Tomorrow night the publishers of the ESOPUS magazine will be filling up their freshly minted Esopus Space, which was acquired in June through the support of an Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts grant, with a launch party for their latest issue, Esopus 13. The move is undoubtedly a relief for editor Tod Lippy and his support staff, who in May were still operating out of a 250-square-foot office and thus celebrated the drop of their previous issue at a cafe. These days the group is keeping the events in-house.

One of the highlights of the issue is the observations of historian Stéphane Gerson, who examines "the ever-shifting perceptions of Nostradamus over the past 500 years." Each issue of Esopus also compiles contributions from a diverse pool of musicians, and to tie in with Gerson's bit the publishers recruited the likes of Frightened Rabbit, Natureboy, Savoir Adore and Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez to compose tracks drawing inspiration from various predictions made by the infamous French apothecary. The audio selection can be streamed online and is included in an 11-track CD included with copies of the issue.

For history buffs the new issue won't disappoint: it has the latest piece in the "Modern Artifacts" series, reproductions from the Museum of Modern Art Archives on MoMA's Henri Matisse retrospective; the thirteenth installment from chronologist Angus Trumble, a high-level art curator at the Yale Center for British Art, exploring the archives of the year 1913, "when milliners, Machu Picchu and the Mona Lisa made headlines"; and Ellen Ellickson's recollections on the collection of rare book librarian Marjorie G. Wynne (with "an insert curated by scent and design researcher Nadia Wagner" as a bonus for subscribers). It might be worth showing up to the launch party just to find out what a scent and design researcher is.

Art lovers will also find solace, as the issue has Artforum managing editor Jeff Gibson's project sidling photo-collages up to "pages of flora and fauna from 20th-century encyclopedias"; a removable poster with selections from the "Volume" series by photographer Mickey Smith; and a "conversation" between the works of multimedia artist Oliver Herring and painter Peter Krashes. Fans of the creative written word will be indulged by The Baffler editor and poet Jennifer Moxley's peek behind-the-scenes of her 2007 memoir, "The Middle Room," as well as a piece of short fiction from never-before-published author Kelly Sandoval.

Back on the visual art tip, the issue includes Tod Lippy's interview with the parents of Alex Masket, an autistic collage artist, and continues the fresh Esopus take on art collections with the fourth installment of the "Guarded Opinions" series, from museum guards relating to the work under their watch, this time with "New Museum guard La'Quasia Risper on an Urs Fischer sculpture."

In addition to the official launch of Esopus 13, the evening will also double as an opening reception of the Esopus Foundation's latest art show, a group exhibition called "Side by Side." The collaborative show will feature works from the five artists contributing project pieces to the new issue.

Due on newsstands November 1st, the forthcoming Esopus 13 is available to subscribers and one-off purchasers now via the magazine's website. The issue's launch party and opening will take place on October 27th, from 6-9pm at Esopus Space, located on West 3rd Street in Manhattan.

SEE ALSO: www.esopusmag.com

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Eric J Herboth
Eric J. Herboth is the founder, publisher and Managing Editor of LAS magazine. He is a magazine editor, freelance writer, bike mechanic, commercial pilot, graphic designer, International Scout enthusiast and giver of the benefit of the doubt. He currently lives in rural central Germany with his two best friends, dog Awahni and cat Scout.

See other articles by Eric J Herboth.