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LODOWN MAG o -website o -pics On a recent trip to Berlin, I finally had the chance to hang out at the infamous office of Lodown magazine. Taking in all of the irreverent atmosphere that is Lodown. I first picked up a copy a few years back and was instantly blown away by its blatant disregard of rules and structure yet still being able to create its own recognisable image. There are no restrictions for the magazine, no fixed area of type, no fixed type size, no fixed fonts, no limitation on content or graphics. The only criteria being that its roots lye deeply in Music, mostly hiphop, street and Boarding Culture. So what’s the magazine all about? Showing that things can be done differently, I would say. It's about proving that things can be done differently. It's about taking the chance to bend the rules. It's about twisting and turning ideas 'til the result's interesting enough to put them on paper. It's about taking contemporary pop- and streetculture serious without taking the whole bizz too seriously. It's about getting rid of limitations. It's about embracing the idea of socialism while making as much money as possible. It's about being able to be independent while enjoying our own sellout. It's something for all the lovers. It's something for all the haters as well. Lodown magazine was born in the mid 90’s out of Berlin, given birth and nurtured by a graphic designer, painter and illustrator called Marok. Marok was looking for the right platform to demonstrate his fiercely independent and utterly involving vision of contemporary graphic design. |
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| So it was just a logical conclusion for him to
transfer the freestyle attitude of rap and skateboarding on to paper. Pretty soon Lodown kickstarted into a creative platform where ideas are exchanged and developed. As a result there have been videos created and several books on contemporary graphic design published. Furthermore Marok participated in several exhibitions with the like of Futura and Haze and held a couple of solo shows in Japan, Australia, the UK and Germany. While developing his style in design and video fields, he found the time to raise his own t-shirt brand UMD. He still appreciates t-shirts as a perfect canvas for Pop Art. Along side this Marok has also worked for the likes of Nintendo, Supreme, Adidas, Stussy, Arktip magazine, Etnies on a limted sneaker and Fifty 24SF just to name a few. I was especially impressed on the colab he ran with Adidas on the limited book on the 35th Aniversary of the Superstar. For me it’s Marok’s inspirational Typographic work, which takes me back to David Carson and his original works. Marok really does stamp his authority on type and makes it his own. If there’s a chance to bend the rules, to twist and turn them, he obviously is the first one who’s up for it. Maybe that’s a result of sneaking around at night, looking for the right spot for doing graff in his earlier years. But maybe he just enjoys to challenge you by attacking your senses on every level imaginable. With all this mix it just goes to show that Lodown magazine in my eyes is definately the European equivalent of the ever creative and influential American magazine that was Ray Gun. Check out Lodown magazine now not later, issue 49 is hot off the press. |