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Mary Tasillo
1. Who are you!? What zine/project/form of creative genius are you responsible for?
I'm Mary Tasillo. I'm one half of the founding power behind The Soapbox: Independent Publishing Center, which houses a zine library and print studio. I also make one-off zines (as well as artist books and other paper art) under the press name Citizen Hydra Projects, and am half of the zine How Not to Flirt.
2. How does feminism relate to your work?
Where to begin? I've always been interested in connecting social and political issues with personal narrative, and feminism seems very innate to me, so it often makes its way into the things I make, whether it be through using Craig's List personal ads to shed light on unbalanced expectations being placed on women, or advocating though better communication while venting dating frustration, or talking about what it means, as a woman, to walk out in public through city streets. In work with The Soapbox -- archiving the self-published narratives of others and teaching and otherwise supporting self-publication -- feminism is part of a larger valuation of social justice, in helping anyone share their story in a zine or print.
3. Who are your feminist role models?
I feel very fortunate to have been a teenager in the nineties, when there were a lot of strong visible women in music and even living in a small town I could go to the drugstore for a copy of Sassy magazine and read about a Bikini Kill/Huggy Bear 7-inch, get advice from the likes of Beck and Iggy Pop in the Dear Boy column (to say nothing about all the rad women who were contributing), and get solid sex education. Which is to say that there are a ton of musicians and culture makers from the nineties and beyond who fit the bill of role model quite well.
The writers Rebecca Solnit & Brenda Hillman, for figuring out how to juggle politics and art.
4. Who or what has influenced your work, and in what ways?
Lynda Barry's approach to memory, the way the past is so connected to the present for her, influences my thoughts about narrative. Maira Kalman proves that you can be successful writing grown-up picture essays. Peter Schumann of Bread & Puppet Theater proves that you can write a deeply serious essay balancing text and images. The prints of the German Expressionist Kathe Kollwitz and contemporary political poster work of Justseeds artists are influential in always reminding me that visual expression can impact our political and social culture.
5. Answer a question you've always wanted to be asked.
Yes, I would love to take a boat down the Mississippi with you, and make paper along the way while you (fill in your creative endeavor here - I can think of a bunch).....
I'm Mary Tasillo. I'm one half of the founding power behind The Soapbox: Independent Publishing Center, which houses a zine library and print studio. I also make one-off zines (as well as artist books and other paper art) under the press name Citizen Hydra Projects, and am half of the zine How Not to Flirt.
2. How does feminism relate to your work?
Where to begin? I've always been interested in connecting social and political issues with personal narrative, and feminism seems very innate to me, so it often makes its way into the things I make, whether it be through using Craig's List personal ads to shed light on unbalanced expectations being placed on women, or advocating though better communication while venting dating frustration, or talking about what it means, as a woman, to walk out in public through city streets. In work with The Soapbox -- archiving the self-published narratives of others and teaching and otherwise supporting self-publication -- feminism is part of a larger valuation of social justice, in helping anyone share their story in a zine or print.
3. Who are your feminist role models?
I feel very fortunate to have been a teenager in the nineties, when there were a lot of strong visible women in music and even living in a small town I could go to the drugstore for a copy of Sassy magazine and read about a Bikini Kill/Huggy Bear 7-inch, get advice from the likes of Beck and Iggy Pop in the Dear Boy column (to say nothing about all the rad women who were contributing), and get solid sex education. Which is to say that there are a ton of musicians and culture makers from the nineties and beyond who fit the bill of role model quite well.
The writers Rebecca Solnit & Brenda Hillman, for figuring out how to juggle politics and art.
4. Who or what has influenced your work, and in what ways?
Lynda Barry's approach to memory, the way the past is so connected to the present for her, influences my thoughts about narrative. Maira Kalman proves that you can be successful writing grown-up picture essays. Peter Schumann of Bread & Puppet Theater proves that you can write a deeply serious essay balancing text and images. The prints of the German Expressionist Kathe Kollwitz and contemporary political poster work of Justseeds artists are influential in always reminding me that visual expression can impact our political and social culture.
5. Answer a question you've always wanted to be asked.
Yes, I would love to take a boat down the Mississippi with you, and make paper along the way while you (fill in your creative endeavor here - I can think of a bunch).....
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