We chat to Mark Zieder, who amazingly during his last semesters of study managed to pull off a brand new magazine, content, production, distribution and most of all, respect from the industry. We think that deserves a royal pat on the back! We want to know more - juggling extra curricular activities with uni, how he got funding and advice for others following along the same path. Thanks for your honesty Mark!
Tell us about your magazine, No Cure.
No Cure magazine is an Australian quarterly magazine focusing on art, design, music and creative culture. The aim behind No Cure was to produce a unique magazine that showcased the talent of local and international artists. When I used to work as an artist years ago I was heavily into grungy / edgy street art styles, which has influenced my artist selections whilst creating No Cure. I like clean design but also like design that screams 'fuck yeah' and takes it to the people. Art with backbone and a story of struggle. I don't really care if images or articles offend people, I enjoy telling the truth.
The meaning behind No Cure’s title? You can’t cure the lust for creativity - it’s a disease. You’re either born creative or you’re not. If you’re part of the afflicted, you have no choice but to do what you do and that is to create all day everyday. I think all true artists and creatives will relate to this because it is an addiction, a drive to make your mark and have your story told.
You're working on the third issue right now - any clues on who it might include?
Our third issue - Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll is our best issue yet! I'm really excited about this one because we really dive deep into the minds of our artists. We talk about sex, drugs, music and creativity and how they play a roll with the creative process.
This issue we have a profound chat with legend Mike Giant about LSD, Buddhism and the uselessness of capitalism. He tells us his most tripped out experience with LSD. Stanely Donwood the visionary behind 'Radiohead' album art makes an appearance and talks about his lust for Psychedlic Fungi. Andrew Fairclough from Kindred Studio is our cover artist for issue 3. He is currently creating an epic, Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll cover with 3D glasses. I can't give too much away but you will cream your daks over this one.
We also have our very first launch party exhibition in Brisbane this March with work from various artists / bands etc. I will keep everyone posted on that one very soon!
You've just graduated from your Graphic Design degree, how do you feel this helped you along the way and how have you managed to juggle both.
Honestly I was never a fan of studying… first off deciding to study was just about keeping Centrelink off my back while I pursued my goals as an artist and designer. I was a big believer in making things happen for yourself, creating your own luck so to speak. You can achieve goals without the need for study. Most of the successful people in the world never studied and just got on with it working hard everyday getting out there and learning from experience in the real world.
Having said that doing my degree later in life was the right time for me (now being an old prick at 36) I got to meet some fantastic teachers and became close friends with really talented people.
I really enjoyed working on design briefs with my fellow students creating ideas, fixing problems etc. To this day we can look after each other by keeping an ear to the ground for jobs and opportunities that arise. When you work together for three years you work out each other's strengths and weaknesses so you can definitely all work together as a powerful unit.
The most rewarding thing from studying for me was that it opened up other pathways and gave me connections to people in the industry that I never had before.
Any tips on kickstarter like campaigns - what to do and what not to do!
Kickstarter and Pozible are the best concepts ever developed for the struggling creative community. It gives everyone a chance to better kickstart their career without a doubt. Without Pozible I would be still struggling to find that 10k to go to print but with the generosity of friends/ investors / fans and family it became pozible ha ha.
It can really destroy your soul though. By the end of the campaign you get so over sponging for money day in and day out posting shit on social media, sending emails and making phone calls. Everyone gets fed up with it. It's like a bad anxiety attack building ready to swallow you whole. But I tell you what it's an absolute fucking relief when it's over hallelujah!
I think the rule with crowd funding is don't get too greedy. Ask for a reasonable amount and do your research. You have to have some kind of a fan base before you start as friends and family support can only go so far. Don't think random people that stroll across the website will invest in your idea the ratio is about 1: to fuck all. Most of the successful crowd funding campaigns have already a fan base, a really good short video explaining exactly what the money will be used for and WHAT REWARD the individual WILL receive if they pledge and support them. Any graphic design student would know about pitching to a client and the steps they need to do by taking them on a journey to inspire them and making them believe that their idea will work. You must make everyone believe that your idea is the shit and that is the key for a successful campaign… and yeah make it clean and pretty not too much information where people will get bored.
What do you love about the Brisbane creative scene and who are some of your favourite local artists?
The Brisbane creative scene is growing everyday, Brisbane is such a new exciting city with fresh ideas and the art, design and music scene is taking charge full steam ahead. There are so many artists that I admire it's hard to name them all. I really do think Lister is the king of the throne though. He creates shit out of thin air like a magician, no piece of paper to copy from, just feeling and wherever his crazy hand takes him. That's some extraordinary talent.
What are your personal and professional goals for 2014?
2014 is the year I hopefully get No Cure onto steady ground. It is still such a struggle finding money to print each issue. I won't lie, it's damn tough but things are improving a great deal - I'm selling more copies of the magazine now and slowly building up my list of advertisers to work with. I'm also launching an interactive app hopefully with the next issue. I have hooked up with a Spanish design team and I'm test driving their platform. It is quite amazing what you can do with this interactive app for publishing. I now just have to learn how to create it and it's a bloody nightmare! I also plan to do heaps of art shows/ exhibitions and non stop exciting No Cure issues.
What advice would you give students starting out?
Don't worry be happy! Enjoy what you do, know that everything works out in the end if you give 100%. Keep focused, make goals, complete them and be the best at what you can do. Things could be worse… you could be picking tumours off chickens at the Steggles factory..
