Photos: The early days of Berkeley's now-gone Print Mint
www.berkeleyside.org
When the Reprint Mint closed in late November, Telegraph Avenue and Berkeley lost another portal to our past. It was an important cultural institution for more than 50 years. Don and Alice Schenker opened the Print Mint as a picture-framing shop on Telegraph Avenue in 1965. The Schenkers and Moe Moskowitz, founder of Moe’s Books, were […]

Print Mint Press, better known as The Print Mint, Inc., started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965 selling psychedelic posters, then leveled up into a major publisher, printer, and self-distributor for underground comix when the mainstream wouldn’t touch the stuff.

They helped push the comix scene into legend by publishing key runs like Zap Comix issues #4–9, all while catching shit from obscenity crackdowns and the gov trying to outlaw all of it. lol

They stopped publishing in 1978 and even the later poster shop era eventually went dark, and yeah, it’s sad because a whole loud, filthy, honest little world went with it. So def bummed I missed out on a lot of this era.

It would’ve been so damn cool to be part of that scene back in the day.

That’s why I’m trying to turn my little corner of Lemmy into something like it now. Lemmy has so much potential for people to make weird, funny, original art and comix stuff together and actually build a badass art scene.

But lately all I see is nonstop complaining about AI, (people accuse my work of being AI all the time even tho I have detailed pics of how I do it), and a bunch of “shut up” energy. Not much support, just negative attitude.

Still, I’m going to keep doing my part and try to bring that underground spirit back, even if it’s above ground this time.

Even if the audience is just one person. So yeah, fuck the haters. haha

  • JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    15 days ago

    Trying to catch up with replies:

    I don’t remember saying anything too controversial

    No, not as such. As I tried to explain (probably unsuccessfully), it was more like in terms of you vs. others, it seemed like that all might have drifted a bit in to ‘round peg upon square hole’ approach, so to speak.

    I should no doubt ‘STFU’ here, but if I can possibly give you any advice upon these matters? Assume your audience has just arrived from one of Saturn’s moons. Such that, when you share various of your art, give them a context that they can understand, as much as possible, in order to enjoy your share.

    Having said that, I myself did NOT follow that advice on an even bigger platform, for many years. I regularly threw out riddles, puzzles, and challenges to people, which was fine for a small % that appreciated that, but most others just got annoyed, or dismissed me as “weird.” (which I already am, haha)