Afunctional #1 / June / Half-Sized / 20 Pages / afunctionul@hotmail.com / http://afunctional.tripod.com / 2 East Franklin Ave. #11 , Minneapolis MN, 5504 /
This zine is a real-life representation of all those “independent†publication that magazines like Artnews fondly recall, although no one has ever heard of them. I hadn’t heard of Afunctional until AMC 2003, where Gerald Prokop was tabling. This issue is very carefully done, with a different cardstock for the cover, and interesting layout with windows fonts. Inside is a veritable treasure trove of art in both written and drawn form, starting off with Sanaphay Rattanavong’s “Ex Manisâ€, and moving into quite a varied collection of different styles. Since this is the group’s first issue, it is just absolutely necessary to have something where the group lets their opinions and desire be known, and we see this in the centerfold “Afunctionul Manfiesto: A Call to Distractâ€, also done by Gerald. This manifesto is nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much being a call to all the individuals in Minneapolis (more specifically their little clique of artists) to stay together and work on what makes them happy. The last piece to really get to me was Sarah Wash’s “Redâ€, a detail of the devouring of eir’s body by the evil ladybugs that began to attack everywhere and everyone during late summer and early autumn of this year (actually, the middle of the US must have got them later than Ohio and Indiana – this was published in June). An interesting collection of artist – I shall have to see where they go from there.
Rating: 7.5/10
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
Beats: Independent Music, PC Gaming & Peripherals, Consumer Tech, Webmaster Tools
Testing & Ethics: All hardware, software, and media reviews are conducted through hands-on evaluation in accordance with NeuFutur’s editorial independence standards; sponsored consideration is strictly excluded from editorial ratings.
Contact: editor@neufutur.com