Informal Gestures - Ethan Swan (talk)

Saturday, Apr 25, 2026 - 12:00 PM

Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County

115 South Ave Rochester, NY 14604

FREE

Format=Mutiny

Art is pointed toward the immortal mark: a book, an album, a painting. But lurking in the shadow of this permanence is a messy assortment of quick, cheap, infinitely flexible alternatives. Format=Mutiny is a chance to look at zines and tapes, amateur archives and collaborative histories and consider how such fugitives might restructure our world. A two-part series by writer and zine maker Ethan Swan.*

SUMMARY:

Part I: Informal Gestures

Arguing for the importance of alternative methods for sharing ideas, Informal Gestures looks at histories and potentials of zines, cassettes, flyers and other ephemeral documents. Temporary and fragile, these formats are celebrated for being cheap and amateur-friendly, but are there other benefits to their use? Artists have used zines to approach ideas they haven't quite figured out. Musicians have tinkered and re-formed their sound through demos, blurring the processes of public and private. Activists have hidden in the anonymity of small print runs and self-service machines. With a particular focus on DIY and punk cultures of the 1980s and 90s, Informal Gestures examines both historical examples and contemporary versions of these documents to reconsider their importance and continued possibility today.

*Part II: Story to tell will take place on 5/30 at 12pm

Ethan Swan lives in Rochester, New York, where he writes, plays music, and runs the record label JABS. He is the editor of the book Killed (of Kids), written by the five members of UK riot grrrl band Huggy Bear. Fix the Mirrors, a collection of Ethan’s music writing, was published in 2019. His website is: ethanswan.io