May 2, 2011
NYC Tastemaker
Maggie Lee is a creative whirlwind, keeping up several successful creative outlets, her photography, illustration and zines have all made waves across internet and in the print world of magazines and small press. As a photographer, Maggie covers all sorts of music and art events across the city as well as photographing her own life in an artistic photo-journal which she documents on her blog ‘sup maggie lee.
What are some of your recent projects? You‘re involved in so many… Magazines, art projects, zines, photography, illustration. It’s hard to keep track of.
I just finished making my new zine called Suede’s Slick Sad Swirled. It’s a mini zine, kinda like a whirlwind of a fever dream, full of bewilderment and content delight. It’s super psychedelic and blissed out. Also, i’ve been working on some drawings of girls, they’re all based on new york girls I’ve known and love. They’re really loaded with personal encounters, and references, like, there is the St. Mark’s Bitch, circa goth/ rave style era, and then there’s the L.E.S. Bandit, which is influenced by Clayton Patterson, Elsa Rensaa, and anarchy in the lower east side. I’ve been shooting a lot and working on some stimulating projects, looking forward towards the future.
What kind of things do you look for in your photographs? In your subjects or Aesthetics?
I love to photograph my friends and incorporate them into projects. Most of my good friends are really making great work right now, everyone is so clever with a weird charm, I am so inspired by them. As far as aesthetics and ideoligies… It’s really diaristic and changes throughout the chapters. I fall into the gap of ‘Generation Y’ that is making work that is ironic, riffing off old ideas, a reverberation of the past with a clever, jocular undertone. It’s kind of funny, sometimes I will make work thats kind of like an inside joke and it backfires on me when people don’t understand it. It’s like I’m rolling my eyes and smirking but then when someone misinterprets something, my eyes have rolled so far back into my head where I just get a headache because it’s a generational thing I think. It’s all mannerisms and ideas you can’t really explain.
What are some of your recent zines? What are they about?
They’re mostly images taken from the net in conversation with my work. Usually about what makes me pissed or overwhelmed with ecstasy.
What are some of the best zines you’ve reviewed or gotten for Vice’s Zine Creamers?
Oh gosh, there are so many. OK, well I am a huge fan of everything that comes out of Gottlund Verlag. Nick’s a true craftsman and a great curator. He makes all his books by hand, they are so special. The covers are usually letter-pressed book cloth and theres one he made that’s a relief printed linolium block. And, there’s this girl Chloé Maratta who’s a printmaking student at MICA in Baltimore. She always sends the wildest zine packages – I’m working on her Zine Creamers next, super cool.
What have been some your favorite projects working with Vice (or any magazine)?
I really loved working on The Real Ramonas. The idea behind the shoot was Sassy style and Delia’s layout. All the models were friends and it was really rad, a lotta girl talk, real talk. Also, the first project I ever shot for Vice, slumber seance was unforgetable. We shot it in the sweaty summer in this punk house I was living in at the time. everyone brought a big bag of clothes. It was was such a thrill, I knew it was going to be good.
On top of all your projects you make these great videos online called video salads, could you explain what video salads are and how did you came up with them?
Video salad are a collage of clips tossed together. I like to put in as many really cool things as possible, like, skateboarding, bands, people partying, that kind of thing. It’s kind of like a music video of my life.
