ArtCrimes

ArtCrimes was a small-circulation Cleveland, Ohio, underground publication founded and published by artist and writer Steven B. Smith. Emerging in the mid-1980s, it developed from Smith's handmade journals, in which he combined images, poetry, personal observations, and political statements. The publication retained that intimate, collage-like character while expanding into a collaborative platform for poets, visual artists, performers, and unconventional contributors. The first issue, titled "If Indication Abnormal," appeared in 1986. Rather than following a conventional magazine model, ArtCrimes treated each issue as an art object and gave guest editors considerable freedom. Its contributors included Cleveland-area figures such as Daniel Thompson, Maj Ragain, Amy Bracken Sparks, Ben Gulyas, Chris Franke, Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm, Masumi Hayashi, and Ken Nevadomi, alongside writers including Charles Bukowski and Micheline. The publication was also deliberately open-ended about authorship: its pages could include contributions from people, artists' acquaintances, and even pets. ArtCrimes was influenced by the Beat literary tradition associated with Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, and Allen Ginsberg. Its rejection of institutional authority, mixture of poetry and visual material, and emphasis on direct personal expression connected it to earlier small-press and countercultural publishing. At the same time, its Cleveland identity was central. A contemporary assessment described it as one of the most significant publications associated with the city's recent underground art scene. The publication's experimentation extended beyond its content. Issues appeared in formats including a coloring book, a popcorn box, a video, a deck of cards, legal tablets, and a catalog connected with the 1989 Performance Art Festival. The popcorn-box edition, co-edited by Smith and poet Daniel Thompson, was titled "Crimes in the Dark: Reel-Life Art" and combined poetry and images with coupons for events. These formats made ArtCrimes part zine, part artists' book, and part documentation of Cleveland's performance and literary networks. Smith's collaboration with Daniel Thompson was particularly significant. Thompson was a poet, civil-rights activist, advocate for homeless people, and organizer associated with Junkstock, a Cleveland poetry, art, and music festival staged in a junkyard during the 1980s. The 2002 ArtCrimes issue, co-edited with Beth Wolfe, honored Wayne Draznin, a Cleveland Institute of Art professor who had died the previous year and whose interests included rebellious, socially engaged art. ArtCrimes was never a mass-market business. Smith financed the project through his work as a computer programmer, and print runs generally amounted to only a few hundred copies. Much of the output was distributed to artists and friends rather than sold through conventional retail channels. This limited circulation reinforced its role as a community artifact and collaborative network rather than a commercial magazine line. Smith published the final issue in 2006. The publication is therefore best understood as a defunct Cleveland cultural imprint whose importance rests on its documentation of local underground art, its unusual physical formats, and its connection of poetry, visual art, performance, and political expression.

ArtCrimes grew out of Steven B. Smith's earlier practice of making handmade journals. Before establishing the publication, Smith assembled notebooks that juxtaposed images, poetry, and journal entries. He also used visual art and writing to express political positions and opposition to authority. In the mid-1980s, he adapted this personal journal method into a collaborative publication intended to circulate among artists and writers. The first ArtCrimes issue, "If Indication Abnormal," was published in 1986. Its approach was closer to an artists' sketchbook or an informal dossier than to a standard literary periodical. Subsequent issues could involve guest editors, and S. Judson Wilcox, Jim Lang, Ben Gulyas, Kathy Shumay, Kathy Ireland Smith, Chris Franke, Beth Wolfe, Melissa Jay Craig, and Daniel Thompson were among those given broad editorial latitude. This decentralized structure allowed individual issues to vary substantially in tone, design, and format. The publication reflected the influence of the Beat tradition, particularly the directness and anti-establishment sensibility associated with Kerouac, Corso, and Ginsberg. It combined poetry, drawings, photographs, visual experiments, journal-like writing, and material connected with performance. Contributions came from a broad circle. Cleveland poets and artists represented in its pages included Daniel Thompson, Maj Ragain, Amy Bracken Sparks, Ben Gulyas, Chris Franke, Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm, Masumi Hayashi, and Ken Nevadomi. The contributor list also extended beyond the local scene to writers such as Bukowski and Micheline, while the publication's loose concept of participation could encompass highly unconventional contributors. ArtCrimes became notable for treating physical presentation as part of its editorial identity. Some editions took the form of a coloring book, a video, a deck of cards, legal tablets, or a catalog for the 1989 Performance Art Festival. The most distinctive example was "Crimes in the Dark: Reel-Life Art," also known as the popcorn-box edition. Co-edited by Smith and Daniel Thompson, it placed poetry and images in a popcorn-box package and included coupons for events. The format linked the publication to Cleveland's performance and event culture while challenging the boundaries between magazine, artwork, and promotional ephemera. Thompson's participation connected ArtCrimes with wider Cleveland cultural activism. He was a poet, civil-rights activist, advocate for homeless people, and organizer associated with Junkstock, an art, music, and poetry festival held in a junkyard on Pearl Road during the 1980s. His work exemplified the publication's preference for socially aware and community-based creative activity rather than detached literary formalism. The zine's local importance increased because it documented artists and activities that were not necessarily represented by mainstream cultural institutions. One reviewer characterized it as the most significant publication in Cleveland's recent underground art scene. That assessment reflects ArtCrimes' role as both a creative platform and an informal archive of the city's independent poetry, visual art, and performance networks. Production remained intentionally small. Smith supported the project financially through his work as a computer programmer. Print runs were generally only a few hundred copies, and copies were commonly given to artists and friends. The project therefore operated as a cultural exchange network rather than as a conventional commercial publishing business. Its scarcity and varied formats also made individual issues collectible documents of Cleveland's alternative-art history. A 2002 issue, co-edited by Smith and Beth Wolfe, was dedicated to Wayne Draznin, a Cleveland Institute of Art professor who had died in 2001. Draznin was associated with an interest in rebellious and socially minded art, making the memorial issue consistent with ArtCrimes' broader editorial concerns. Smith continued the project until 2006, when he published its final issue. ArtCrimes is now a defunct but historically distinctive Cleveland publication, remembered for its small-scale collaboration, experimental material design, and sustained connection to underground art and literature.

