Alec Soth interview at Artkrush, the e-mail magazine

OK, now I'm scared. Artkrush, an online blog that also identifies itself as an "email magazine," seems poised to take the art publishing world by storm. A part of the Flavorpill network, which offers a total of eleven email magazines (it has grown from a community of a few hundred friends, which originated in October 2000), Artkrush has a dizzying proliferation of sheer information. They boast hundreds of staffers, and no preferred content or paid placements. The site is an example of a phenomenon that seems to be occurring all over the internet: old terms are taking on new meanings, and organizations are experimenting with familiar online formats, working in new variations.

The whole thing is offered as a free service, like our own e-newsletter FRAMES, and all of their articles are also available on their home page. We at CameraArts prefer to keep the information on our main page, our blog, and our newsletter separate. This gives more incentive for our loyal readers to experience what we have to offer to the fullest. We try to avoid "repeating" information as much as we can.

The Artkrush interview with prominent photographer and blogger Alec Soth is online, one of many articles offered gratis on the site. Alec Soth talks with Editor Paul Laster about the beginnings of his own blog, how it augments with his photography career, and his general philosophy about the blogosphere. It's a good read, just like Alec's blog.

From the Alec Soth Interview on Artkrush:

My own website is handy as a central gathering place for information about projects, exhibitions, lectures, etc. The blog is something altogether different. It's not a promotional tool. If anything, I think it probably works against me. The art world is about exclusivity, and blogs are about availability.

If you just said aloud, "This was in an art magazine???" I don't blame you. If blogs (and, supposedly, the internet at large) are all about an open experience, where readers can turn into publishers simply by hitting a button or pasting a swatch of html code, what does it mean for the art industry? Will the two keep melding together, or is such a fusion simply not possible? I keep thinking of two animals that have never met before running into each other in the wild. One result comes to mind, and it doesn't involve a hug and a handshake...