Izrock Rocks

There are many among us that manage to work across multiple disciplines but there aren't that many that manage to do it well. Joseph Allen Shea from Izrock gives it as good a shake as any – in addition to Izrock he curates the inimitable and influential Monster Children Gallery in Sydney, and he writes, and he designs and he makes his own art... enough already. In recent times it's been the publishing arm of Izrock that's been busiest with a steady stream of high quality book and zine releases including the latest, Fashematics, a collaborative zine with Jonathan Zawada of the Fashematical blog. Dazed Digital catches up with Joe to learn a little bit about running a mixed business.

Dazed Digital: Izrock is a diverse business to say the least...
Joseph Allen Shea: I often run the full title Izrock Mixed Business. This refers to the slogan used by many Sydney convenience stores. It means that they probably sell groceries, make coffee and bacon sandwiches, can take your dirty clothes to their cousin's laundromat, recommend a locksmith and possibly sell you a handgun. It is a phrase that suggests a lot but really tells you nothing. When I started using the title Izrock I was doing a bunch of quasi-relatable projects and could identify with this byline. Graphic design, curation, publishing, artist management and consulting. I used to call it my one-stop (in)convenience store. I am into specialising but not to the detriment of getting something done.

DD: Things seem pretty busy round Izrock way. Is that down to your philosophy or has the zine/print game been gathering momentum?
Joseph Allen Shea: I think being busy has got a lot to do with no one project gathering enough loot for a day off. It's a pleasure to be making money from doing what you love, but that may mean doing a million jobs to earn what others may yield from one single project.

DD: Do you think that deep down we all still yearn for something tangible?
Joseph Allen Shea: I think so more than ever. I love the internet – it's speed and it's ability to quickly react to our needs. But it lacks in many areas and it's prevalent in the areas that I am interested in. For viewing images, for indepth texts and for creating a tangible environment. I think it's failures are now very noticable, how they are dealt with will be very interesting but I don't think they will replace something physical, three-dimensional and environmentally fragile.

DD: You've worked with some fine-up-and-coming and established artists from both Australia and abroad including Kill Pixie/Mark Whalen, Mike Giant, French and Stefan Marx. Do you approach each project differently?
Joseph Allen Shea: I do approach each project differently. Curiously enough the artists you mentioned have been involved in several projects each with me. Each job is different and deserves attention in different areas. From budget constraints to the nature of the work arguing for different presentation, it all varies and can be very broad. For one of the artists you mentioned the project was to negotiate a contract with a multinational to present their work in a continent that I cannot speak the language(s)!

DD: How did your latest collaboration with Jonathan Zawada come about?
Joseph Allen Shea: The latest publication I made with Jonathan Zawada is titled Fashematical. We had already printed an exceptionally well-received zine of his illustrative artworks this year and were considering a reprint. Rather than repeating ourselves (and God-forbid some easy income) Jonathan decided to commemorate the 50th equation he posted on his fashematics.com website. He had an idea and wanted to realise it so I helped that happen.

DD: Will there be a release to commemorate the 100th Fashematics equation?
Joseph Allen Shea: I think that's a great idea. This publication has been so greatly embraced and to so many countries I previously have not had contact with it's been a real pleasure to work on. I would love to print another /Fashematics zine and knowing Jonathan's working method it will be entirely a new idea and set of involved works.

DD: What else have you got in the pipeline?
Joseph Allen Shea: Right now, I am working on a book by the British artist French with over 200 works, something like a black bible. Also I am curating an exhibition of Australian and international artist focusing on the subcultural artists that have honed their craft outside of the fine art world and learning how to shoot that illegal firearm I bought from under the counter at the local store.