Abby Grenon, the artist behind Amigos 003 Prospects, recently answered some Q's for us via email. Currently based in Los Angeles, Abby talks about her Amigos release, more recent work and what's good in art publishing lately.
Your awesome photo zine Prospects was our 3rd publication at Amigos. Can you talk a little about the work?
Most of the photographs in Prospects were taken after I moved to Los Angeles in 2008. Moving to California wasn't exactly the smoothest of transitions so when photographing here I mostly photographed things that reminded me of the east coast: dreary days and Halloween. Other photographs in the book were from the past few years and include some of my favorites, like the balloons on the sidewalk. Despite the inclusion of older work, the photos and the title were very much about moving to a new place and trying to feel comfortable.
Other than snapping kewl instant photos, what other types of work have you been creating recently? Anything on the horizon?
I'm still collecting fliers in the hope that one day I'll actually make that book I've been talking about since high school. I've recently acquired a better digital camera and got some film for my other camera so I'm just trying to get back into the habit of taking photos every day. And I still blog, but change my Tumblr URL every five seconds. For now it's abigailharrison.tumblr.com.
What are some cool thangs in art/independent publishing that have interested u lately?
Since I'm also a big fan of vintage internet, Monica Yi's Bookmarking Da Spirit Through Dial-Up: Coming of Age in America (Online) is like, the ultimate. Who can't relate to wasting costly dial-up minutes on AOL keyword channels? I won a horror fiction writing contest on one of those channels! Unbelievable! Monica's zine remind me of the times when we all thought the internet was so innocent, and not a horribly creepy black hole.
Any website/video/something on the internet you're currently obsessing over?
It is hard for me to get motivated to do my own projects so I'm into people that actually do, make, and accomplish things. I'm reading Rena Tom's retail strategy blog, it has a lot of great advice for small businesses and start ups. My friends Audrey and Ryan just opened up a gallery in Los Angeles called Favorite Goods and their second show is up right now. Make it happen, folks.
