In an interview in crea:m 02 (creative economy magazine), Fleisch publisher, Markus Huber, revels in not being taken seriously. In its third year, Fleisch is now aiming at four issues a year, but with a caveat that translates as “I’m out when I want to be” with the idea that with a 20 Euro subscription you won’t miss an issue.
I bought my first Fleisch (issue 5 – Autumn 2006) for 7 Euro last year for personal reasons: I’d participated in a writer’s workshop with Sandra Gugic, Fleisch’s art director, the issue had an article by our workshop teacher, Ernst Molden, and I’d missed the summer launch bash. I was also curious as Fleisch translates as “meat” or “flesh”. Apart from each issue having a music CD, the contents – photos, artwork and text – are edgy.
Fleisch 6 was complimentary as this year I made it to last week’s summer launch at the Kunsthallen Café which buzzed with a DJ and real caipirinhas.
The crew is young, max 30s, they have fun and it shows; and what they are onto speaks to me, although I’m way past their age group. As Huber says in the crea:m interview, the team wanted to showcase creative people who ticked as they did. They wanted a magazine that they liked to read and so paid no attention to market research. If smart people wanted to be in it, they’d contribute because they liked the mag, not because they’d earn money for their contribution. The team gets little in monetary terms and Fleisch will never make them rich, but that’s not what it’s about. Huber sees every story in Fleisch having its own specific sound and POV. Surprise the reader. Don’t ever stop not taking us seriously, he concludes.
It’s a small project and it looks like it’s working.
