, pregnant mother sitting in a out-of-focus telephone poles and weeks, Rebecca Peloquin leaves a “witch” as defined in the opening candlelit room with a skull between the in-focus water droplets feel strong impression not only for her page, with poems accompanying her legs and her children at her completely unrelated to the vast curatorial work, but for donating several of them. side, with the caption, “We are the majority of the work. all the zine’s proceeds to Planned There is, for instance, the image granddaughters of all the witches Though visually appealing, Parenthood. www.ELACCampusNews.com.