“I think camp totally includes things that are both gross and beautiful at the same time. They're over the top and horrible, but also great all at once.”
Zines have a long history as small, self-published booklets that tend to focus on very niche communities. Some exist as quirky compilations of collages and other artwork while others serve as manifestos or spread intense political propaganda. The contents of a zine are only limited by the mind of their creators. Aspects of camp often arise as well in zine culture as the kitsch and tacky becomes glorified and exalted.
In our contemporary digital age (one full of overwhelming content), physical zines provide both a sense of nostalgia as well as an alternative form of receiving information. Alison Piepmeier shares in Girl Zines Making Media, Doing Feminism how, “in an age of electronic media, when the future of the book itself is often called into question, and when the visual and textual landscape is dominated by an increasingly voracious culture industry, zines endure.” As Piepmeier explains, they initiate a more intimate connection between the reader, author, and content. Zines often bring about intimate, affectionate connections between their creators and readers that are only made possible by the materiality of the zine medium. The medium provides artists and writers with a new sense of agency in disseminating their work.
Due to the wide range of possibilities, artist Claire Thompson has embraced the medium of zines as a central part of her practice. Throughout much of her work, she intentionally places notions of beauty and grotesqueness in juxtaposition with one another. This practice continues into her zine making. Beautifully Grotesk explores these works where blonde bombshells succumb to misfortune while rotting castles are built with teeth. In this exhibition, we see notions of camp drive Claire’s work into places of ludicrous tragedy, as described by camp icon John Waters. By printing these zines and disseminating them at low cost or free, Claire is able to share her thoughts with not only her local community, but the world at-large.
Claire Thompson recently formed Grotesk Press, an independent printing press, with her printing partner, after they purchased their own risograph printer. They recently published their first issue of Rival with their second issue coming later this Fall.
Beautifully Grotesk was on display at the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library in Lexington, KY from August 30-December 31, 2022. You can read more about Claire in my studio visit with her, published on UnderMain.
Jayne Mansfield's Head, Jayne & the Devil, and Dead Blondes, 2022
Three 5” x 7” Risograph Printed Zines
From The Jayne Mansfield Cycle series
“If the Devil works hard, Jayne Mansfield works harder”
Consisting of three 5x7 risograph printed zines, The Jayne Mansfield Cycle series explores both the glorious and tragic lives of Hollywood bombshells and “bimbos” through the framing of Jayne Mansfield’s life (and death). Beginning with the 1967 car wreck that led to her death, Thompson glorifies the rumored (and debunked) decapitation of Mansfield in Jayne Mansfield's Head. She frames her death as a great cultural beheading, similar to the likes of Marie Antoinette. This is followed by Jayne & the Devil where Thompson elaborates on the preposterously outrageous relationship between iconic bimbo Jayne Mansfield and dark sorcerer Anton LaVey. Here, she continues to combine beauty with the grotesque. Lastly, she ends this trilogy with a recounting of some of the glamorous and tragic Dead Blondes of Hollywood's yesteryear. Dead Blondes showcases the stories and tragic deaths of stars like Peg Entwhistle, Thelma Todd, Marilyn Monroe, and others. Here, Thompson writes how “to go down the lineage of Hollywood blondes is to trace one of the main veins of movie history and the culture disseminated by the pictures created there.”
The Ghost of Anna Nicole Smith, 2021
5” x 7” Risograph Printed Zine
Even before creating The Jayne Mansfield Cycle series, Thompson had a passion for exposing the dark and ugly side of fame and success. In The Ghost of Anna Nicole Smith, Thompson connects the life and death of Anna Nicole Smith to Britney Spears’ infamous head shaving, Judy Garland’s death, and the Stonewall riots. This zine showcases how grief and idolatry can lead to a breaking point and the ways that we embody the tragedy of celebrities. It is not, however, necessarily based in tragedy, but also shares an appreciation for these Hollywood starlets. Thompson makes sure to emphasize that the ghost of Anna Nicole Smith is watching over not only Britney, but also Thompson herself. So even in this grief, there is a sense of comfort.
I Want a Barbie, 2022
5” x 7” Risograph Printed Zine
Inspired by Zoe Leonard’s “I want a president” poem from 1992, I Want A Barbie reimagines this activist work through her own Hollywood lenses. In this zine, Thompson embraces Barbie as a stand-in for the tragically ludicrous celebrities that she admires. The qualities that Thompson wants from her Barbie are varied and at times contradictory. What Thompson wants is not a perfect Barbie, but rather someone who has gone through tragedy and hardships and has emerged on the other side. Though it is clear through her work that tragedy in our lives never ends, we must learn to move forward and embrace the camp of it all.
“I want a Barbie who knows exactly what I mean.”
A Pocket Guide to Camp, 2022
5” x 7” Risograph Printed Zine
Camp continues as a driving force behind Thompson’s work. A Pocket Guide to Camp is her way of guiding us as readers to appreciate things in our own camp way. She builds off of the work of Susan Sontag, Mark Booth, Andrew Ross, and John Waters to provide us with an admittedly incorrect and unfinished definition of “camp”. In this zine, she continues her assertion that camp is an underutilized method of cultural resistance. She ends this zine with her non-comprehensive and incomplete list of camp films for us as readers to go and watch. Have you seen any of these films?
Tragedy & Farce: a meditation on Camp and Marxism, 2021
5.5” x 4.25” Risograph Printed Zine
In Tragedy & Farce: a meditation on Camp and Marxism, Thompson argues for the use of camp as a marxist tool for rejecting bourgeois ideological control. Camp, used as a verb in this sense, embodies “patheticness combined with sincerity and reverence.” In order for camp to work, you must be earnest about it. It is an intentional subversion of popular culture and, as Thompson asserts, a crucial way to undercut bourgeois cultural authority. In the end she leaves us with a new mantra to live by.
“Love camp. Live for camp. Believe in camp.
Camp will set us free.”
Rival, Vol. I & Vol. II
5.5” x 8.5” Risograph Printed Zines
This is the first and second edition of Rival from Grotesk Press: Thompson’s new printing press. You can see more @groteskpress.
Mini Risograph Zines
For Laika, 2021
Mini Risograph Printed Zine
Kitty, 2021
Mini Risograph Printed Zine
Teeth Castle, 2022
Mini Risograph Printed Zine
The Artist: Claire Thompson
Want to learn more about Claire Thompson and her work?
Read Beautifully Grotesk: A Studio Visit with Claire Thompson
