In the mid-70s a friend of mine showed me his
issues of Aspen Magazine. He had seen an ad in another magazine and
decided to send off the $5 required for a subscription. Given the times
and our financial situations this was an admirably brazen
move on his part. His guess that it might be a scam was supported when
nothing showed up in the mail for awhile. But eventually things did
appear--unpredictably and irregularly. Each issue was in fact a magical
box of art pieces, recordings (things like Neal Cassady chattering at an
SF Acid Test in the 60s), poetry, printed materials, art manifestos,
and so on. It all reflected maverick approaches to art, maniacal
collaborations, and other marvels that enflamed one's creative passions.
He let me borrow these treasures for awhile and I photocopied various
things, made copies of the tapes. I discovered ideas that affect my work
to this day.
And speaking of this day, I looked up Aspen
Magazine on-line this morning and found an issue for sale at Abe Books.
The cost? $22,500...
http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/aspen-magazine/sortby/1/page-1/