• 2006

  Final issue published

  [1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  Steven B. Smith released the final ArtCrimes issue, ending the publication's run.

• 2002

  Wayne Draznin memorial issue

  [1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  Beth Wolfe and Steven B. Smith co-edited an issue honoring Draznin and his interest in socially engaged rebellious art.

• 2001

  Death of Wayne Draznin

  [1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  The death of Cleveland Institute of Art professor Wayne Draznin preceded a later ArtCrimes issue dedicated to his memory.

• 1989

  Experimental editions and Performance Art Festival catalog

  [1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  ArtCrimes used multiple nonstandard formats, including a catalog for the 1989 Performance Art Festival.

• 1986

  First issue published

  [1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  Steven B. Smith published the inaugural issue, If Indication Abnormal, establishing ArtCrimes as a Cleveland underground art and literary publication.

A Cleveland underground arts publication and collaborative zine that positioned itself between independent literature, visual art, performance documentation, and political or anti-authoritarian expression.

• Zine issue · 1986

  If Indication Abnormal

  The first ArtCrimes issue, published in 1986. It introduced Smith's combination of poetry, images, journal-like material, and anti-authoritarian artistic expression, and established the publication's role as a collaborative Cleveland underground project.

• Artists' book and novelty-format issue

  Crimes in the Dark: Reel-Life Art

  Also known as the popcorn-box edition, this collaboration between Steven B. Smith and Daniel Thompson presented poetry and visual material in a popcorn-box package. It also contained coupons for events, blending publication, artwork, and performance-related ephemera.

• Event catalog · 1989

  1989 Performance Art Festival catalog

  An ArtCrimes publication associated with the 1989 Performance Art Festival. It extended the imprint's documentary function into local performance culture and demonstrated that the project could operate as an event-specific art object rather than only as a conventional serial.

• Memorial zine issue · 2002

  Wayne Draznin memorial issue

  The 2002 issue co-edited by Beth Wolfe and Steven B. Smith was dedicated to Wayne Draznin, a Cleveland Institute of Art professor who had died in 2001. Its subject aligned with ArtCrimes' interest in rebellious and socially conscious art.

• 2006

  Ended publicationOther

  Background

  After operating through small print runs financed by Smith's programming work, the project reached its final issue.

  Action taken

  Smith published the last ArtCrimes issue in 2006.

  Aftermath

  The imprint became a historical record of Cleveland's underground art scene rather than an active publication.

  Source

• 1989

  Expanded into experimental physical formatsProduct launch

  Background

  ArtCrimes sought to connect printed matter with visual art, performance, and local events.

  Action taken

  The imprint produced formats including a coloring book, popcorn box, video, card deck, legal tablets, and a Performance Art Festival catalog.

  Aftermath

  These editions reinforced ArtCrimes' reputation as an artists' publication and cultural artifact rather than a conventional periodical.

  Source

• 1986

  Adopted a collaborative, nonstandard publication modelStrategy

  Background

  Smith's handmade journals provided the conceptual basis for ArtCrimes, but the publication expanded that personal method into a platform for numerous artists and writers.

  Action taken

  ArtCrimes used guest editors, mixed poetry with visual material, and allowed issues to take forms beyond standard magazines.

  Aftermath

  The flexible model helped the publication document Cleveland's underground art and literary communities while maintaining a distinctive small-press identity.

  Source

• 2006

  Steven B. Smith publishes the final ArtCrimes issue[1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After two decades of limited-run publication, Smith issued the last ArtCrimes number, ending the zine's regular publishing history.

• 2002

  ArtCrimes releases a Wayne Draznin memorial issue[1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A Beth Wolfe and Steven B. Smith-edited issue honored Wayne Draznin, a Cleveland Institute of Art professor known for supporting rebellious socially engaged art.

• 1989

  ArtCrimes appears in experimental formats and documents the 1989 Performance Art Festival[1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Other

  The publication expanded beyond conventional issues into formats such as a coloring book, popcorn box, video, card deck, legal tablets, and a festival catalog.

• 1986

  ArtCrimes publishes its first issue, If Indication Abnormal[1]ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Steven B. Smith launched ArtCrimes as a collaborative Cleveland publication combining images, poetry, and anti-authoritarian creative expression.

1. 1ArtCrimesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2ArtCrimes Myspace pagemyspace.com