''White Fungus'' is an art magazine and project based in
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Ta ...
City,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. Founded by brothers Ron and Mark Hanson in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
, New Zealand, in 2004, as a quasi-political manifesto, copies of the first issue were produced on a photocopier, wrapped in Christmas paper and hurled anonymously through the entrances of businesses throughout the city. Now a magazine featuring interviews, writing on art, new music, history and politics, ''White Fungus'' takes a dialogical approach to the work it covers. The name of the publication comes from a can of “white fungus” the Hansons found in their local supermarket in the industrial zone of Taichung City. Each cover of ''White Fungus'' is derived from a scan of the can.
''White Fungus'' has held interdisciplinary art events at galleries and venues including P.P.O.W. (New York), Kadist Art Foundation (San Francisco), N.K. (Berlin), The Lab (San Francisco), SOUP (Tokyo), Zajia Lab (Beijing), XXX (Hong Kong),
Taipei Contemporary Art Center, the Cube (Taipei), Treasure Hill (Taipei),
VT Artsalon (Taipei),
ARTSPACE (Auckland), Waikato Museum (Hamilton),
Adam Art Gallery (Wellington), Enjoy Public Gallery(Wellington), and The Physics Room(Christchurch). The publication is held in library collections including The Museum of Modern Art (New York), The New York Public Library (Art & Architecture Collection), The Southbank Centre (London), Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Taipei Fine Art Museum, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, National Library of Australia and
Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
(National Museum of New Zealand). The magazine has included articles by notable New Zealand art writers and artists, including
Tao Wells.
''White Fungus'' was part of the exhibition ''Millennium Magazines'' at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2012. The exhibition was a survey of magazines made by contemporary artists since 2000. In November 2012, White Fungus founders Ron Hanson and Mark Hanson gave a talk about the history of ''White Fungus'' at Times Museum in Guangzhou, China. In 2013 ''White Fungus'' was the magazine in residence at
Kadist Art Foundation
Kadist is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts organization with an international contemporary art collection. In addition to being a collecting body, Kadist hosts artists residencies and produces exhibitions, publications, and public events. ...
in San Francisco. While in the Bay Area, ''White Fungus'' released its 13th issue with events at Kadist and the Lab. The issue includes an article entitled 'The First Woman on Mars', written by American writer and independent scholar
Ron Drummond
Ronald N. Drummond (born 1959 in Seattle, Washington) is a writer, editor, and independent scholar.
Writer
Ron Drummond is the author of "The Sonic Rituals of Pauline Oliveros"; "The Frequency of Liberation", a critical fiction about the novels ...
. In late 2013 White Fungus signed a worldwide distribution deal with WhiteCirc in London.
References
Interview by Paul Holdengräber, Quarantine TapesInterview by Jim Mora, Radion New ZealandStack Magazines InterviewInterview by Steven Heller, The Daily HellerMagCulture InterviewVice Magazine interviewA Growing Manifesto - Interview on Baron Magazine Interview on Monocle Radio's The Stack Interview on ICRT Some Cool Zines You Should Know About - Complex Magazine"Eating White Fungus", HYPERALLERGIC"Spores of Knowledge", The WireInterview in The CriticInterview on Arts on Sunday - Radio New ZealandInterview Sly on the WallReview on Partial DurationsReview on EyeContactCrazy Dream To Pursue: White Fungus For The Masses profile of the Taiwan-based founders.
Profile of White Fungus #12 on Self Publish, Be Happy.White Fungus interview on The End of BeingWhite Fungus to go Global - Art Radar AsiaPodcasts of Ron Hanson appearances on Upbeat with Eva Radich - Radio New ZealandA Quick Word with Ron Hanson - IdealogKiwi Mag on an International Roll - IdealogNZ mag White Fungus Picked to Feature at MoMA - IdealogFungus Mag wins place at MoMA - Dominion Post- Interview with Bryan Crump - Radio New ZealandSpringing-Up-White-Fungus-Comes-to-Nelson - White Fungus comes to Nelson - Nelson MailAn arts mag from New Zealand - with universal appeal - TokafiReview on HarsmediaInterview with editor Ron Hanson on 'Kim Hill'White Fungus on World TVArt Mag Set For New York ExhibitReview on The Lumiere Reader
External links
''White Fungus Magazine''White Fungusat
Kadist Art Foundation
Kadist is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts organization with an international contemporary art collection. In addition to being a collecting body, Kadist hosts artists residencies and produces exhibitions, publications, and public events. ...
2004 establishments in Taiwan
Visual arts magazines
Magazines established in 2004
Mass media in Taichung
Magazines published in Taiwan
Biannual magazines