Arthur (magazine)

For the literary magazine, see Arthur's Magazine.

Arthur magazine, a free bi-monthly 50,000-copy periodical, was founded in October, 2002 by publisher Laris Kreslins and editor Jay Babcock. It has received favorable attention from other periodicals such as L.A. Weekly, Print, Punk Planet and Rolling Stone. Arthur features photography and artwork from Spike Jonze, Art Spiegelman, Susannah Breslin, Gary Panter and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Arthur's regular columnists include Byron Coley, Thurston Moore, Daniel Pinchbeck, Paul Cullum, Douglas Rushkoff, and T-Model Ford.

Arthur magazine is particularly drawn to noise music, stoner metal, folk and other types of psychedelia. The first issue of Arthur featured an interview with journalist and author Daniel Pinchbeck (author of Breaking Open the Head); artwork by Alan Moore (Watchmen, From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen); and an interview with Arthur C. Clarke.

Previous to creating the publication, Laris Kreslins created the popular music journals Sound Collector and Audio Review. Jay Babcock was a contributor to Mojo magazine and the L.A. Weekly.

Some of the magazine's influences include Joan Didion, Thomas Paine, William Blake, Lester Bangs, Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe, and Greil Marcus.

Arthur magazine also releases CDs and DVDs under the imprint of their label (formerly called [Bastet]). On Labor Day weekend in 2005, they curated Arthurfest in Barnsdall Park; in February 2006, Arthur Ball in Echo Park; and in October 2006 Arthur Nights at The Palace Theater, in downtown Los Angeles.

On February 25, 2007, it was announced on the magazine's web site that it would be ceasing publication indefinitely. The hiatus was due to a breakdown in negotiations between Lime Publishing (Arthur's original publisher) and another unnamed publisher. In April 2007, it was announced that the magazine would return as Arthur Vol. II in the near future. The magazine resumed publication in September 2007.

In June 2008, owner Jay Babcock moved Arthur's headquarters from Los Angeles to New York, the seat of North America's publishing industry.

On March 6, 2011, Jay Babcock announced that the magazines would cease to exist in any form as of March 15, 2011, though its archive and store would remain active for an unspecified period thereafter.

External links

• Official homepage
• The Meter - article about Arthur magazine
• KCRW: Dragnet conversation with Jay Babcock
• CalArts MFA Writing Program Visiting Artists Series 2005-11-02: Jay Babcock, Trinie Dalton & Daniel Chamberlin (November 2, 2005)
• Arthur Nights Forum
• Selected press for Arthur Nights (.pdf format)
• Pitchfork Media article on Arthur's demise
• Village Voice article on the future of Arthur
• Arcane Candy article on ArthurFest 2005
• Arcane Candy gallery on ArthurFest 2005
• Interview with editor Jay Babcock on Douglas Rushkoff's Media Squat