R.I.P. FOIL

Japan and Terry Richardson are two of my favorite things. So of course I wanted to review FOIL Magazine when I saw Terry demonically grinning at me from underneath a bed of Japanese text. FOIL Magazine is one of two magazines published by Japanese art book publishing house Little More. FOIL fancies themselves “the first magazine in Japan which consists of only visual contents and has no fixed form in size, price, pages, designers and logotype”. I love this entire concept, especially the idea of rotating content and guest designers.

This issue, which was also the final issue of FOIL, sought to express America on the verge of the 2004 presidential election through the eyes of four photographers—Ryuichi Sakamoto, Terry Richardson, Katsumi Omori and Yuri Manabe.

Sakamoto shows us before and after 911 photos of his NYC world. Richardson sticks to his guns; hot girls and his cock. Omori tours rural Mississippi and Tennesee, profiling a simpler, slower speed of life. Manabe unveils a photographic journey amongst the lesbian community of San Francisco.

FOIL dedicated this issue to the American people after 9/11. The juxtaposition of the shocking event of 9/11 against the everyday lives of Americans packed a powerful and resonant punch. We are the country of Freedom and we will get by. We will still drive to the grocery stores in Tennesee, we will still go to Le Tigre shows and we will still have our cocks sucked by hot chicks. Long live America, R.I.P. Foil Magazine.

Add comment March 27th, 2007