zone

zone: we are vaudeville
benjamin shapiro
full color print on paper, handstamped cardstock cover, unpaginated (edition of 50): (5.5 x 8.5 in.)
new york, ny: self-published, 2010

the latest issue of benjamin shapiro’s zone zine, we are vaudeville, is a quiet collection of text and image compiled from six months on tour as a drummer in a band. in these photos, shapiro documents the different ‘zones’ one encounters on the road — each of them unique, but each of them also possessing something of the same quality of liminality. the textual captions provide both biographical detail and a broader context, as shapiro succinctly unravels the history of touring circuits, tracing their development back to vaudeville. there’s a cinematic aspect to the zine itself, not in terms of grandeur, but in the hush that follows taking a seat in a darkened room and precedes the opening of curtains. choice line: ‘at home, i don’t want to talk about it. this can be a very desolate way to live.’

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