In the late 1990s Canadian cartoonist Julie Doucet abandoned the medium of comic books and went back to printing. Woodcuts, linocuts, silkscreen printing, followed by an abundant production of artist’s books. “Der Stein” is one of the most incisive and enduring examples of contemporary private press or fanzine culture. It is written in bad German and centered on a serious and annoying subject. Eight numbers are published so far. Here is the legendary initial issue of May 2010 in a bilangual version.
der stein does not like the art / the art does not please der stein / der stein squashes the art
der stein does not like artists / der stein knocks the artists on the head
the art is stupid / the art is an empty pair of pants
pictures are like little farts / music is like a puddle of mud / cinema is like a run over skunk
the artists are on their four legs on them der stein puts his T.V.
the artists are retarded! / the artists are conformists! / the artists are capitalists!
der stein rather be a stone than an artist
dark gray and smooth and hard like a stone
der stein says : that’s enough!!!
then der stein drops the art on the edge of the highway and never comes back.
